Matt, it is refreshing to see a contractor not only own, but publish to everyone the mistakes they have made. We are a commercial/industrial contractor in the southwest and it says a lot about the quality and honesty of a company that does this. Well done and keep up the great work on the Build Show.
I love videos like this that show everyday homeowner things and tips most of us viewers can relate too. Sure the 10 million dollar lakefront, hilltop homes are nice and all, but realistically, most people don't have that budget. Alternatively, showing your own home, confessing to some mistakes, and doing typical layman renovations is what I can really connect to, learn from, and try do myself. Thanks for today's video!
Indeed, I do HVAC and I still have return duct work that is not finished in my own house. Got the AC and furnace in to condition the house (the wife would not let me put that off), but that return duct work still haunts me at the end of the day when I get done with everyone else's work.
My buddy's dad does custom ornate hardwood floors in tons of million/multi-million dollar homes, but his floors at home have been beat-up/neglected for the past 20 years probably lol
yep, never stop progressing, no matter the profession you're in! I look at stuff I did 5 yrs ago and wouldn't do it that way again because I know more. That's a sign you care about what you're doing.
My faith in the world is shook..... the man that introduced me to building science, conditioned attics, and thermal envelops doesn’t have spray foam in his own attic..... In Texas no less.
O' well he is addressing the issue give him that. Myself, I built an ICF house with a foamed attic, loving it each month. My thermostat logs power consumption and for the last year my HVAC bill was a whopping $160, YES, FOR THE WHOLE YEAR. 2000 sq. ft. living space. in south Alabama near the coast.
Yeah but he believes in "science" conditionally. Reality does not matter where his faith is involved, so all he needs to do is have faith that his house is fine and magically it is fine.. Or so goes the faith.
I recently installed these baffles in my attic…FROM THE INSIDE!! I have a very low pitch roof too. It sucked, but we landed on a pretty good solution. Basically.… 1-we widened our eave vent opening to the width of the rafter bay 2-took a 1”x2”x8’ board and started a screw in each end (one for the guy inside the attic and the other for the guy outside at the eave. Screwed that “runner” the distance of the folded sides of the baffles, plus 1/4”, below the roof deck. 3-screwed three baffles end to end 4-slid the baffle from the eave opening towards the guy in the attic 5-folded the eave end down to cap off the opening from the insulated space. 6-installed bug screening and vent on eave. Hope this helps someone!
Tyler Congratulations for detailing an eave insertion approach to installing the baffles. If I understand your second step, you are using the added 8 foot "runner" to ease sliding the baffle(s) in from the eaves. My question is if the insulation is blown-in type, couldn't this baffle, being stiff, be pushed in without the "runner"? (You may have done this because you are pushing in 3 attached baffles.) If the "runner" isn't needed, would need to A. insert the baffle with the nailing edge facing down (would be hard to place a nail with the edge facing toward the roof deck), and B. finish by screwing the baffle to the rafter so as to allow the 2 inch opening toward the ridge vent. (Would likely have needed to add a nail with your method because the 3 baffles would be longer than 8 feet.) FYI I made a suggestion herein for an eave insertion approach before I saw your comment.
Own Petard you are correct that if you installed only one baffle, AND you could reach the baffle from the inside, you could get away without the “runners” and in the fashion you describe. In my situation I had to get the baffles further up the roof deck (closer to the ridge vent) to daylight over the top of the insulation required here in Colorado (at least R49). That was impossible with only one or two baffles because of the low angle of my roof. That low roof angle also prevented me from being able to climb close enough toward the eave to reach the end of one or even two baffles ...so 3 it was! It also would have been near impossible to do with the insulation in the attic. I didn’t include this detail earlier but I hired a second insulation guy to remove the blown-in and install batts. Between his removal of the blown-in and installation of the batts I installed the baffles. A waste of money, I know, but now it’s right.
I like the SmartBaffle, and installed it. The fiberglass batts where shoved right to the top plate, so any inler soffit air had to flow thru the batts. The Smart Baffle gave the 2" air path. However, a year later I noticed the center of the SB was pushed up against the roof deck by the pressure of the batts. I suspect the hi attic temps allowed the SB baffle to flex. So I cut a approx 6" width of SB, folded it into a long triangle shape and foil taped it together. Then slide the long triangle up the center of the SB against the roof deck to hold the SB center down against the batts. And put a piece of foil tape to hold the triangle in place to the baffle. I have my full 2 inches again, and I'll see how well that holds up.
I used a long grabber, like to pick up stuff with to reach from inside the attic to add baffles, then stapled them up before I blew attic cat. It was easy just used plywood to lay on to reach the vents. Spray foam in my vented attic was not a good option. The house wasn't built for that. Go with what your house us built for, I have 18 or more inches of loose fill now, so it's well insulate. I did seal the gaps and all the cracks from above before I filled.
Old homes are awesome. Blown in insulation is still the most practical and economical solution for the attic. We did a retro with our existing rigid vents with aeroseal and replaced our furnace with Mitsubishi air handler and heat pump. 👍
Wind wash is insane where I live (Newfoundland). Our house was built late 80s/early 90s and the baffles don't cover the whole attic. With our perforated soffits and the very strong winds we get here wind wash is a real thing. When it gets very cold in the winter we actually get condensation at the edges of our ceiling. I've gone up twice to fix those issues but last winter we had condensation over a larger area so I gotta get up there again. Been trying to figure out best way to fix the issue. I've spot fixed two problems with some rigid insulation foam and I was going to do that again...or do that and try to retro fit some better baffles. But as you say trying to do it from the inside is hard work. And I ain't no spring chicken.
I've always been a stickler for safety and doing a job right. When ever I start a job for myself or someone else, I ask myself what would a knowledgeable and respected build do? Matt, you always come to mind. Thank you for the great videos and the time you spend making them.
This is typical, cabinet guy has no doors on his kitchen cabinets, painter's house never gets painted, flooring guy is walking on concrete, and a general contractor's house is usually a complete wreck. Nobody wants to do work all day, usually 10 or 12 hours, and come home and work some more.
Love the smart baffles, used them myself when the roof was replaced last summer. I used a table saw set just above the table top and just barely notched the baffles to bend them like you showed. It worked out great!
That's a great idea, if a attic is going to have closed cell foam sprayed should you still install these baffles? Or will this all get sprayed over with the foam closing the soffit space anyway?
Here in Quebec City, we use cardboard made for this application, really cheap and effective, we also use those Styrofoam when we put them from the interior but you really got to be careful if there is no stopper like in your case. Houses with no stopper here are rare but I see them from time to time. I also don't know why you have this much wind in your attic, the ventilation hole in your soffit are not that big but we don't have hurricane/tornado winds here.
I had the same issue except I used that tan baffle from the home center. I stapled it in from the inside of the attic. I have a 5/12 roof on a 1965 ranch in Dallas and the area by the top plate is TIGHT. I would like to remove all my insulation because it is a mix of a few blows with some cedar shingles mixed in whenever the cedar roof was removed. I look forward to see what you end up doing. My HVAC system will be completely built new once my existing 20 year old system gives up the ghost. I too want to condition my attic but am not sold on spray foam both from offgassing and fire reasons. I recently saw a video of firefighters having a horrible time dealing with an encapsulated attic with sprayfoam. The noxious smoke from the foam looked terrible. It took them 45 minutes to knock down the attic fire, which caused significant damage to the house.
