Seal Between Attic Floor Boards

Joist dimensions are only part of the equation.

Seal between attic floor boards.

What size plywood for an attic floor. Another exacerbating condition is water damage. If you ever need to cover them with finished flooring you can always nail down another subflooring before installing tile or hardwood. Find a diagram of common air leaks here here s a quick primer on fixing draft prone spots.

Gaps in the attic or between the lower floors and the attic will let heated or cooled air escape to the great unconditioned outdoors making any insulation you add essentially useless. In this video this old house contractor tom silva explains how to fill gaps in a wide plank wood floor. We are not stopping the proper air exchange in the attic we are only stopping the exchange between the house and the attic. You don t want lots of different floor heights or walking in the attic will be difficult.

The decision regarding the thickness of plywood to use for the subfloor in the attic has a lot to do with how you intend to use the attic and it also. 2 vacuum floor clean of all dust and debris. The problem is magnified when the boards were not tightly laid in the first place. In the past year i ve been on an energy hog hunt in my house and landed on air sealing my attic before adding blown insulation.

If your attic joists won t bear the weight necessary to finish out a living space but the engineer cleared them to support floor decking for light storage you can install inch plywood or. Another good reason for caulking is to save money on heating. Attic joists for live loads. I was a bit shocked at the 1 500 2 500 contractor estimates for attic sealing.

With older tongue and groove hardwood or even wide plank floors gaps inevitably develop between the boards mostly because the wood shrinks over time as it dries out and loses moisture content. Seal the attic access. You also need to ensure that the joist spacing is adequate. How to caulk between floor boards.

Apply self adhesive foam weatherstrip tape to the top edge of the stop. Caulking between floor boards is a common practice used to help prevent ants from invading a home. Use old boards that are close to the same thickness in a given section of the attic however. Cut 1 3 boards to fit the perimeter of the opening and nail them on with 6d finish nails.

Weatherstrip the attic access hatch or door. Attic joists that are made from 2x8s may be acceptable for building your attic floor but because every room is variable there are no absolutes. The number one prep step.