Projetos magnificos (DIY): Help me clean and insulate my rodent damaged attic (x-post), Over the years rats and other pests have made my attic their home. The R19 fiberglass insulation that is currently up there is eaten away in areas, moved aside in others, and just downright nasty. There are rodent droppings everywhere and even some carcasses. Its time to clean up my attic before the Southern California heat sets in. If you want to jump ahead and see the pictures click here: ift.tt/1eysW76 I need your help to develop a game plan. This weekend Im having a contractor friend of mine send two of his guys out to clean out my attic. From reading online and especially on reddit Ive decided that this part is not something I want to screw around with. He isnt well versed in attic clean ups so he is willing to take my lead on this. Please tell me how my plan looks and where I can fix it. Step 1: As of now I am planning on having them spray everything down with a bleach mixture and then remove all of the insulation in black trash bags. They will be exiting my house through a hallway that will be tarped off from floor to ceiling so no debris gets anywhere else in my house. Step 2: They will pick up all stray rat droppings with Clorox disposable wipes so as not to aerosolize any virus that may be lying dormant in them. Step 3: They will seal up any exterior intrusion points with 1/4 or smaller hardware cloth that will be screwed into place with drywall screws and washers to keep it from moving. Im afraid that staples will be too easy for larger animals to push out of the way. Step 4: I will go up in the newly clean attic and clean up any electrical issues and tidy up the CAT6 wiring I ran last year. Step 5: I will go around with a few cans of Great Stuff expanding foam and seal up all of the can lights, top plates, and wire holes that penetrate from the attic to the living space. Step 6: I will replace all of the flex ducting runs in my attic as theyre 30 years old and all have some sort of deterioration or damage. Step 7: I will dam up the heater flue vents with rigid foam board and high heat caulk. Step 8: I will install a gable fan to try and control the heat in my attic. It can get up to 115°F outside during the summer. Step 9: I will replace the insulation with R30 Knauf Ecobatt fiberglass insulation: ecobatt.us/ Step 10: I will put weatherstripping on my attic access door and back it with rigid foam insulation as well as stapling R30 on top of that. I have a few concerns about my plan: For step 1 is it okay to spray everything down with the bleach mixture? The CDC says to do so because of the viruses that can be present in rodent droppings, but Im worried about the electrical up there. Is it okay to get the junction boxes, romex, etc. damp? For step 5 should I use just regular Great Stuff everywhere, or use the fireblock formula for the places where wires go through into the wall cavities? For step 6 how do I rework the branch part of my flex duct where it goes off to two different directions? Also should I hang the ducting from the ceiling or continue to lay it on the floor of the attic? For step 7 is it okay to put rigid foam insulation against flue vents, or should I use something else? For step 9 I think I might layer R11 unfaced rolls on top of the R30, is that worth the price? If I do so do I have to roll it out perpendicular to the joists, or can I just roll it on top of the batts between the joists? I think that just about does it. Thanks for hanging in there and reading all of this. I really appreciate any input I can get. Again here are the pictures: ift.tt/1eysW76 submitted by angrytaxman[link] [1 comment] (ift.tt/1eyLxzL) via Reddit DIY
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 07:27:47 +0000
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