Comments on: Air Sealing an Attic Access the Right Way

By: Deniz Erkan

Deniz Erkan — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 20:38:15 +0000

Great article. How does an average homeowner figure out what kind of rigid foam board to buy and how many of them add up to R-38 to match the rest of my attic insulation and what kind of glue to use to stick them on top of each other and to the drywall or wood? Every time I’ve walked into a home improvement store trying to figure out which “XPS” to buy for this little project, I got dizzy.

Related DIY question: “air seal gaskets” and “weatherstripping” come in several forms. Rubber, silicone, polyethylene, foam, thicker foam… Which one works best for this use case?

By: Ashley

Ashley — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 10:17:04 +0000

We have a 1920s home in Charleston that has its original pulldown, Bessler Hidden Stairs going into the attic. We know we need to insulate that attic access, but can’t figure out the best way to do it since the stairs don’t fold. Do you have any tips? (or should we just replace the attic stairs with a folding ladder so that we can insulate the access as you detailed?) Thanks!

By: Chris D

Chris D — Fri, 22 Apr 2022 02:03:21 +0000

Skuttle-Tight makes a skuttle hatch that’s an interesting alternative to site-built.
Not sure about price, but seems like a decent product on paper. It has a drywall taping flange, so no need to make a picture frame on the ceiling out of door casing.
I’m planning on trying out the sidewall version at some point in the future (no overhead attic access), so if anyone has any product feedback I’m all ears…

By: Jim Johnson

Jim Johnson — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 20:21:36 +0000

This is off topic but still in the attic. I recently had my roof shingles replaced. After they got done I noticed when they put the ridge vents on (It originally had the round roof vents) they didn’t apparently have any foresight to cut back the plywood along the ridge as required by the vent maker to allow proper spacing for air flow. So now I’m going to have to have them come back and remedy they’re screw up. Just one more thing to look out for when you have your roof replaced.

By: Allison Bailes

Allison Bailes — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 15:50:51 +0000

In reply to Paul Szymkiewicz. Holy moly! It's gone up a lot since last time I bought some. I believe it used to be about $15 a sheet.

By: Paul Szymkiewicz

Paul Szymkiewicz — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 15:49:15 +0000

Agreed on Thermax, but ouch, the price! We recently needed two sheets to insulate utility doors and it was almost $130 for two 1.5″ 4×8 sheets!

By: Allison Bailes

Allison Bailes — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 15:30:32 +0000

In reply to Paul Szymkiewicz. Paul: One way to solve the fire code issue is to use Dow Thermax, which is a foil-faced polyisocyanurate and has the approval to be left exposed.

By: Paul Szymkiewicz

Paul Szymkiewicz — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 14:07:12 +0000

Articles like these have potential to create $avings equal to the GDP of a small country, and delay the breaking off of an ice shelf in Antarctica by a few years!

We’ve done most of the above methods, my favorite is built up sides of the access opening, be it a scuttle hole or a pull-down, which allows for a flat lid on top: a favorite number of layers of XPS sandwiched between two pieces of 5/8 or 3/4″ plywood (always some subfloor remnants laying around). Has enough weight to keep the weatherstripping pressed, you can add a simple handle and a couple hooks to keep it from popping off in a wind storm when someone opens a door or a window below.

The exposed XPS or similar foam boards serving as access covers technically are not up to fire code. You would want your ignition barrier to be continuous across the ceiling.

By: thom stokes

thom stokes — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 18:33:21 +0000

In reply to Allison Bailes. Thanks

By: Allison Bailes

Allison Bailes — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 18:29:24 +0000

In reply to David DesMarais. David: I've covered that same issue in other articles, too. The most recent one is from last summer: Does Poor Installation of Insulation Hurt R-Value? Great job on your attic hatch. The latch is an important part!