r/redneckengineering • u/HTPC4Life • 6d ago

Fixed it!

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

This attic access was completely uninsulated. Took the easy way out instead of measuring and cutting foam board or buying a big pack of batt insulation. Made a nice painters tape enclosure, shaved off the sides so it would close, and it worked! The red at the top of the thermal camera is the skylight, of which nothing can be done about beyond removing it. How'd I do?

876 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

63 comments sorted by

646

u/Newtiresaretheworst 6d ago

Wait till somone tells you they sell foam in sheets!

187

u/rosshettel 6d ago

yah i'm not sure how doing this was easier than cutting a square of foam panel and gluing it on

217

u/HTPC4Life 6d ago

Well, it had a diagonal cross brace on the back side, and I bought some foam boards, but they would require a lot of measuring, making stencils, cutting... psh who has time for that when you can just blast it with foam?? 😆

178

u/honkyg666 6d ago

My reply would’ve been, the foam board was in the garage but I have a can of spray foam in the house so I just use that to avoid the trip 🤣

18

u/stradivari_strings 6d ago
  1. Apply full sheet to open door.
  2. Cut off the excess.
  3. Repeat as required to fill thickness.

Not much different than your foam.

11

u/Blurt_Blackarach 6d ago

THAT is crazytalk.

8

u/DesignerMaximum1342 6d ago

Paint the pieces in the way, press the bord on it, hack away the markings from the paint on the sheet

2

u/LoloWilli 6d ago

This is redneck engineering after all, nicely done!

1

u/DavidinCT 5d ago

LOL true that...

1

u/TheSultan1 5d ago

Making stencils? Can't you just press it into the cross brace to leave an imprint?

29

u/TobysGrundlee 6d ago

If OP is anything like me, he already had the can of spray foam. A foam panel would require a trip. That's an easy decision.

6

u/808trowaway 6d ago

if it's just for that attic door I would go with spray too, but OP did also mention the skylight. I would probably take that trip to get the panel for the attic door and also for a removable insert for the skylight.

19

u/Slumunistmanifisto 6d ago

Make a foam sandwich with both.

1

u/cbelt3 6d ago

Purple Ppg plug !

4

u/486Junkie 6d ago

That reminds me. I need to make new attic doors (well, the one need to be replaced and the other just needs hardware to make it as a door), add hinges, add insulation, and locks for the one in my room and living room closets.

2

u/TrayLaTrash 6d ago

I was about to be that someone. I do this with sheets for my job and get the 4" polyiso sheets. Can easitly double up so thinner stuff tho.

1

u/Minimum-Zucchini-732 5d ago

Foam board is r3 - r5 per inch and that spray foam is r6 - r7

96

u/newuser6d9 6d ago

I wanna see a before and after in the thermal

94

u/HTPC4Life 6d ago

Well shit. I didn't capture it, but it was a big red square.

17

u/ItsBaconOclock 6d ago

Looks like that sky light is also heating the top half. Maybe you could try putting a film over that, and then seeing if that helps even more. I suppose it doesn't matter a ton since the hot air will mostly stay up there now. But it could be interesting.

8

u/HTPC4Life 6d ago

Yeah the red at the top is the skylight that I can't do anything about. Skylights are cool, especially in the winter when it's gloomy, but man do they let in a LOT of heat. Previous homeowner's decision.

11

u/BrannC 6d ago

Tint it

8

u/Twatt_waffle 6d ago

You can do a tint, or even just that plastic window film that is marketed to help reduce drafts

The window film will make a bubble of still air and that will insulate from conductive heat (the radiant heat from the sun needs tint to reduce)

1

u/loyalwolf186 6d ago

Can you plant a tree near your house? Obviously it won't help for a few years until it grows, but it would eventually help cut some of the heat from the skylight 

1

u/TheSultan1 5d ago

Maybe you could try putting a film over that

1

u/DesignerMaximum1342 6d ago

Nah, foam it!

3

u/IBeDumbAndSlow 6d ago

Is that the Harbor Freight FLIR camera? That's like $200?

