Attic Baffles Requirements
Fasten top portion of baffle in place to allow for a minimum 1 inch space between baffle and roof deck.
Attic baffles requirements. That airflow is intended to churn the stale air in. The main function of an attic baffle is to draw the air in from outside your home and allowing it to circulate around your attic. This can cause all sorts of problems from mold to decay. Bob using the formula above you would need 8 8 square feet or 1 267 square inches of vent space in your attic.
Ah the bad are easily spotted as we labeled them. For loose fill read labels. You can situate the baffles where the circulation is mainly required. During the summer soffit and gable vents draw.
For that reason you should check your baffles yearly for damage replacing any damaged baffles as you find them. Baffles are a critical component to our attic insulation process that provides multiple benefits to a difficult construction aspect. Ventilation openings having a least dimension larger than 1 4 inch 6 4 mm shall be provided with corrosion resistant wire cloth screening hardware cloth perforated vinyl or similar material with openings having a least dimension of 1 16 inch 1 6 mm minimum and 1 4 inch 6 4 mm maximum. How important is using baffles in attic insulation.
Rafter vents or insulation baffles install in any rafter space. Measure your attic s square footage. A first off a fiberglass plug is basically worthless and does not meet the air sealing requirements in the 2009 iecc. Each bag lists the required depths for a range of r values and the number of bags needed to cover 1 000 square feet at those depths.
When you have insulation without ventilation though humidity and moisture can build up. Basic functions of baffles baffles are chutes that when installed properly can provide a channel for air to flow from your exterior soffit vents up into your attic space. The second major issue is the large gap between the baffle ridge and the insulation. Attic ventilation works on the principle that heated air naturally rises primarily utilizing two types of vents.
Proper air circulation in the attic is all about preventing moisture buildup. Since each 4 diameter hole would have an area of 12 56 square inches 3 14 x r you would divide 1 267 by 12 56 to come up with 101 vents. An attic needs to be insulated to keep your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer. For batts or rolls calculate the number based on the width and length of the product you re using.
Surprisingly even the most well insulated attic space may still require the assistance of attic baffles to provide the additional air circulation. Ben ericksondecember 27 2007 at 4 52 pm.