Thanks for this honest video. Most houses up here in upstate New York do not have conditioned attics and need solutions like this. Many people find their attic ventilation shortchanged by batts pressed against the soffits or washed out blown in insulation for reasons you showed in the video. I’m dealing with this myself so thank you for introducing that product. I’m going to encourage my insulator to install those instead of whatever else he was using, but it seems unlikely he will be able to make a good seal between the top plate of the outer wall and the vent, just because access will be tight.
im a electrician I subscribed to this guy because he is one the few humans that will admit they made a mistake freaking awesome 😎 no one is perfect learn from your mistakes
matt you could / should have put a r 19 batt below the new black baffle , above the outer top plate, or sprayed the foam before installing the baffle !!!! then blow the r 40 - r 60 ( 2 plus lbs per cu ft or better) . Have your metal roofer add 1 inch foam below your metal roof . This will provide a continuous thermal break , sound proofing , etc. add 1 inch foam on your gable ends. It would be more cost effective to go with metal duct , upgraded r value pipe insulation , ( pay back , dollar buys best return first dollar ) in the attic. yes you could bring your duct work into the conditioned space with a false ceiling in the hallway ( false boxing to hide it, returns above the door headers ) . Yes I did build super insulated houses with zero furnaces in the 80s and 90s in michigan . Yes I did teach , build and use building science methods . I like your program and I know it is not easy . The youtube program I have never seen you do . Measuring before deciding on house energy changes. Why do builders still use plastic flex duct in attics? The plastic duct will never out live the home. Why do some many of the homes being built have almost zero thermal mass ? keep up your good work but please update your design, comfort and dollar cost skills for the owners benefit .
I did something like this several years ago in my house. We still had the old small metal vent panels on our soffit. One of them fell off and revealed just a round hole underneath, thus starting my snowballing big project. I replaced all the vents with new ones and cut each hole bigger and more rectangular. Each time I took a vent off, a big pile of blown insulation fell on me. This led to me going in the attic and attaching a 1/8” plywood panel to the rafters. Each was only 16x36, making it pretty easy to manage. Our roof had a steep pitch and not too hard to get in to the bottom. I also waited til the wintertime to do this. After all that, I blew in more insulation and all was good.
None of my local roofing suppliers would take the time to find this for me, so I ended up making my own. Call your local sign shop, like Westar Solutions and do it yourself. Thanks for sharing Matt R. your knowledge is priceless.
Please don't do this. It always seems to be a crutch and ends up being distracting. It's also incredibly difficult to get the camera and the laser point at the same thing to where it makes sense to the viewer.
One good thing to do with baffles is to extend them well beyond the height of the insulation. Take tape or foam and seal the baffles on the sides and by the top plate. No wind will effect your insulation this way. Also, building your own is a good option. Thin plywood with wood on the sides creating the vent channel is sturdy and easy to seal.
Did you watch the video? The baffles Matt installed are 4' long. On that 5/12 roof the top edge of them is more than 2-1/2' high. Waterproofed cardboard is going to last 40+ years in there.
@@dh66 yeah, I watched the video. I'm suggesting people seal it up all of the way on the sides and plates and not just tack it up to get the best results. In my area, we put almost 20 inches of blown in insulation in on standard homes. So, I prefer to keep the baffles going higher, especially in super high r value attics.
Matt, you can Create a thermal block with open or close cell insulation in your existing attic. Spray it over your existing soffits, ridge vents, backside of roof and create a thermal Barrier this way. I've done this in my house. The temperature in the attic, shocked me, how much lower it was after doing this. I left the existing Close cell blow in insulation in place. I normally agree with everything you do except for in this case. I believe you just made it harder than it needed to be.
I ended up cutting 6’ pieces of R30, pulled the blown in insulation away from outer wall & replaced with the R30. The wind outa the west was so strong it would blow the insulation away every year until I did this fix.
Yeah exactly why not just throw down a foot or two of BATS close to where the soffits are and call it a day after leveling the blow-in? The fix he's doing involves cutting the roof off to install the baffles, seemes extreme.
Dan B you can easily push styrofoam baffles into the overhang and pack around it with fibreglass batts it you can get that far into the slope of the roof, same result without cutting the roof
I’ve also used rockwool insulation to go from top plate to the bottom of vents. Holds in place great and has a higher r value than your blown in to help with thermal transfer at top plate
This video likely showed up in my feed today because I did an online search for a vent chute that would hold up to closed cell SPF. I wish I had known about this product years ago. Here in the Chicago area we do a lot of spraying under the roof deck as you said, but in a colder climate it's more critical to maintain ventilation. I worked on a church project where we did SPF under the roof deck but the exterior wall was 8 in CMU with a 4-in brick veneer with no insulation. The heat seems to come out of the wall, hits the soffit and create ice damming anyway thanks to the heat coming out of the wall. When it's time to re-roof the church. I've advised them to install 2x4 battens on top of the roof deck and apply a new deck to create that ventilation channel. It's a gable roof that runs north to south and it's not a problem on the east side but it is on the west. A large tree also creates shade and with the on off sun exposure this probably exacerbates the issue.
It’s amazing how much we can overlook when working on houses. Who woulda thought that wind coming through the soffit vents would be enough to push insulation around?
A needed fix/procedure if an attic is having issues with blown in insulation moving. The number of vents should ideally be calculated (Soffit and/or gable venting=roof vents and/or ridge venting in air flow). Adding a vented chute to every soffit area between roof rafters may not be necessary, could be a waste of time/money, and potentially could create an unbalance attic space regarding air flow. Adding more/more efficient roof vents, adding a ridge vent (Especially while adding new roofing), and adding larger gable vents all can equalize the attic venting system if every rafter space at the soffits has a chute. The "option" of cutting sheeting from the out side is NOT an option unless you are adding new roofing. Took me less than 3 hours laying on one 2'x6' piece of OSB to install chutes in a 24'x42' houses attic.
The SmartBaffle can be installed on the attic side as well, very easily. Because of the 2" air chute, it misses the nails. So once in place at a higher position in the rafter space, the baffle can be pushed down to the eave, missing all those roofing nails (use a stick with a 1/4" notch to control the push). The insulation pressure will hold them in place at the eave area. As you come up further it becomes an easier challenge to secure them to the sides. The 2" flanges can be installed up or down depending on how you want to install them. Good Luck!
Great...now I have to climb into my attic and check for wind-wash. Thanks Matt. :) Good informative video. I'm thinking of a metal roof as well but our current asphalt roof is only about 7 years old.
The sad fact is in most homes you would never see it as they are not ventilated enough for it to happen.........Kind of a catch 22, we made it better, but we made it worse, LOL
Nice. This couldn't have come at a better time. I've got the opposite problem (the insulation has been blown into my soffit and prevents air from coming in at all) but this method is exactly the fix I want. Salesperson will be at my house tonight to bid the job and I will be asking for smartbaffle.
Rich X attic is insulated under the roof sheathing and becomes part of the climate controlled envelope with the rest of the house. So your duct work doesn’t get cooked or frozen
Alex Paden I’ve done several. I use a big gas powered vacuum outside with 6 inch hose to suck all the insulation out. Then spray foam it back in. It’s a real PITA on a shallow roof pitch though. I’ve done them, but usually hate myself the entire time for getting myself into such a situation.
