Fiberglass batts work best if they re enclosed and air sealed on all 6 sides.
Rigid foam attic knee wall.
How to insulate knee walls.
Adding a rigid foam air barrier to the cold side of the batt is a great way to take care of this issue on a knee wall between finished and unfinished attic space.
An insulated kneewall is effectively an exterior wall so you ll need a layer of rigid foam drywall osb or thermoply on the back side of the kneewall to prevent cold air from degrading the performance of the insulation.
Georgia recognized this problem about a decade ago and started requiring all attic kneewalls to have sheathing on the attic side and to be insulated to at least r 18.
This method of insulation won t work if the triangular attic includes ducts or plumbing pipes.
Rigid foam insulation is innovative eye pleasing and super effective.
Then you can add atticfoil on top of the traditional insulation by stapling it to the wall studs.
Wondering how you can make your knee wall space insulated correctly.
Rigid foam insulation is the solution.
Knee walls are the bane of energy and comfort in homes by which i mean they are vertical half height walls built to convert normally unconditioned attic into liveable space.
First you will want to add traditional insulation between the studs this can be batt insulation spray foam or even rigid foam insulation.
In this case after insulating the stud cavities with fiberglass batts use 1 inch minimum rigid foam insulation to cover the back of the knee wall which will prevent attic air from circulating around and through the insulation.
Rigid foam insulation has a radiant barrier on both sides so it reflects roof heat out in the summer but brings the heat back in during the cold winter.
A knee wall is a short vertical wall roughly two or three feet high that blocks in that useless triangular space.
It easily expands with graphite infused right into the foam while we air seal the edges to provide the full maximum insulation.
But you do so at the expense of floor space.
The higher the knee wall the greater the amount of useful wall space you create in your finished attic.
The best way to provide that sheathing is to use a rigid material.
Adding rigid foam insulation to attic side of knee walls on.