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Insulation for Bonus Room

Posted on 8/18/20 at 3:51 pm
Posted by MaxDraft
Baton Rouge
Member since Aug 2019
574 posts
Posted on 8/18/20 at 3:51 pm
I'm currently finishing out the 500 sqft bonus room above my garage. I'm doing as much of the work myself that I can (except for plumbing, hvac, elec, and sheetrock), but I'm not completely sure about how to go about the insulation.

I built the house with radiant OSB for the roof sheathing and the bonus room has a 5' knee wall surrounding its perimeter that slopes up to 9' ceilings at the top. There is some attic space above the 9' ceiling, but it will be inaccessible once the room is completed. The room sits on 16" i-joists with 1 1/4" subflooring. In between the joists there is some relatively thick (about 5") unfaced insulation that runs the length of the joists.

My current plan to insulate the space is the following:

1. Install faced R-13 around the knee wall with either tyvek house wrap or rigid foam board behind it to effectively seal out any air leakage from the attic space.
2. Install R-13 along the sloped roof portion, up to the flat ceiling. The rafters are 2x6 with 1.5" furring strips attached to their faces. Using the 3.5" R-13 inside the rafters will leave about 3.5" of unobstructed space for air flow.
3. Install R-38 in the ceiling joists of the room.
4. I'm unsure if I should leave the unfaced batting underneath the floor joists or just seal the open ends of each joist with rigid foam board, or even rolled up batting in a plastic bag. Some of the diagrams I've read online imply that there shouldn't be any insulation under the flooring and that you should completely block off the ends of each joist.

I've attached pics of the room as-is for reference. Any insight from others who've built out bonus rooms? I will be installing a 18k BTU Mitsubishi mini-split in the room for ac/heating.

Posted by LSUtigerME
Walker, LA
Member since Oct 2012
3955 posts
Posted on 8/18/20 at 6:12 pm to
quote:

1. Install faced R-13 around the knee wall with either tyvek house wrap or rigid foam board behind it to effectively seal out any air leakage from the attic space.

I’m not sure Tyvek house wrap is an air sealant. It’s just a vapor barrier, so it allows air to pass through and won’t seal.

I have Faced R13 in the knee walls and no wrap/sealant.

quote:

2. Install R-13 along the sloped roof portion, up to the flat ceiling. The rafters are 2x6 with 1.5" furring strips attached to their faces. Using the 3.5" R-13 inside the rafters will leave about 3.5" of unobstructed space for air flow.


Why do you want airflow along the rafters?

I used Faced R19 on this portion, taking up the entire space.

quote:

3. Install R-38 in the ceiling joists of the room.


Agreed. I did the same.

quote:

4. I'm unsure if I should leave the unfaced batting underneath the floor joists or just seal the open ends of each joist with rigid foam board, or even rolled up batting in a plastic bag. Some of the diagrams I've read online imply that there shouldn't be any insulation under the flooring and that you should completely block off the ends of each joist.


I had spray foam in the walls of my house, and that included my bonus room subfloor. So mine is foamed attached the actual subfloor, with no baffles to stop air circulation under the floor.

If you are doing batts, you will want the baffles installed to prevent air circulation under your floor as this will rob a ton of thermal energy.

My bonus room is around 700-800 sqft and I have a 2T Mitsubishi Mini Split and it works great.
Posted by MaxDraft
Baton Rouge
Member since Aug 2019
574 posts
Posted on 8/18/20 at 6:53 pm to
quote:


Why do you want airflow along the rafters?


Because I think code requires a minimum of 1" air space between insulation and roof sheathing. I'm honestly not worried about the code per se, mainly just want an efficient climate controlled room.

Thanks for the input. That is all very helpful.
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