Damn, as soon as I saw the soffit vents I knew you needed baffles. We had new blown insulation installed and insisted on baffles as part of the scope of work. Alas...another typical 69-70's house that needs modern mods to perform better. Better flow, control and cooling. But no one even has an idea about how important those baffles are in an older house. They made a massive difference in how cool the house stays in the summer heat. To the point we no longer use AC in the summer. At all.
I'm facing the same issues. I've just added a 3rd Lomanco turbine vent to my roof for starters. I don't have soffets like yours...mine are the traditional 'every 8'' variety, 2"x 10" screens. And yep, my blown insulation is lumpy too.
I would use Rafter Vents between each truss, then use 2 inch thick rigid foam boards to fill in the gap from top plate to rafter vents, and you can spay foam the gaps if you wish. Rafter vents are 4 foot long so you can have plenty of insulation in you attic without worrying about soffit wind blowing the insulation around or even down into the soffit area
I absolutely love that you share your mistakes with us as well as your triumphs. I have a question on my home, its a late 70s early 80s double wide with the center third of the house being a cathedral ceiling. Each other end is a conventional truss roof system with one turtle vent and two gable vents per end. The current plan is to tear off the asphalt shingles and install 4 inches of EPS foam, a radiant barrier, 1x purloins then steel. My question is at that point should I just blow the attic space above the ends full and remove the limited ventilation there is, less roof penetrations the better. Or do I need to keep the ventilation in place even though there will be R-16 and the radiant barrier above it? Bear in mind there are fiberglass bats above the ceilings already in place. We live in central KS so we get the heat and the cold, and not much in between other than the few days in spring and fall that are actually nice!
Matt maybe I need to wait for the next video, but are you planning on using external insulation? I am interested in your response to the situation described by speedbuggy16v.
Matt, it will be interesting to see a comparison of power usage before and after the remodel. I wonder what R.O.I. you're expecting for the remodel costs?
Have you ever considered the foil liner that would continue from soffit vent all the way to the roof peak? Create a direct rent to the top to lower attic temperatures. Perforations in it still let the attic breath but sends the heat out. I forget the name of the perforated foil. Double bubble is similar.
Funny story. I did the same thing when I remodeled my house. At the time I was not sure if I was going to replace the rafters. I had planned on fixing the inslation issue when I did my roof as well.
It would be good to discuss shingle manufacturers that warrant their material when spray insulation has been applied to the base of the sheathing. I have experience with premature spalling/ blistering of the granules on shingles and the manufacturer would not warrant because the spray foam was installed at the base of the sheathing. I understand there are two schools of thought for insulating attics, but who can afford to install a roof in unwarranted conditions? A metal roof however would be ideal. It would be good to educate your listeners on manufacturing specifications of the roofing products so they don’t lose like I have witnessed. There are shingle manufacturers that do warrant this type of installation. Some people may save money on shingles to supplement the added cost of spray insulation during a reroof project. The result could potentially lead to a non-warranted condition. This would be a great idea for another video. I really enjoy this channel and its content. I have the same issue you have in my house. I didn’t spend the extra time and money on baffles during my last reroof. I am the guy that will attempt to install from the attic side. Wish me luck! Thanks for sharing!
Generally speaking, the SmartBaffle is strong and rigid which allows one to install the baffle at a higher location and push it down to the tight space at the eave with a small stick type device. The 2" air chute misses the roofing nails to allow for the SmartBaffle to slide very easily down the rafter chute. You can even pre-cut the SmartBaffle to make a wind blocker when the baffle hits the top plate of the wall. It will fit snug and holds back any wind draft. Good Luck!
Matt; I don't think you made any mistakes given the time period. I'll just about bet money that corrugated baffle wasn't available 11 or so years ago. You used what was available at the time. I'm REALLY glad I watched this because I'm facing the exact same dilemma in Ohio with a late 50's, early 60's home that looks very much like yours upstairs, and I was unaware of the corrugated material. Thanks for that! I too am debating between conditioning it, or cleaning out existing, foaming every gap then reblowing (currently just bats). I'm NOT currently contemplating a roof, and not looking forward to the eves either! Would appreciate your feedback on that. My roof I'm pretty sure just by looking is a 3; even more fun at the eve.....
The SmartBaffles can be screwed together with short phillips head screws (1/2" or so) at the ends by overlapping them about an inch. So you would install each baffle at a comfortable location and begin sliding them down (after screwing them together after you slide one down). You may need a 1X3 stick to ensure they are tight to the roof deck as you slide them down the rafter chute. The SmartBaffles are strong and can handle the pushing. Note: Ensure the air flow at the eaves is open and not blocked by insulation before the baffles are installed. Also, it helps to pick a cool day to do this work! Good Luck!
I would think you'd spray foam the wall plate area in addition to the vent panels so you would actually improve the lack of Insulation in that area over hoping you can pack in enough blown in.
I'm surprised there's not more products out there to help with this issue I'm actually remodeling my home right now and I'm actually going to be building my own baffles made out of rigid foam because I'll be able to insulate those areas much better than any blow in and any fiberglass or rockwool Etc
it's interesting that your problem was caused by air entering the soffit area and blowing your insulation into the center of the house leaving a lack of insulation around the perimeter of your home. The more common scenario is insulation from the attic building up into the soffit area and plugging air from entering resulting in a lack of ventilation, causing moisture build up and mold. A similar ventilation panel is used here in Canada and is a must to get the air in above the insulation when the insulation blanket is 25 inches deep or more to achieve a minimum "R Value" of 50. Your lucky and wise to make this upgrade at the time of a new roof. I've installed many hundreds of ventilation panels from inside the attic where there is no head room at the eaves and does involve a liberal amount of swearing.
Especially at the person your parents paid to put the baffles in before he replaced the shingles and sprayed the insulation . . . You have to do it in the winter, because the summer temperature in the attic will likely kill you. Joy of joys.
Another option is to vacuum all the blown-in insulation out of the attic and replace it with fiberglass batt insulation. It's labor-intensive, nasty work, but short of a hurricane, the insulation will stay put.
I feel like the curtain has just been lifted on the Wizard of Oz. Builds these million dollar energy efficient homes with conditioned attics, but lives in 1970 home with vented attic. Mind blown.
The really flimsy plastic pieces are actually rafter vents not baffles. These look like they could also be used as rafter vents. However when you use them just to channel the air up a few feet to slow down the air its called a baffle. Generally with ridge vent systems they vent all the way up the rafter to the ridge at least around where I live. Which isn't as effective for air flow since air only really flows when there's a large temperature difference. Of course with a roof that's no issue. But if you're going to do that you would want to insulate below and actually condition the rest of the attic since there would be no other airflow.
I especially enjoy your vids like this with tips/ideas and latest tech for retrofitting. I would love to build one of these new fancy super insulated homes, but alas like probably a lot of folks watching, can't afford it. So these vids are super helpful on things I can do to improve my old 60's ranch. Cheers and thanks!
I'm surprised you didn't mention you were going to vacuum out your soffit vents, since eventually that insulation in the soffits will plug up the holes leading to no ventilation.