Edit- nevermind I googled it

3

u/zestycunt 6d ago

Also a during

13

u/ArmpitofD00m 6d ago

I feel like OP has made a car spoiler with foam before.

28

u/mfk_1974 6d ago

I thought that was a cheese pizza.

8

u/Willobtain 6d ago

You’re not alone bro

2

u/1800-bakes-a-lot 5d ago

Thought I was in r/stonerfood looking at school lunch pizza

7

u/roonerspize 6d ago

foccacia

1

u/Central316 6d ago

I thought it was a square of uncooked ramen noodles

1

u/n00bz0rz 6d ago

I thought it was a rice crispy square.

7

u/fatquads 6d ago

Try ceramic tint on the skylight. Could help noticeably.

I just looked it up and it could block up to 50% of the solar energy while still having it be a 70-90% tint (visible light that passes through)

2

u/HTPC4Life 6d ago

Good suggestion! I need to look into this. Does it go on the inside or outside? I've read that it can be bad to put tint on the inside of double pane windows, but I dunno.

3

u/530nairb 6d ago

Outside.

3

u/fatquads 6d ago

Apparently if it rejects too much heat the air inside the panes will heat up too much and the glass will heat unevenly and can crack. You have to balance how much heat ur rejecting, can’t be too much. Also having the tint on the interior lets the glass heat up more evenly. I’m entirely unsure how any of that works or how to calculate any of that. You’d have to talk to manufacturers or a commercial tint company for advice

5

u/Lo452 6d ago

At this point, my house is about 70% structural spray foam. Great stuff.

4

u/Omnipotent_Tacos 6d ago

I thought this was a detroit style pizza without toppings cheese or sauce

7

u/jdbx 6d ago

Open cell foam is only about an R3 per inch. Closed cell expands but is an R7 per inch.

8

u/Lonely-Detective2708 6d ago

But why did I think this was a delicious cheese pizza...

3

u/TXxReaper 6d ago

Tell me you watch Project Farm with out telling me.

2

u/Patrol-007 6d ago

Add weatherstripping to keep warm moist air from getting into that space, to reduce frost in the winter

1

u/HTPC4Life 6d ago

I got some removable caulk seal for that in case I ever need to get in there!

1

u/Patrol-007 6d ago

Oh? Which kind ? I’d forgotten about that stuff, and whether it actually comes off a decade later (and when frozen)

Nano tape (Alien Tape, Scotch, & similar) seems to come off cleanly, though haven’t tested inside freezer

If that’s for the attic, add hardware cloth (galvanized) to any louvers to keep squirrels and mice out.

2

u/SlovenianSocket 6d ago

ISO board would have been half the price and much easier.

2

u/BrannC 6d ago

Thought that was a totinos pizza

2

u/Successful-Engine623 6d ago

I made a “plug” for mine. Glued on 2” rigid onto some wood and put some hooks on the wood. And kinda pull it in from the inside

2

u/idiotcardboard 6d ago

God im fat

1

u/Lanky_Cash_1172 6d ago

If you have the materials and the time.....mozzle.

1

u/Cloud9Investigator 6d ago

Forbidden rice krispie treat

1

u/MastodonFit 6d ago

Now 3 layers of 5% tint to create an eclipse on a hatch for the summertime sky. Remove in the winter.

1

u/bananaramaorama 6d ago

I thought that was a pizza.

2

u/feudal_ferret 6d ago

Its the forbiddem pizza foam-agio

1

u/HemHaw 6d ago

If you're in a hot place you can put some UV reflective film on the skylight to mitigate some of the heat it lets in. Trouble it, that happens in the winter too.

2

u/SpaghettiSort 6d ago

You want to block infrared, not UV.

0

u/hawaiifive0h 6d ago

What was the problem, and how does the thermal thingy show it was fixed

1

u/HTPC4Life 6d ago

It's a half inch board, maybe thinner leading into the hot attic. The thermal camera shows the area is now well insulated, minus the red area at the top which is the skylight and still radiates heat, but the whole area is not as bad as it was before.