Using Lvl In Attic

The previous homeowner may have simply covered the joists with plywood to use the space for storage.

Using lvl in attic. A bedroom dressing area and master bathroom. To give the bathroom a spa like feel luxe features were added like a soaker tub a frameless shower enclosure a new toilet complete with heated seat and led lights marble and glass mosaic tiles and a crystal chandelier. It needs to be unfaced. You can add loose fill on top of fiberglass batts or blankets and vice versa.

It is comparable in strength to solid timber concrete and steel and is manufactured by bonding together rotary peeled or sliced thin wood veneers under heat and pressure. If you use fiberglass over loose fill make sure the fiberglass batt has no paper or foil backing. The higher the r value the better the thermal performance of the insulation. Laminated veneer lumber lvl is manufactured through a heat and pressure process that produces wood beams that are much stronger for their size than ordinary wood.

When adding additional insulation you do not have to use the same type of insulation that currently exists in your attic. And you may also qualify for a tax credit on the blown in attic insulation cost check with the irs or at energystar gov. Laminated veneer lumber lvl is a high strength engineered wood product used primarily for structural applications. Not all space reconfigurations require structural beams but in this case a structural support made with lvl beams was the most efficient choice.

It will span an opening of 20 feet. The long term payoff of insulating an attic is impressive too. The table below shows what levels of insulation are cost effective for different climates and locations in the home. We opted to use a 1 thick by 11 7 8 tall member of an lvl beam and secured four of them together using engineered screws.

You could see your energy bills go down by as much as 15 to 25 percent depending on your climate and existing levels of insulation. I am installing an lvl beam in my attic. In attics built purely for storage purposes you may find 2x6 ceiling joists or in some cases. The lvl is 22 feet long and 18 inches deep.

While this is not the optimal setup it is acceptable to have ceiling joists covered with plywood or osb to use for light attic storage of dead loads. Is there anything else important you think the structural. Insulation level are specified by r value.