Matt- thanks for highlighting this solution and product-I can fully endorse this as a truly cost effective durable solution - i even retrofitted from the inside with a pretty low slope-not fun but definitely doable for the DIY. DCI has a number of other interesting roofing vent related products tho this is arguably their home run product IMO.
A possible misstep. 2:41 shows the vertical wall coming up. (tyvek,drainscreen,wood) If you placed the baffle over the wall top and tacked thru the tyvek face. (forefinger location) It would stop any venturi effect air movement from the top plates and in the walls. Nice product, I have the horrible cheap baffles myself.
@@wallykramer7566 It will be interesting to see what happens either way. He said "bring the ductwork down into conditioned space..." and I wonder if they've got some kind of mechanical chase planned or some new tech, or what you're saying about lifting the insulation up above the ceiling joists.
How do you prevent the screw fasteners from backing out of the metal roof? Or is it just part of the general maintenance to climb up on your metal roof to tighten fasteners every few years?
Maybe I’m missing something but if you added spray foam to the top of the baffles wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of venting the attic because it would block airflow from the soffit to the top air vents? Also, wouldn’t you need a full ridge vent?
I'm going to make my own ones for cheaper, pretty much same material, corex fire retardant sheet, normally used to protect floors during work being carried out, then use 25mm tanalised roofing batts to connect them on to the rafters, then sealed with fire mastic. Should allow good air flow from my new soffit vents wothout washing the mineral wool as well as being a safe material incase by any super slim chance embers make it into the roof. It might be over design but many baffles are under designed and as matt said flimsy, so this is a good cost effective means of getting a similar result as matt without any ma jot upheaval. Good video.
Those vents are standard. They direct the air closer up to the roof vents. Looks like they "protect' the insulation. Try MATS of insulation at the edges,
It’s interesting to think that the wind pressure through those small holes in the soffit would be enough to create wind wash to move the insulation. I personally believe that there could be another explanation that some how the pressure difference in areas in the attic space caused by the wind could move the insulation. If you look at large sheets of plastic lying on the ground when the wind blows over them they move in a wave like effect just live ocean waves.
If I don’t spray foam the attic I’ll install cardboard vent chutes and seal them with spray foam to the top plate and 2 ft up so the insulation is better at the top plate and you don’t get any wind washing ever.
Matt Risinger you've come a long way since this 4 year old video. Is this still what you'd recommend for an old house that needs a new roof and has terrible old windblown insulation just like yours did? I live in the PNW across the river from Portland, OR in an old 1969 drafty house and want to do it right. Thanks Matt and keep up the good work educating everyone. Wish we had a Matt Risinger approved contractors in our area guaranteed to use Matt's latest discoveries in best practices. Appreciate you.
Matt....If only all contractors were like you. I'm surprised you have that much air flow at the soffit. I had the same Hardy board installed at our old house with a ridge vent roof. I found it reduced the airflow by at least 50% so I had to cut in screened louvered vents (roofing section at Lowes approx 8"x12"). The attic finally cooled to allow the heat transfer from within the house and the AC to finally work.
I did the "same thing" with r max styrofoam 4x8 sheets to keep the heat from baking down on the insulation and filled the gaps at the bottom to "seal it off" at the bottom then blew in 2 feet of blown in on top. No ductwork in the attic. Have Samsung minisplits. Less than $100.00 electric bill in the GA summer, for the win. It'll pay for itself in 2 years...
I just built with a roof that has shingles on tar paper on OSB... on 4 inches of rigid foam (2 layers of 2 inch boards) on more tar paper on more OSB that has been flashed on the bottom with R-30 + R15 Rockwool sandwiched under that before getting to sheetrock on the ceiling. It's over R60 all told. And it's all because of watching these videos. And have I told you about my 4 ton Mitsubishi multi-split system ?!?!? C'mon Matt - if you are going to stick with unconditioned attic, you need to put down some spectacular insulation and do something to improve the ductwork too. Just saying.
Have been thinking along similar lines but using Foamular or similar sheets to fasten directly to the roof joists. That way im addition to creating the vent pathway, I'd be adding some insulation as well. Although that's probably more of a hassle in a truss roof like yours.
Thank you for sharing Matt. I have a similar issue and was looking to do what you have done on some other projects, either foam board or the rock wool on top the deck. The con is that it will raise the roof profile and give it a "heavy" appearance. I'm guessing that is why you didn't go with that choice. Is there any other reason I shouldn't switch my insulation to the top side of the deck that I am missing? Please give me a comment back, I value your opinion and don't want to make a choice that I will regret. Keep the videos coming, enjoy your articles in JLC also!
Matt, it is refreshing to see a contractor not only own, but publish to everyone the mistakes they have made. We are a commercial/industrial contractor in the southwest and it says a lot about the quality and honesty of a company that does this. Well done and keep up the great work on the Build Show.
I love videos like this that show everyday homeowner things and tips most of us viewers can relate too. Sure the 10 million dollar lakefront, hilltop homes are nice and all, but realistically, most people don't have that budget. Alternatively, showing your own home, confessing to some mistakes, and doing typical layman renovations is what I can really connect to, learn from, and try do myself. Thanks for today's video!
The painters house is the last house to be painted in the neighborhood.....
Bill Joel the cobblers son has no shoes
Indeed, I do HVAC and I still have return duct work that is not finished in my own house. Got the AC and furnace in to condition the house (the wife would not let me put that off), but that return duct work still haunts me at the end of the day when I get done with everyone else's work.
The chimney sweep has a dirty chimney
Always ask for the barber with the bad haircut
My buddy's dad does custom ornate hardwood floors in tons of million/multi-million dollar homes, but his floors at home have been beat-up/neglected for the past 20 years probably lol
CONFESSIONAL (mistakes) = 10x recommend person as trustworthy builder
yep, never stop progressing, no matter the profession you're in! I look at stuff I did 5 yrs ago and wouldn't do it that way again because I know more. That's a sign you care about what you're doing.
My faith in the world is shook..... the man that introduced me to building science, conditioned attics, and thermal envelops doesn’t have spray foam in his own attic..... In Texas no less.
Matt is the reason I have a spray foamed attic roof and a Mitsubishi split system.
Tsk tsk.
The cobbler's children have no shoes
O' well he is addressing the issue give him that. Myself, I built an ICF house with a foamed attic, loving it each month. My thermostat logs power consumption and for the last year my HVAC bill was a whopping $160, YES, FOR THE WHOLE YEAR. 2000 sq. ft. living space. in south Alabama near the coast.
@@trex2092 - I live North of Atlanta and want to build IFC home. what was the cost difference? and did you have trouble finding quality builder?
Yeah but he believes in "science" conditionally. Reality does not matter where his faith is involved, so all he needs to do is have faith that his house is fine and magically it is fine.. Or so goes the faith.
I recently installed these baffles in my attic…FROM THE INSIDE!! I have a very low pitch roof too. It sucked, but we landed on a pretty good solution. Basically.…
1-we widened our eave vent opening to the width of the rafter bay
2-took a 1”x2”x8’ board and started a screw in each end (one for the guy inside the attic and the other for the guy outside at the eave. Screwed that “runner” the distance of the folded sides of the baffles, plus 1/4”, below the roof deck.
