Attic Insulation Case Studies: Remediation & Insulation in Ann Arbor, MI
Challenge
The homeowner explained that when he had purchased the home mold was found in the attic and that it was caused by a lack of ventilation and the bath fans were venting into the attic because they were not properly connected to the roof cans that were previously installed. The homeowner also stated that droppings were found on the insulation which were a combination of mouse droppings and bat droppings. The attic contained high humidity and mold growth was present on the roof sheathing and trusses in the attic. The attic insulation was contaminated with urine and droppings from previous pests that had been inside the attic. The problem was caused by high humidity in the attic caused by two reasons: The first was a lack of ventilation coming from the soffits as the were completely blocked with insulation, and the second being caused by humid air being vented into the attic through the bath fan vents because they were not connected to the roof cans properly. The homeowner chose to have the problem fixed because they had just bought the home and would like it to be their forever home. They wanted to make sure that the home was healthy for their family's health and that the home would be more energy efficient to save on heating and cooling costs. The homeowner's biggest concern with the problem was that his attic was full of mold and all of the family members bedrooms are upstairs and he was worried for their health breathing that in.
Solution
The homeowner chose our company because he liked our presentation process and could see how the accomplished list that we create would solve all of the issues he had within the attic and that it would also benefit his desire to save more money on his bills. He was amazed by the before and after photos of other projects we had done in the past. Our solution was to remediate the mold in the attic by cleaning the attic sheathing and the trusses and removing the contaminated insulation. With the insulation removed we were then able to vacuum the attic floor from all of the droppings, disinfect the attic and air seal all of the gaps on the attic floor (top plate, bond plate, wire and pipe penetrations ect.). We installed baffles into all of the soffits to make sure they were breathing properly. Can light cover were installed over all eight of the recessed fixtures. A metal chimney was inside of the attic so we installed metal flashing around the base and sealed that with a fire caulk and then wrapped the metal chimney with a rockwool wrap for fire safety. We installed metal couplers on the two roof cans and reconnected the bathroom fan ducts and then used foam to air seal them to make sure humid air would not backflow back into the attic. We installed foam board insulation on the attic hatch cover and air sealed the hatch with weather stripping. Lastly we installed cellulose insulation on the attic floor to an R60 value. Some of the challenges that we faced during the installation process were the heat in the attic, removal of both fiberglass batt insulation and blown in fiberglass insulation, and getting the insulation hose into the house provided challenging as the location of the hatch was not easily within reach. We used MoldX2 products, SilverGlo, Weather stripping, fire caulk, Rockwool Chimney Sleeve, ZypFoam, Titeshell Recessed light fixture covers and TruSoft Cellulose. The homeowner now has a healthy, clean attic and a more comfortable energy efficient home that is saving him money on his heating and cooling bills as well.
