Insulating And Weather Stripping The Attic Hatch

How to insulate and air seal an attic access hatch.

Insulating and weather stripping the attic hatch.

Cut four pieces of polystyrene rigid insulation about 1 2 inch smaller than the dimensions of the hatch. Pray that the installer used finish nails and not say ring shank nails. Attach the pieces of foam board to themselves and then attach them to the hatch. My apologies for the lack of photos but you can surely imagine how it works glue layers of insulation to hatch.

Apply a bead of glue to it and attach it to the plywood hatch. Sealing the attic hatch or door finish up by sealing the access hatch with self sticking weather stripping. Access doors from conditioned spaces to unconditioned spaces e g attics and crawl spaces shall be weather stripped and insulated to a level equivalent to the insulation on the surrounding surfaces. First install foam weather stripping on the inside of the trim or directly onto the hatch.

Cut two pieces of foam board that are about 1 4 smaller than the hatch. Wash rinse and repeat until you have added at least 4 of foam board but preferably 8 of foam. Carefully pull down the finish trim. To insulate an attic hatch you need weather stripping rigid foam board and fiberglass batt insulation.

Insulate the hatch remove your existing attic hatch and measure its size. To guarantee a good seal i paired sash locks with a gasket of foam weather stripping around the frame of the attic hatch. Once you have the appropriate materials you can start the process of sealing and insulating the attic hatch. Install the weather stripping onto the hatch or on the inside of the trim.

Foil faced polyiso is the greenest and best performing of the foam options. Air seal the trim the first step is air sealing the finish trim and enclosure around the attic hatch. Cut out two pieces of rigid foam board that are 1 4 inch smaller than the hatch so homeowners can slide the attic access panel open easily. The insulation will both slow heat loss and add ballast to the hatch to improve the seal at the weatherstripping.

The stops provide a wider surface for attaching the weatherstrip and a space to mount hook and eye fasteners. Access shall be provided to all equipment which prevents damaging or compressing the insulation.