u/Bikelikeadad

My home was built in 1998 and has a large attic, and was custom framed so the joists are thicker (not home right now to go measure, but I think 2x10), but unfortunately the insulation was all installed after the ceiling and just pushed down between joists. They are faced batts, but I worry that not being stapled in could limit the effectiveness of the insulation. Anybody on here find a solution for situations like this? Attic is unfinished and there is no easy place to put stairs, so I don’t know that it ever will be finished.

I figure there’s a few options, but the ideal of a continuous barrier right on the ceiling side wouldn’t be practical on a finished ceiling. The cheapest thing would be to flip them all over and staple them on top of the joists, but not sure it would give enough benefit for the effort. I’ve never priced it out but I think I might be talking myself into a closed cell foam spray in job.

I have a propane fueled central heat furnace, a tankless hot water heater, and a gas range, and as the title says I used 2639 gallons of propane in roughly the past 12 months, although they’ll probably fill it up again before the year breaks. 3 people who shower, normal amount of cooking, cold water cycles on the washing machine, but my wife does like to crank the heat up to 74 when I’m not looking. We live in VA but in a colder area of the state, but this just seems excessive.

The house is 1876 sq ft plus another 1000sq feet or so of climate controlled space in the basement, house was built in 1998 and doesn’t have any glaring problems other than the attic insulation doesn’t have an effective seal for the vapor barrier. We’ve been in the house for 11 years and it seems like the gas cost has gone up faster than the rate increases. Everything is original to the home and I don’t smell any gas leaks, so I’m just trying to figure out where my usage increase is coming from. Any ideas?

Attic insulation vapor barrier ineffective

2639 gallons of propane since last July