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Insulation against the roof?

gtrotter

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Jan 16, 2012
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225
Location
southern Indiana
Is it okay to have fiberglass batt insulation against the underside of my roof? Do I need a small air barrier separating the two? I am redoing a small room on the back of my house. It is an enclosed porch that is maybe 10 or 12 years old. Walls wre insulated, but the roof not so much. It does have soffit vents and I am planning out putting up old style barn tin on the ceiling. Vapor barrier I assume, or not needed with a metal ceiling?
Here is a reference photo to show what I am dealing with:
 

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99LeCouch

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Apr 18, 2011
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Rochester, NY
Yes, you need some sort of venting. Otherwise those soffit vents are useless. They make baffles that attach to the roof decking to provide the needed ventilation.

Look up how to insulate/ventilate a cathedral ceiling. That's what this sounds it will end up being.
 

rsanter

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Dec 22, 2007
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Location
visalia ca
You only need air ventilation if you are treating that area like an attic or non conditioned space.
You can do spray foam on the bottom of the roof and then enclose the space. Then the room becomes part of the conditioned space of the house

Bob
 
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DC73

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Dec 27, 2014
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Lubbock TX
You can't put fiberglass insulation directly in contact with the bottom of the roof UNLESS there is adequate foam insulation on the top of the roof which it sounds like there is not.

The problem is that moisture in the air will move through the fiberglass and condense on the under side of the roof when it is cold. Putting a vapor barrier under the roof first doesn't change anything as it will then be the surface the water vapor condenses on. Putting a vapor barrier on the outside of the fiberglass is not advised because you then create a situation where moisture could be trapped between the vapor barrier and the shingles, leading to rot, mold, etc.

You could use closed cell spray foam on the bottom of the roof as it will insulate the roof deck from below keeping it warm enough that it will no longer be the condensing surface. Water vapor won't move much through closed cell foam anyway. Closed cell foam can be expensive so you could do what they call "flash & batt", which is to spray a layer of closed cell foam sufficient to stop water vapor from condensing on the bottom of the roof deck and then you can finish with fiberglass, mineral wool or other batt insulation.

Some people recommend a vent channel from the soffit to the roof peak before insulating.

Recommend you research insulating cathedral ceilings and unvented attics on BuildingScience.com and GreenBuildingAdvisor.com. There should be a chart on one or both of those sites that tells you how thick foam insulation needs to be either above the roof or below the roof to avoid the condensation issue. The amount is different for different climates.

DC
 
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