Radiant barrier???
 

Anyone have any experience with them or has anyone done this in their home? If so was it worth it? I am going back and forth about it as well as adding more insulation(home was built in 1920) Had a company come and give me a quote on the job at 2700 for the radiant barrier and 3 more inches of insulation. I am going to get quotes from 2 other companies before i make a decision because 2600.00 sounds high to me.House is only 1400 sqft.

Do you mean radiant barrier plywood? I used this on my new house and it is great. The attic has got to be 20 degrees cooler or more. My electric bill is also very low. What about closed cell foam insulation blown onto the existing plywood roof? That stuff is supposed to work really well.

The radiant barrier that a couple of local companies advertise is a spray on silver coating that goes on the underside of the roof. They then put in more insulation and attic vents. I don't know if it works, but it sounds like just adding the extra insulation would do the same.

I understand it to be a foil type sheeting that is put on the underside of the roof. I could be wrong, i was not home when they came and my wife just let them in and out :drink:

I plan on adding another layer of R13 but i still want to lower the temp in the attic.Hence the radiant barrier, but don't know much about it.Figured someone on this board could tell me if i should save my money for gas:drink: or that it is worth doing.

radiant
 

I have been building my homes with open cell foam in the roofrafters and closed cell in the crawl spaces.Our attic tempature average 130 degree's in the summer.My attic temp now is about 10 degree's over what my air conditioned space is.Believe me the stuff works.Open cell is going to be cheaper than closed cell.The price has been coming down alot with more contractors getting into it.The payback on the insulation would be very short.It would stop drafts and keep out the critters too.As far as the radiant barrier I would just do spray foam,to give you an example,spray foam in my last house in 2x6 walls,and 2x8 rafters approx 4,000 sq feet cost me about $7,000.00

Be careful when using the closed cell foam in the whole house.Your airconditioning system would need to draw in outside air or the house may start sweating(water on the inside of the glass not good.

http://efficientattic.com/the-energy...FQiNHgodWlNaSg

These guys are doing the most advertising locally. The barrier sounds like it might work along with the insulation, but you have to remove residual heat from the attic and that is why you need enough air vents to get the hot air moving (convection) out of the space. I agree with Plumber's Crack ( being a plumber by trade I can relate), the foam is a good idea and it is something you can do yourself.

radiant barrier is good for new construction. that's what most metal builders are using now and getting away from glass/vinyl backed.

you need a competent framer to not tear it in stick frame construction.

my brother in law just built a mc mansion in old metairie ,he used the plywood with the foil back , tore in alot of spots when framers were handling it.

the spray foam is the chit imo with proper power vents, soffit vents you can really reduce the heat in the attic and lower the bills.

if i ever build a house , every wall / ceiling would have spray foam in them ..

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...ctId=100072633


have a roofer drop a few of these in , i did in my last house , set the thermo @110*..

they will pull a good amount of heat out , with a good warranty ...

This type of foam cannot be done by a do it yourselfer.The equipment runs about $75,000.00 without the truck. It requires a fair amount of expertise to apply correctly.Not to step on your toes but hire a company that does it everyday.I believe fiberglass insulation is going to be a thing of the past.I wouldnt build another house without it.I have been in the plumbing and heating industry up north for roughly 20 yrs.I am now building custom homes,as a builder the cost to operate air conditioning/heat goes down dramatically.

As a plumber I could of cared less,plenty of work installing radiant heating,and boilers! Good luck with the install.