How To Insulate And Air Seal Pull Down Attic Stairs

Products designed to seal or insulate attic stairs.

How to insulate and air seal pull down attic stairs.

If you have pull down attic stairs or an attic door these should be sealed in a similar manner. The draft cap attic stair insulator. If your hatch rests directly on the moldings like ours did add 2 1 2 in wide stops around the. The problem is they re not very well insulated and you can really be losing a lot of heat if you don t have the.

A pulldown stairs is a real convenient way to get from your house to the attic. Create a box using the foam board. Weatherstrip the edges and put a piece of rigid foam board insulation on the back of the door. Insulate add insulation to the exterior of the plywood box.

At least 4 of foil faced polyisocyanurate should be glued to the box though 6 or 8 isn t uncommon. Apply a bead of caulk around the entire inner edge to help seal it entirely. Cut two strips of 1 2 inch wide self adhesive rubber weatherstrip the length of the longest sides of the frame with scissors. Make sure the box fits squarely over the access.

Cut a piece of foam the size of the exterior dimensions of the box for the lid. Then finish up by sealing the access hatch with self sticking foam weatherstrip photos 10 and 11. Once you have the materials you can follow these steps to seal the attic pull down stairs. Use caulk to air seal between the frame and opening.

Attach foam tape weather stripping to the top edge of the box to form a tighter seal. If the gap is less than 1 2. Affix the fiberglass insulation to the top of the box. Since with attic insulation we gun for a pretty high standard at least r 49 the coffin insulation should match.

Several companies sell prefacbricated foam or fabric enclosures or tents designed to reduce air leaks and heat loss at attic stairs. The battic door attic stairs cover. Tape the lid to the top of the box along one of the long edges with foil tape. When you re done sealing your attic bypasses push the insulation back into place with an old broom handle or stick as you back out of the attic.

Pull down the door and extend the stairs down to the floor. Cut a piece of fiberglass or rigid foam board insulation the same size as the attic hatch and nail or glue it to the back of the hatch. Clean the floor around the attic stairs so the tape will adhere well.