3-screwed three baffles end to end
4-slid the baffle from the eave opening towards the guy in the attic
5-folded the eave end down to cap off the opening from the insulated space.
6-installed bug screening and vent on eave.
Hope this helps someone!
Tyler Congratulations for detailing an eave insertion approach to installing the baffles. If I understand your second step, you are using the added 8 foot "runner" to ease sliding the baffle(s) in from the eaves. My question is if the insulation is blown-in type, couldn't this baffle, being stiff, be pushed in without the "runner"? (You may have done this because you are pushing in 3 attached baffles.) If the "runner" isn't needed, would need to A. insert the baffle with the nailing edge facing down (would be hard to place a nail with the edge facing toward the roof deck), and B. finish by screwing the baffle to the rafter so as to allow the 2 inch opening toward the ridge vent. (Would likely have needed to add a nail with your method because the 3 baffles would be longer than 8 feet.)
FYI I made a suggestion herein for an eave insertion approach before I saw your comment.
Own Petard you are correct that if you installed only one baffle, AND you could reach the baffle from the inside, you could get away without the “runners” and in the fashion you describe. In my situation I had to get the baffles further up the roof deck (closer to the ridge vent) to daylight over the top of the insulation required here in Colorado (at least R49). That was impossible with only one or two baffles because of the low angle of my roof. That low roof angle also prevented me from being able to climb close enough toward the eave to reach the end of one or even two baffles ...so 3 it was! It also would have been near impossible to do with the insulation in the attic. I didn’t include this detail earlier but I hired a second insulation guy to remove the blown-in and install batts. Between his removal of the blown-in and installation of the batts I installed the baffles. A waste of money, I know, but now it’s right.
I love how you build fancy homes but you live in a modest home!!!
He builds what other people want. It's all about "your want'er".
I know right!!! I imagined him living in a completely different type of house.
Yeah I've known many builders who live in modest homes relative to their product. Often wondered why.
@Dr. Michael Johnson Jr Yep, why waste money on flash when you can have perpetual security and comfort.
Looks like the cobblers kid is finally getting a set of shoes! 😃
I like the SmartBaffle, and installed it. The fiberglass batts where shoved right to the top plate, so any inler soffit air had to flow thru the batts. The Smart Baffle gave the 2" air path. However, a year later I noticed the center of the SB was pushed up against the roof deck by the pressure of the batts. I suspect the hi attic temps allowed the SB baffle to flex. So I cut a approx 6" width of SB, folded it into a long triangle shape and foil taped it together. Then slide the long triangle up the center of the SB against the roof deck to hold the SB center down against the batts. And put a piece of foil tape to hold the triangle in place to the baffle. I have my full 2 inches again, and I'll see how well that holds up.
Smart!!!!!!!!!!! I'm in a similar situation.
I used a long grabber, like to pick up stuff with to reach from inside the attic to add baffles, then stapled them up before I blew attic cat. It was easy just used plywood to lay on to reach the vents. Spray foam in my vented attic was not a good option. The house wasn't built for that. Go with what your house us built for, I have 18 or more inches of loose fill now, so it's well insulate. I did seal the gaps and all the cracks from above before I filled.
Old homes are awesome. Blown in insulation is still the most practical and economical solution for the attic. We did a retro with our existing rigid vents with aeroseal and replaced our furnace with Mitsubishi air handler and heat pump. 👍
Change is inevitable, growth is optional. So, my thanks for bringing us along as you learn and share in successes and failures.
First, you showed dedication climbing into your attic during a Tx summer. 2nd, never knew wind wash was a thing.
Wind wash is insane where I live (Newfoundland). Our house was built late 80s/early 90s and the baffles don't cover the whole attic. With our perforated soffits and the very strong winds we get here wind wash is a real thing.
When it gets very cold in the winter we actually get condensation at the edges of our ceiling. I've gone up twice to fix those issues but last winter we had condensation over a larger area so I gotta get up there again. Been trying to figure out best way to fix the issue.
I've spot fixed two problems with some rigid insulation foam and I was going to do that again...or do that and try to retro fit some better baffles. But as you say trying to do it from the inside is hard work. And I ain't no spring chicken.
At least he admits when he messed up and how to retrofit to fix it. Kudos sir.
I've always been a stickler for safety and doing a job right. When ever I start a job for myself or someone else, I ask myself what would a knowledgeable and respected build do? Matt, you always come to mind. Thank you for the great videos and the time you spend making them.
Very kind of you. Thanks
Used those in my house back in 2004. They direct hot air straight to the ridge vent and keep the attic several degrees cooler.
This is typical, cabinet guy has no doors on his kitchen cabinets, painter's house never gets painted, flooring guy is walking on concrete, and a general contractor's house is usually a complete wreck. Nobody wants to do work all day, usually 10 or 12 hours, and come home and work some more.
Are you spying on my house? Lol! So true!
👏😆
A/C guy is "praying" the system last's another few months.
@@jameshobbs6092 More often than not his wife is praying as well.
Same for mechanics, always have car problems.
Great video! We're neck deep in renovating our 1984 house in SC. Tackling the roof & sheathing next Fall....
Love the smart baffles, used them myself when the roof was replaced last summer. I used a table saw set just above the table top and just barely notched the baffles to bend them like you showed. It worked out great!
That's a great idea, if a attic is going to have closed cell foam sprayed should you still install these baffles? Or will this all get sprayed over with the foam closing the soffit space anyway?
Here in Quebec City, we use cardboard made for this application, really cheap and effective, we also use those Styrofoam when we put them from the interior but you really got to be careful if there is no stopper like in your case. Houses with no stopper here are rare but I see them from time to time. I also don't know why you have this much wind in your attic, the ventilation hole in your soffit are not that big but we don't have hurricane/tornado winds here.
Rockwool; no weather will move it. Blown solution is expected to be moved by significant drafts.
I had the same issue except I used that tan baffle from the home center. I stapled it in from the inside of the attic. I have a 5/12 roof on a 1965 ranch in Dallas and the area by the top plate is TIGHT.
I would like to remove all my insulation because it is a mix of a few blows with some cedar shingles mixed in whenever the cedar roof was removed. I look forward to see what you end up doing.
My HVAC system will be completely built new once my existing 20 year old system gives up the ghost. I too want to condition my attic but am not sold on spray foam both from offgassing and fire reasons. I recently saw a video of firefighters having a horrible time dealing with an encapsulated attic with sprayfoam. The noxious smoke from the foam looked terrible. It took them 45 minutes to knock down the attic fire, which caused significant damage to the house.
I have to reshingle my roof next year, I know what I'm going to do as part of that reno. Thanks Matt!
