Sometimes we get called in to fix up insulation issues even on a new home or install. In this project, Ken was called in to assess what was going on with a cold room with a cathedral ceiling.
This home had been fixed in the last year through an insurance claim, but this winter, the ice dams built up again and caused more leaking and damage! The homeowner switched to Eco Insulation for the fix. A quick inspection with one of our thermal imaging cameras showed that the batt had been very poorly installed – reducing the R-value to 0 – in fact one of the cavities was completely empty.
Batt in a cathedral ceiling – like any wall cavity – must be cut to size and installed to fill the full cavity with no gaps or compressions. The batt should sit toward the inside of the wall, leaving a gap between batt and roof deck to avoid water issues. Venting will prevent issues from moisture and wind that can ruin the quality and thus thermal value.
In this instance, the batt had been carelessly installed from the outset. Have a look at the images below to see where the cold is. (purple shows cold)
