Seal Between Attic Floor Boards

What size plywood for an attic floor.

Seal between attic floor boards. Joist dimensions are only part of the equation. The problem is magnified when the boards were not tightly laid in the first place. Gaps in the attic or between the lower floors and the attic will let heated or cooled air escape to the great unconditioned outdoors making any insulation you add essentially useless. Seal the attic access.

Caulking between floor boards is a common practice used to help prevent ants from invading a home. I was a bit shocked at the 1 500 2 500 contractor estimates for attic sealing. In this video this old house contractor tom silva explains how to fill gaps in a wide plank wood floor. Another good reason for caulking is to save money on heating.

Weatherstrip the attic access hatch or door. How to caulk between floor boards. You don t want lots of different floor heights or walking in the attic will be difficult. You also need to ensure that the joist spacing is adequate.

Use old boards that are close to the same thickness in a given section of the attic however. The decision regarding the thickness of plywood to use for the subfloor in the attic has a lot to do with how you intend to use the attic and it also. We are not stopping the proper air exchange in the attic we are only stopping the exchange between the house and the attic. 1 scrape debris from between flooring planks with putty knife or painter s tool.

3 if desired tint rope with wood stain to match floor. Attic joists that are made from 2x8s may be acceptable for building your attic floor but because every room is variable there are no absolutes. The number one prep step. Cut 1 3 boards to fit the perimeter of the opening and nail them on with 6d finish nails.

Find a diagram of common air leaks here here s a quick primer on fixing draft prone spots. 2 vacuum floor clean of all dust and debris. Attic joists for live loads. In the past year i ve been on an energy hog hunt in my house and landed on air sealing my attic before adding blown insulation.

With older tongue and groove hardwood or even wide plank floors gaps inevitably develop between the boards mostly because the wood shrinks over time as it dries out and loses moisture content. If you ever need to cover them with finished flooring you can always nail down another subflooring before installing tile or hardwood. If your attic joists won t bear the weight necessary to finish out a living space but the engineer cleared them to support floor decking for light storage you can install inch plywood or.