Thanks for this honest video. Most houses up here in upstate New York do not have conditioned attics and need solutions like this. Many people find their attic ventilation shortchanged by batts pressed against the soffits or washed out blown in insulation for reasons you showed in the video. I’m dealing with this myself so thank you for introducing that product. I’m going to encourage my insulator to install those instead of whatever else he was using, but it seems unlikely he will be able to make a good seal between the top plate of the outer wall and the vent, just because access will be tight.
im a electrician I subscribed to this guy because he is one the few humans that will admit they made a mistake freaking awesome 😎 no one is perfect learn from your mistakes
Thanks Matt: I have to admit I watch every day. Great job always
Talking about mistakes creates the most interest in all of us to learn
matt you could / should have put a r 19 batt below the new black baffle , above the outer top plate, or sprayed the foam before installing the baffle !!!! then blow the r 40 - r 60 ( 2 plus lbs per cu ft or better) . Have your metal roofer add 1 inch foam below your metal roof . This will provide a continuous thermal break , sound proofing , etc. add 1 inch foam on your gable ends. It would be more cost effective to go with metal duct , upgraded r value pipe insulation , ( pay back , dollar buys best return first dollar ) in the attic. yes you could bring your duct work into the conditioned space with a false ceiling in the hallway ( false boxing to hide it, returns above the door headers ) . Yes I did build super insulated houses with zero furnaces in the 80s and 90s in michigan . Yes I did teach , build and use building science methods . I like your program and I know it is not easy . The youtube program I have never seen you do . Measuring before deciding on house energy changes. Why do builders still use plastic flex duct in attics? The plastic duct will never out live the home. Why do some many of the homes being built have almost zero thermal mass ? keep up your good work but please update your design, comfort and dollar cost skills for the owners benefit .
Thanks for sharing our mistakes. You are a breve man!
Been watching your show for 1 month - DIY project around my house durung that time and all thanx to you! Keep making this awesome video!!!!
I did something like this several years ago in my house. We still had the old small metal vent panels on our soffit. One of them fell off and revealed just a round hole underneath, thus starting my snowballing big project. I replaced all the vents with new ones and cut each hole bigger and more rectangular. Each time I took a vent off, a big pile of blown insulation fell on me. This led to me going in the attic and attaching a 1/8” plywood panel to the rafters. Each was only 16x36, making it pretty easy to manage. Our roof had a steep pitch and not too hard to get in to the bottom. I also waited til the wintertime to do this. After all that, I blew in more insulation and all was good.
Love that the "outro" ia back to normal. Keep that going.
None of my local roofing suppliers would take the time to find this for me, so I ended up making my own. Call your local sign shop, like Westar Solutions and do it yourself. Thanks for sharing Matt R. your knowledge is priceless.
Thanks for all of your insights Matt. Keep up the great work!
I was thinking Matt, you should have a red pointer so we can see some of the details where you can't get close to..Just a thought.
I've been watching Matt for some time now. That is a great idea Joe.
Please don't do this. It always seems to be a crutch and ends up being distracting. It's also incredibly difficult to get the camera and the laser point at the same thing to where it makes sense to the viewer.
The green lasers are much brighter.
Used tyvek cut to 4 foot lengths stapled to rafters and sill plate., worked great. there aren't a lot of options out there for this issue.
One good thing to do with baffles is to extend them well beyond the height of the insulation. Take tape or foam and seal the baffles on the sides and by the top plate. No wind will effect your insulation this way. Also, building your own is a good option. Thin plywood with wood on the sides creating the vent channel is sturdy and easy to seal.
Did you watch the video? The baffles Matt installed are 4' long. On that 5/12 roof the top edge of them is more than 2-1/2' high. Waterproofed cardboard is going to last 40+ years in there.
@@dh66 yeah, I watched the video. I'm suggesting people seal it up all of the way on the sides and plates and not just tack it up to get the best results. In my area, we put almost 20 inches of blown in insulation in on standard homes. So, I prefer to keep the baffles going higher, especially in super high r value attics.
Matt, you can Create a thermal block with open or close cell insulation in your existing attic. Spray it over your existing soffits, ridge vents, backside of roof and create a thermal Barrier this way. I've done this in my house. The temperature in the attic, shocked me, how much lower it was after doing this. I left the existing Close cell blow in insulation in place. I normally agree with everything you do except for in this case. I believe you just made it harder than it needed to be.
Looking forward to seeing how you fix this. I have the same issues.
Yes, that is a smart move. The more air that can pass thur the roof space the cooler your home will be.
I ended up cutting 6’ pieces of R30, pulled the blown in insulation away from outer wall & replaced with the R30. The wind outa the west was so strong it would blow the insulation away every year until I did this fix.
Yeah exactly why not just throw down a foot or two of BATS close to where the soffits are and call it a day after leveling the blow-in? The fix he's doing involves cutting the roof off to install the baffles, seemes extreme.
Dan B you can easily push styrofoam baffles into the overhang and pack around it with fibreglass batts it you can get that far into the slope of the roof, same result without cutting the roof
I’ve also used rockwool insulation to go from top plate to the bottom of vents. Holds in place great and has a higher r value than your blown in to help with thermal transfer at top plate
This video likely showed up in my feed today because I did an online search for a vent chute that would hold up to closed cell SPF. I wish I had known about this product years ago. Here in the Chicago area we do a lot of spraying under the roof deck as you said, but in a colder climate it's more critical to maintain ventilation. I worked on a church project where we did SPF under the roof deck but the exterior wall was 8 in CMU with a 4-in brick veneer with no insulation. The heat seems to come out of the wall, hits the soffit and create ice damming anyway thanks to the heat coming out of the wall. When it's time to re-roof the church. I've advised them to install 2x4 battens on top of the roof deck and apply a new deck to create that ventilation channel. It's a gable roof that runs north to south and it's not a problem on the east side but it is on the west. A large tree also creates shade and with the on off sun exposure this probably exacerbates the issue.
It’s amazing how much we can overlook when working on houses. Who woulda thought that wind coming through the soffit vents would be enough to push insulation around?
A needed fix/procedure if an attic is having issues with blown in insulation moving. The number of vents should ideally be calculated (Soffit and/or gable venting=roof vents and/or ridge venting in air flow). Adding a vented chute to every soffit area between roof rafters may not be necessary, could be a waste of time/money, and potentially could create an unbalance attic space regarding air flow. Adding more/more efficient roof vents, adding a ridge vent (Especially while adding new roofing), and adding larger gable vents all can equalize the attic venting system if every rafter space at the soffits has a chute.
The "option" of cutting sheeting from the out side is NOT an option unless you are adding new roofing. Took me less than 3 hours laying on one 2'x6' piece of OSB to install chutes in a 24'x42' houses attic.
I am going to be redoing my roof soon. Will have to get my hands on this.
Agree, box stores dont have great solutions.
Fantastic explanation and smart retrofit install of these baffles from the roof side!
The SmartBaffle can be installed on the attic side as well, very easily. Because of the 2" air chute, it misses the nails. So once in place at a higher position in the rafter space, the baffle can be pushed down to the eave, missing all those roofing nails (use a stick with a 1/4" notch to control the push). The insulation pressure will hold them in place at the eave area. As you come up further it becomes an easier challenge to secure them to the sides. The 2" flanges can be installed up or down depending on how you want to install them. Good Luck!
Great...now I have to climb into my attic and check for wind-wash. Thanks Matt. :) Good informative video. I'm thinking of a metal roof as well but our current asphalt roof is only about 7 years old.
The sad fact is in most homes you would never see it as they are not ventilated enough for it to happen.........Kind of a catch 22, we made it better, but we made it worse, LOL
I need to figure out a way to seal the entry to the baffle above the soffit. That way air can go into the baffle, but not around it.
You rock Matt. You keep it real and inform so well.
Nice. This couldn't have come at a better time. I've got the opposite problem (the insulation has been blown into my soffit and prevents air from coming in at all) but this method is exactly the fix I want. Salesperson will be at my house tonight to bid the job and I will be asking for smartbaffle.
