Forum
Insulation between top floor and flat roof- efficient + green possible?
11:51 AM 02/26/2013
Bay Ridge, NY
Any suggestions for efficient and effective but non-toxic and reasonably priced insulation for the area between a brownstone's top floor and the flat roof? I've been researching it and it seems there was some dialogue about cotton batt (recycled denim) a number of years ago, and then there is the question whether wet or dry cellulose is appropriate under a flat roof both in terms of risk of mold and losing its insulating properties if wet cellulose doesn't dry properly before being sealed up, or if dry cellulose gets wet (if that is right) not to mention that it seems cellulose is much pricier than fiberglass insulation. I'd be interested to know what others have done.
-
vote
Prospect Lefferts Gardens, NY
I had cellulose blown into my cock loft [the term for the space between a row house's top floor and the flat roof] about 35 years ago. I don't think moisture is a big problem because it's NOT sealed up. Standard practice is to install a couple of mushroom vents to vent the space, something that's needed with any roof insulation not installed over a vapor barrier.
I've never inspected the space for mold but, FWIW, I was able to check whether the fire-proofing was still effective a few years ago. A handful of insulation came out when I had a vent fan installed in my top floor bathroom and I tested it by trying to ignite a pile of the material with a match; it self-extinguished after a couple of seconds, just as it's supposed to. The fire-proofing chemical [boric acid?] is probably not all thet green, but I wouldn't want flamable material blown into my house.12:30 PM 02/26/2013 | 0 Votes
- + comment
- permalink
-
Comments (1)
-
Prospect Lefferts Gardens, NY
BTW VERY small amounts of the insulating material occasionally filter down through top floor door casings, so I'd caution against an irritating material like loose fiber glass.
12:32 PM 02/26/2013
-
vote
Park Slope, NY
I had my cockloft insulated a few weeks ago. Didn't need vents since it's not an airtight space. The material used is chopped-up newsprint I think. Some companies insist on vents which I thought unnecessary. I used Brooklyn Insulation & can't recommend them highly enough. They were terrific - fast, tidy & reasonably priced.
1:07 PM 02/26/2013 | 0 Votes
-
vote
Brooklyn, NY
Comments (3)
-
Carroll Gardens, NY
It's easy enough to take the space from the cockloft to increase ceiling heights, but there are there are two main things to consider. First is the fact that the cockloft almost always narrows from the front to the back, so you may not end up with any additional ceiling height in the rear. The other thing to consider is that cocklofts act as a sort of thermal buffer and ventilation space. It's less of a problem now due to bettter roofing products, but if you insulate your interior ceilings in the traditional manner and remove the ventilation that the cockloft provided, you will shorten the life span of your roofing. There are a few ways around this, the most common one is to re-roof using ISO board on top the the roof sheathing, under the roofing material itself.
9:59 AM 02/27/2013
-
Brooklyn, NY
Yes - http://www.collins.net.pr/Phot... York/135 Henry St, Brooklyn/photo.htm :)
7:03 PM 02/27/2013
-
Brooklyn, NY
hmmm the URL got truncated, try this instead - http://bit.ly/15jFdZU
7:05 PM 02/27/2013
-
-
vote
Bay Ridge, NY
Comments (2)
-
Do you mind sharing the name of the company and/or the price?
11:21 PM 06/04/2013
-
Bay Ridge, NY
We will use jc home care based on Long Island. I ended up using cotton insulation in batt form before they closed the ceiling in two rooms for double the price of fiberglass batts and less than cellulose. We will see how things go with heat this summer and probably do cellulose later
9:21 AM 06/05/2013
-
-
vote
Hauppauge , NY
Answer
