Attic Insulation Case Studies: High Humid Attic in Howell, MI
Challenge
The homeowner explained that he had his roof shingles replaced and some of the sheathing needed to be replaced as well. During the roofing project the roofing company noticed discoloration/mold on the underside of the sheathing inside the attic. The symptoms of the problem were high humidity inside the attic, roofing nails had condensation on the tips, Mold growth was present all throughout the attic. The problem was caused by lack of ventilation in the attic. The exhaust ventilation was lacking causing high temperatures and high humidity in the attic to cause condensation on the roof deck. The homeowner chose to have the problem fixed because they just spent a lot of money on a new roof and they wanted to make sure that the money they spent towards the roof was spent wisely and correcting all the problems that caused the original roof to expire quicker than it should have. The homeowners biggest concern with the problem was the health aspect. They were very concerned with the mold in their home causing health issues with the family.
Solution
The homeowner chose our company because we were referred to them by the roofing company who replaced their roof and corrected the ventilation issues, who also lives in their neighborhood. Our solution was to remove all of the insulation from the attic floor, HEPA vacuum all of the sheathing and trusses inside the attic, treat the sheathing and trusses with a mold/mildew stain remover and an anti-microbial spray. We would then air seal all of the attic floor penetrations, install baffles into all of the soffit vents. Cover the recessed can lights with rockwool covers, replace a section of 7" duct for the HVAC Supply duct in the attic that had been crushed. Air seal and insulate the hatch cover and then insulate the attic floor with Cellulose insulation to an R60 R-Value. The only challenge we faced during the installation process was that the stain remover did not remove all of the stains on the first treatment so the following day a second treatment had to be applied. We used multiple products in order to achieve our solution. We used MoldX2 products, 4' x 22" and 6' x 22" DuroVent Baffling, 7" Master Flow insulated flex duct, weather-stripping, ZypFoam, Adhesive, 4" SilverGlo, 2" SilverGlo, TiteShell recessed light fixture covers and TruSoft Cellulose. The homeowner now has a healthy, clean attic that is free of mold. The attic floor has also been insulated to an energy star rated R60 R-Value.