Would love to see a retrofit to go from vented attic to conditioned attic. Thinking about doing it for my house.
What is a conditioned attic?
Rich X attic is insulated under the roof sheathing and becomes part of the climate controlled envelope with the rest of the house. So your duct work doesn’t get cooked or frozen
@@MustardMade thanks for clarifying, now I understand 👍
Alex Paden I’ve done several. I use a big gas powered vacuum outside with 6 inch hose to suck all the insulation out. Then spray foam it back in. It’s a real PITA on a shallow roof pitch though. I’ve done them, but usually hate myself the entire time for getting myself into such a situation.
@@christophergruenwald5054 What means PITA? Didn't find it in the dictionary
Damn, as soon as I saw the soffit vents I knew you needed baffles. We had new blown insulation installed and insisted on baffles as part of the scope of work. Alas...another typical 69-70's house that needs modern mods to perform better. Better flow, control and cooling. But no one even has an idea about how important those baffles are in an older house. They made a massive difference in how cool the house stays in the summer heat. To the point we no longer use AC in the summer. At all.
I'm facing the same issues. I've just added a 3rd Lomanco turbine vent to my roof for starters. I don't have soffets like yours...mine are the traditional 'every 8'' variety, 2"x 10" screens. And yep, my blown insulation is lumpy too.
I would use Rafter Vents between each truss, then use 2 inch thick rigid foam boards to fill in the gap from top plate to rafter vents, and you can spay foam the gaps if you wish. Rafter vents are 4 foot long so you can have plenty of insulation in you attic without worrying about soffit wind blowing the insulation around or even down into the soffit area
You're an awesome dude. From Colorado. Built my house using a lot of your methods
Have you done the video on moving the ducts out of the attic into the conditioned space?
I absolutely love that you share your mistakes with us as well as your triumphs. I have a question on my home, its a
late 70s early 80s double wide with the center third of the house being a cathedral ceiling. Each other end is a conventional truss roof system with one turtle vent and two gable vents per end. The current plan is to tear off the asphalt shingles and install 4 inches of EPS foam, a radiant barrier, 1x purloins then steel. My question is at that point should I just blow the attic space above the ends full and remove the limited ventilation there is, less roof penetrations the better. Or do I need to keep the ventilation in place even though there will be R-16 and the radiant barrier above it? Bear in mind there are fiberglass bats above the ceilings already in place. We live in central KS so we get the heat and the cold, and not much in between other than the few days in spring and fall that are actually nice!
Matt maybe I need to wait for the next video, but are you planning on using external insulation? I am interested in your response to the situation described by speedbuggy16v.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get better! Looking forward to the Mitsubishi hvac videos
Great Job! I'd like an app to measure the keep a record of the air speed and temperature inside these baffles, and in every home you can do.
Matt, it will be interesting to see a comparison of power usage before and after the remodel. I wonder what R.O.I. you're expecting for the remodel costs?
i wish i saw that product when i did my roof. Thats pretty cool.
Have you ever considered the foil liner that would continue from soffit vent all the way to the roof peak?
Create a direct rent to the top to lower attic temperatures. Perforations in it still let the attic breath but sends the heat out.
I forget the name of the perforated foil. Double bubble is similar.
Funny you mention: I’m using a foil on top of my roof. Should have that video up next Friday
Funny story. I did the same thing when I remodeled my house. At the time I was not sure if I was going to replace the rafters. I had planned on fixing the inslation issue when I did my roof as well.
One of my bucket list goals for my cookie cutter house a conditioned attic space. ❤️
It would be good to discuss shingle manufacturers that warrant their material when spray insulation has been applied to the base of the sheathing. I have experience with premature spalling/ blistering of the granules on shingles and the manufacturer would not warrant because the spray foam was installed at the base of the sheathing. I understand there are two schools of thought for insulating attics, but who can afford to install a roof in unwarranted conditions? A metal roof however would be ideal. It would be good to educate your listeners on manufacturing specifications of the roofing products so they don’t lose like I have witnessed. There are shingle manufacturers that do warrant this type of installation. Some people may save money on shingles to supplement the added cost of spray insulation during a reroof project. The result could potentially lead to a non-warranted condition. This would be a great idea for another video.
I really enjoy this channel and its content. I have the same issue you have in my house. I didn’t spend the extra time and money on baffles during my last reroof. I am the guy that will attempt to install from the attic side. Wish me luck! Thanks for sharing!
Generally speaking, the SmartBaffle is strong and rigid which allows one to install the baffle at a higher location and push it down to the tight space at the eave with a small stick type device. The 2" air chute misses the roofing nails to allow for the SmartBaffle to slide very easily down the rafter chute. You can even pre-cut the SmartBaffle to make a wind blocker when the baffle hits the top plate of the wall. It will fit snug and holds back any wind draft. Good Luck!
Saw you at the airport, ABIA, last Saturday, wanted to say hello, but I didn't want to "invade" your space. Like what you do here, BTW
Matt; I don't think you made any mistakes given the time period. I'll just about bet money that corrugated baffle wasn't available 11 or so years ago. You used what was available at the time. I'm REALLY glad I watched this because I'm facing the exact same dilemma in Ohio with a late 50's, early 60's home that looks very much like yours upstairs, and I was unaware of the corrugated material. Thanks for that! I too am debating between conditioning it, or cleaning out existing, foaming every gap then reblowing (currently just bats). I'm NOT currently contemplating a roof, and not looking forward to the eves either! Would appreciate your feedback on that. My roof I'm pretty sure just by looking is a 3; even more fun at the eve.....
The SmartBaffles can be screwed together with short phillips head screws (1/2" or so) at the ends by overlapping them about an inch. So you would install each baffle at a comfortable location and begin sliding them down (after screwing them together after you slide one down). You may need a 1X3 stick to ensure they are tight to the roof deck as you slide them down the rafter chute. The SmartBaffles are strong and can handle the pushing. Note: Ensure the air flow at the eaves is open and not blocked by insulation before the baffles are installed. Also, it helps to pick a cool day to do this work! Good Luck!
Looking forward to see your new roof matt.
Thanks for the tips👍
I would think you'd spray foam the wall plate area in addition to the vent panels so you would actually improve the lack of Insulation in that area over hoping you can pack in enough blown in.
I'm surprised there's not more products out there to help with this issue I'm actually remodeling my home right now and I'm actually going to be building my own baffles made out of rigid foam because I'll be able to insulate those areas much better than any blow in and any fiberglass or rockwool Etc
it's interesting that your problem was caused by air entering the soffit area and blowing your insulation into the center of the house leaving a lack of insulation around the perimeter of your home. The more common scenario is insulation from the attic building up into the soffit area and plugging air from entering resulting in a lack of ventilation, causing moisture build up and mold. A similar ventilation panel is used here in Canada and is a must to get the air in above the insulation when the insulation blanket is 25 inches deep or more to achieve a minimum "R Value" of 50. Your lucky and wise to make this upgrade at the time of a new roof. I've installed many hundreds of ventilation panels from inside the attic where there is no head room at the eaves and does involve a liberal amount of swearing.
