Finishing Out The Bonus Room!

The following websites explain in detail Insulation for Bonus rooms.

http://www.oldhouseweb.com/how-to-advice/button-up-attic-doors-and-kneewalls.shtml
http://www.customhomeonline.com/industry-news.asp?sectionID=207&articleID=258888
http://www.jmhomeowner.com/insulation/install/cathedralceilings.asp


          In recent years builders have come up with the grandiose scheme of leaving the "Bonus Room" as it is popularly called, unfinished. The electrical wire will be run in and thats it. Then they sell the house on the pretext the buyer is recieving something free.
          We have'nt seen it all here but we've seen a lot. Last month we were called to a house to price out a Bonus room for hanging and finishing Sheet rock.The homeowner had a couple of quick additions to his family and needed to convert the unfinished bonus room to bedroom space. He had already hired a carpenter to build the kneewalls and frame out a closet, had the electrical wire ran, and installed the insulation. The carpenters work was good, Electrical looked good (I'm no Electrician), but the insulation was a wreck. We've reached the reason for this weeks blog.
          As in everything in a house there is a code, or guidelines to go by. I did'nt want to embarrass him or call out the carpenter or electrician as sometimes people from another trade take on work for which they are not qualified. The home owner had installed unfaced insulation of what size or value I'm not sure, against the roof and had used wires to hold it in place. Mashing down the insulation against the roof about every 2 ft making it relatively useless. Mashing down insulation takes away it's effectiveness. No baffles were installed under the insulation next to the roof which is required in order to have air flow, and not burn the shingles off the roof in the summer. Unfaced insulation was used for this application and also in between the kneewalls. Not attached as it should be but just placed in.
          Lets talk about the correct way to install insulation in a bonus room. Anyway as you may know Bonus rooms are always on the second floor so you will probably have a cathedral cieling to work with. The framing for these cielings/roofs are normally 2x6s. We require 2x8s in order to put in the proper insulation. For these areas you must nail a 2x2 furring strip onto the edge of the existing 2x6 to increase the board width to 8 inches. This is done to have enough room to install the baffles next to the roof sheathing and insulation on the top of them. Baffles are made out several different products Polystyrene being the most popular. Check Home Depot for whats available in your area. Ensure they are placed ensuring free air flow from the crown to outside the Bonus room kneewall framing and into the attic a few inches. They are super easy to install, place them in the correct position in between the ceiling joists and staple down. Next,  the insulation is placed over the top of the baffles. Insulation shall be of the Fiber Faced type, not the Foil type, with the paper toward the inside of the room. The paper is 1" wider on each side than the insulation, staple this edge to the facing edge of the furring strip or 2x8, or staple to the inside of the furring strip or 2x8. Faced batt type insulation shall be used in all applications for exterior walls, includes Cathedral cielings. Install insulation to the kneewalls in the same manner. Insulation always works best when contained on all 6 sides. This includes the back side of knee walls. No specific material is recommended and a code has not been established at this time for kneewall backing, but it is recommended to use Drywall, Roofing felt, House wrap, or just plain cardboard. If you do not contain insulation on all 4 sides your gas or electric bill will remind you. For those of you who consider you live in a fine custom home - crawl around in your attic sometime and check it out. For those of you having a house built make sure your builder Covers the back side of any kneewalls. Or call us.