Anyone have a radiant barrier instealled in their attic?

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charrison

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
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1
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I am thinking of putting in radiant barrier foil in my attic and was wondering if anyone has had this done and what their results were.
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
21,215
5,757
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Don't know how well it works in the attic, but we used it on an entire house (under the roof & siding) and it worked very well. Forget about using a cell phone in the house though.
 

charrison

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
17,033
1
81
Originally posted by: Greenman
Don't know how well it works in the attic, but we used it on an entire house (under the roof & siding) and it worked very well. Forget about using a cell phone in the house though.

Under the roof is in the attic and that is where it is supposed to go.

What did it do for AC usage and attic temp?
 

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
0
Originally posted by: charrison
Originally posted by: Greenman
Don't know how well it works in the attic, but we used it on an entire house (under the roof & siding) and it worked very well. Forget about using a cell phone in the house though.

Under the roof is in the attic and that is where it is supposed to go.

What did it do for AC usage and attic temp?

And how much does it mess up cell phone reception?
 

charrison

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
17,033
1
81
Originally posted by: Bateluer
Originally posted by: charrison
Originally posted by: Greenman
Don't know how well it works in the attic, but we used it on an entire house (under the roof & siding) and it worked very well. Forget about using a cell phone in the house though.

Under the roof is in the attic and that is where it is supposed to go.

What did it do for AC usage and attic temp?

And how much does it mess up cell phone reception?

From what i have read, very little if at all as only a portion of the house gets wrapped in foil.
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
64,700
13,046
146
One of my neighbors was going to have something like "Eagle Shield" installed last summer. It was not cheap...about $3500 for a 1700 sq. ft. house.

The company kept screwing around, delaying the job, tried to jack the price up by over $1000 after they had signed a contract. (they claimed the salesman has made a major error in his calculations)
He finally told them to cancel the contract since they couldn't do the job when they promised...and rescheduled twice, PLUS the attempted increase in cost.
He had a whole house fan installed instead.
I talked to one of the reps from our electric utility at some kind of "fair" on campus last summer. He said the product my neighbor was considering was ok, but it'd take him 15+ years to break even.
 

charrison

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
17,033
1
81
Originally posted by: BoomerD
One of my neighbors was going to have something like "Eagle Shield" installed last summer. It was not cheap...about $3500 for a 1700 sq. ft. house.

The company kept screwing around, delaying the job, tried to jack the price up by over $1000 after they had signed a contract. (they claimed the salesman has made a major error in his calculations)
He finally told them to cancel the contract since they couldn't do the job when they promised...and rescheduled twice, PLUS the attempted increase in cost.
He had a whole house fan installed instead.
I talked to one of the reps from our electric utility at some kind of "fair" on campus last summer. He said the product my neighbor was considering was ok, but it'd take him 15+ years to break even.

The materials only cost a few hundred, so it is an inexpensive diy job.
 

Ronstang

Lifer
Jul 8, 2000
12,493
18
81
Originally posted by: charrison
Originally posted by: BoomerD
One of my neighbors was going to have something like "Eagle Shield" installed last summer. It was not cheap...about $3500 for a 1700 sq. ft. house.

The company kept screwing around, delaying the job, tried to jack the price up by over $1000 after they had signed a contract. (they claimed the salesman has made a major error in his calculations)
He finally told them to cancel the contract since they couldn't do the job when they promised...and rescheduled twice, PLUS the attempted increase in cost.
He had a whole house fan installed instead.
I talked to one of the reps from our electric utility at some kind of "fair" on campus last summer. He said the product my neighbor was considering was ok, but it'd take him 15+ years to break even.

The materials only cost a few hundred, so it is an inexpensive diy job.

Yes it is a pretty cheap DIY job. I have a good friend who is a contractor that does attics. She says if you really want great results they you can paint the underside of the roof with the radiant barrier. They you staple this bubble wrap type stuff that is foil backed across the rafters. She claims that the bubble wrap is R12 by itself. Then you need to blow in more insulation. All of this stuff can be done by the home handyman if he can acquire the materials. I am doing my house in the fall. It is too hot up there now to work.
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
21,215
5,757
136
Originally posted by: charrison
Originally posted by: Greenman
Don't know how well it works in the attic, but we used it on an entire house (under the roof & siding) and it worked very well. Forget about using a cell phone in the house though.

Under the roof is in the attic and that is where it is supposed to go.

What did it do for AC usage and attic temp?

The material was placed between the plywood deck and the roofing, so it was under the roof and not in the attic. We also wrapped the exterior between the plywood and siding. There was no cell phone reception what so ever in the house.
 
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