Making an Upstairs More Comfortable Year Round in North Suffield, CT

This customer called us when their home did not score well on a home energy audit.  Upon inspection, Fogarty's Home Services found their kneewalls were under-insulated and not properly air sealed. 

A kneewall space is created when a finished room is built within a sloped roof. A short wall called a “kneewall” forms a triangular space which may or may not be accessible with a short door or access panel. The floor of the kneewall space forms the ceiling of the room below it. The floor and kneewall itself are open to the kneewall space side with exposed fiberglass batts. Since fiberglass does not stop air flow, the insulation does next to nothing to air seal and insulate. The floor of the upper level, the ceiling of the lower level and the kneewall are all cold in winter and hot (from radiant roof heat) in the summer. The kneewall space is not suitable for storage since it is dusty and very cold or hot.

Fogarty's Home Services installed Blocks of SilverGlo™ foam insulation between the ceiling joist bays.  Silver-Glo™ foam insulation is installed under the rafters up to the kneewall and sealed at the top with foam sealant. SilverGlo™ increases the R-value by 24% compared to regular EPS foam. SilverGlo™ also has a radiant barrier on both sides to reflect roof heat out in the summer and house heat back in during the winter. The addition of this radiant barrier gives some thermal benefit so the insulation isn’t left alone to do all the work. After installation, inside air can’t get out of the house through the kneewall spaces and outside air can’t get in. 

The Results, significantly warmer upstairs room in the winter, cooler room upstairs in the hot weather, less drafts, more comfort, less dust. A kneewall space suit-able for clean storage. Lower fuel and electric bills.