Especially at the person your parents paid to put the baffles in before he replaced the shingles and sprayed the insulation . . . You have to do it in the winter, because the summer temperature in the attic will likely kill you. Joy of joys.
Another option is to vacuum all the blown-in insulation out of the attic and replace it with fiberglass batt insulation. It's labor-intensive, nasty work, but short of a hurricane, the insulation will stay put.
I feel like the curtain has just been lifted on the Wizard of Oz. Builds these million dollar energy efficient homes with conditioned attics, but lives in 1970 home with vented attic. Mind blown.
😬
The really flimsy plastic pieces are actually rafter vents not baffles. These look like they could also be used as rafter vents. However when you use them just to channel the air up a few feet to slow down the air its called a baffle. Generally with ridge vent systems they vent all the way up the rafter to the ridge at least around where I live. Which isn't as effective for air flow since air only really flows when there's a large temperature difference. Of course with a roof that's no issue. But if you're going to do that you would want to insulate below and actually condition the rest of the attic since there would be no other airflow.
I especially enjoy your vids like this with tips/ideas and latest tech for retrofitting. I would love to build one of these new fancy super insulated homes, but alas like probably a lot of folks watching, can't afford it. So these vids are super helpful on things I can do to improve my old 60's ranch. Cheers and thanks!
I'm surprised you didn't mention you were going to vacuum out your soffit vents, since eventually that insulation in the soffits will plug up the holes leading to no ventilation.
Matt- thanks for highlighting this solution and product-I can fully endorse this as a truly cost effective durable solution - i even retrofitted from the inside with a pretty low slope-not fun but definitely doable for the DIY. DCI has a number of other interesting roofing vent related products tho this is arguably their home run product IMO.
Man, I just discovered that my house have only an 1 inch of attic insulation. So your problem doesn't look that bad :)
A possible misstep.
2:41 shows the vertical wall coming up. (tyvek,drainscreen,wood) If you placed the baffle over the wall top and tacked thru the tyvek face. (forefinger location) It would stop any venturi effect air movement from the top plates and in the walls.
Nice product, I have the horrible cheap baffles myself.
Can't wait to see how to get the ducts out of the attic!! Next episode?
I don't think that is what he meant. I think he means the attic will be (more) insulated so the ducts are in conditioned space.
@@wallykramer7566 It will be interesting to see what happens either way. He said "bring the ductwork down into conditioned space..." and I wonder if they've got some kind of mechanical chase planned or some new tech, or what you're saying about lifting the insulation up above the ceiling joists.
I’m working on that Daniel! Likely bring them down to conditioned space w a mix of Hvac equipment
Thank you. I dont even have vents in every bay of my attic so not sure what to do.maybe every 4th bay has holes.
Excellent! Great information
Check out the high velocity low pressure HVAC system. Uses 2" thinwall PVC duct/vent system.
I would not use PVC as duct for heating, there is no good study but PVC can off-gas when heated
How do you prevent the screw fasteners from backing out of the metal roof? Or is it just part of the general maintenance to climb up on your metal roof to tighten fasteners every few years?
They may not be long enough, you shouldn't have to do that but maybe every ten years and that would only be because the washer might dryrot
Maybe I’m missing something but if you added spray foam to the top of the baffles wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of venting the attic because it would block airflow from the soffit to the top air vents? Also, wouldn’t you need a full ridge vent?
Yeah it would have to be completely sealed. Not a good idea on a house not built for that
How hard would it be to condition that attic? Block the ridge an soffit spray foam right ?
I'm going to make my own ones for cheaper, pretty much same material, corex fire retardant sheet, normally used to protect floors during work being carried out, then use 25mm tanalised roofing batts to connect them on to the rafters, then sealed with fire mastic. Should allow good air flow from my new soffit vents wothout washing the mineral wool as well as being a safe material incase by any super slim chance embers make it into the roof. It might be over design but many baffles are under designed and as matt said flimsy, so this is a good cost effective means of getting a similar result as matt without any ma jot upheaval. Good video.
Those vents are standard. They direct the air closer up to the roof vents. Looks like they "protect' the insulation. Try MATS of insulation at the edges,
It’s interesting to think that the wind pressure through those small holes in the soffit would be enough to create wind wash to move the insulation. I personally believe that there could be another explanation that some how the pressure difference in areas in the attic space caused by the wind could move the insulation. If you look at large sheets of plastic lying on the ground when the wind blows over them they move in a wave like effect just live ocean waves.
How about radiant barrier for the top of the roof instead of pink insulation ?
the material is called coroplast, same stuff used on those yard signs. its $10 for a 4x8' sheet at any plastic distributor.
If I don’t spray foam the attic I’ll install cardboard vent chutes and seal them with spray foam to the top plate and 2 ft up so the insulation is better at the top plate and you don’t get any wind washing ever.
Matt, you might want to check out attic vent, they are plastic and are great baffles for a retrofit job like this.
Matt Risinger you've come a long way since this 4 year old video. Is this still what you'd recommend for an old house that needs a new roof and has terrible old windblown insulation just like yours did? I live in the PNW across the river from Portland, OR in an old 1969 drafty house and want to do it right. Thanks Matt and keep up the good work educating everyone. Wish we had a Matt Risinger approved contractors in our area guaranteed to use Matt's latest discoveries in best practices. Appreciate you.
You just use chunks of Batts and push them to the outside wall plate right under the chutes. I retro fitted attics for 5 years, it's the way to do it.
Matt....If only all contractors were like you. I'm surprised you have that much air flow at the soffit. I had the same Hardy board installed at our old house with a ridge vent roof. I found it reduced the airflow by at least 50% so I had to cut in screened louvered vents (roofing section at Lowes approx 8"x12"). The attic finally cooled to allow the heat transfer from within the house and the AC to finally work.
I did the "same thing" with r max styrofoam 4x8 sheets to keep the heat from baking down on the insulation and filled the gaps at the bottom to "seal it off" at the bottom then blew in 2 feet of blown in on top. No ductwork in the attic. Have Samsung minisplits. Less than $100.00 electric bill in the GA summer, for the win. It'll pay for itself in 2 years...
I just built with a roof that has shingles on tar paper on OSB...
on 4 inches of rigid foam (2 layers of 2 inch boards)
on more tar paper on more OSB that has been flashed on the bottom
with R-30 + R15 Rockwool sandwiched under that before getting to sheetrock on the ceiling.
It's over R60 all told. And it's all because of watching these videos.
And have I told you about my 4 ton Mitsubishi multi-split system ?!?!?
C'mon Matt - if you are going to stick with unconditioned attic, you need to put down some spectacular insulation and do something to improve the ductwork too. Just saying.
Have been thinking along similar lines but using Foamular or similar sheets to fasten directly to the roof joists. That way im addition to creating the vent pathway, I'd be adding some insulation as well. Although that's probably more of a hassle in a truss roof like yours.
Looking forward to how you handle the duct work!
Thank you for sharing Matt. I have a similar issue and was looking to do what you have done on some other projects, either foam board or the rock wool on top the deck. The con is that it will raise the roof profile and give it a "heavy" appearance. I'm guessing that is why you didn't go with that choice. Is there any other reason I shouldn't switch my insulation to the top side of the deck that I am missing? Please give me a comment back, I value your opinion and don't want to make a choice that I will regret. Keep the videos coming, enjoy your articles in JLC also!