St. Louis Home Inspector Tip: The Case of the Missing Insulation

Speaking of fixing things in the attic during times of cooler weather, I thought we’d take up the case of the missing insulation this week.  If you have a room or wall that tends to be hot in the summer and cold in the winter, part of the reason may be ceiling or other areas that are missing their protective blanket of insulation. 

The builder may have missed an area, there may have been an old ceiling repair, or the insulation may have been moved when lighting, fans, or other equipment was installed.  As a home inspector in the St. Louis area, I see this a lot in attics, and nobody ever thinks to complete or replace the insulation.

A good place to start is with your attic hatch.  If there is no insulation over it, that can be as much as four square feet of heat loss from your home.  The easiest fix for this is to get a piece of thick fiberglass batt insulation that is big enough to overlap your hatch cover on all sides, balance it on top of the hatch cover as you lower it into position, and the batt will insulate the area over the hatch.

Next check your attic for areas of missing or thin insulation over the rest of the living area of your home.  Don’t be fooled by attic areas over your garage or a porch.  These areas don’t normally need to be insulated, and to do so would be a waste of money. 

I generally see bare areas where the insulation has been moved back during the installation of bathroom exhaust fans and recessed lighting, and these are easily corrected.  Very often it’s just a matter of moving the insulation back to where it was originally.  Don’t forget however, that the bathroom exhausts need to be directed up through the roof if this hasn’t already been done. 

Also, some recessed lighting fixtures can’t have insulation contacting them up in the attic, or they could become a fire hazard. 

One additional thing to check for is hollow areas that extend down through the living area of the house.  These should either be covered and insulated, or the vertical interior walls should be insulated.  Two of the photos show an opening to a hollow, and the view down that hollow to the inside of a no doubt chilly bathroom wall. 

As mentioned in my last blog, any work in an attic should only be done by someone who knows what they’re doing, and are capable and comfortable with working in an attic.  If there is any doubt or hesitation, hire a handyman or other professional to do this work for you.  Finally, for any work in an attic, a good quality dust mask should be worn at all times.