Loft is wall insulation after energy audit help
Good afternoon,
Our new to us ranch house has a loft where the two long walls can be accessed from the first floor attic space. Located in eastern Nebraska, we are in the moist section of climate zone 5?
Our first spring in the house built in 2010, the loft is experiencing heat soak where temperatures can be over 10-15 degrees difference compared to the first floor on an 80+ degree day. Weather has been nice and only run the a/c on two days.
One audit recommendation is to remove the loft wall insulation with plastic barrier as it is creating a vapor sandwich against the faced fiberglass insulation stapled to the wall.
As we start to address recommendations from the report, I want to tackle these walls first by sealing gaps from outlets, drywall seams and the floor plate.
The walls are 2x4 construction. Should we keep or replace the paper faced insulation with rigid board, foil faced foam board, or other to increase r value and maybe address some heat soak?
Pictures from the garage access side. Appreciate all the guidance!