Vivian Ayako Mudavuda

DIY Green Building Project for a Sustainable Home Meta Description: Have you been looking for ways to make your home greener? Try this DIY building project. No matter how simple the projects are, they will make your home a little eco-friendly. I included a fast and simple project. Take your tools and spend a weekend creating a sustainable home with this DIY building project, which includes step-by-step instructions for building an insulated box for attic stairs. The Insulated Box for the Attic Stairs Did you know that a poorly insulated attic can be a major source of heat loss in the winter? Building an insulated cover box for your attic stairs makes your attic much more airtight. Here are the steps to build an insulated cover box for your attic stairs. Before you start, ensure to; Are you comfortable designing and building your attic stairs cover box? Measure the opening to determine the materials you need to do the job yourself and the required size of the kit or pre-built cover box. Do your research on commercially available options, with requirements in mind to purchase a pre-built box or a kit. What You Need 1. The rigid foam board 2. The faced blanket insulation 3. House wrap that you will use to cover the blanket insulation 4. Construction adhesive, nails or screws 5. The tape measure 6. Saw for rigid foam and utility knife for blanket 7. Silicone and caulk gun for sealing small gaps, more likely a ¼ inch or smaller 8. The spray foam insulation for filling significant gaps, ¼ inch to 3 inches. 9. The plywood to serve as an insulation dam. The step-by-step instructions 1. Measure the inside and outside dimensions and the height requirements of your attic stairs. 2. Adjust the dimensions to accommodate your opening and the thickness of the foam board. This one is for a 9-inch-high cover box you make with a ½-inch foam board designed to fit an opening with outside framing dimensions of 53- ½ inches by 24 ¾ inches. 3. Now, construct the cover box. You cut the rigid foam and assemble it into a box using adhesive, tape, nails, and screws. Adjust the measurement as needed to accommodate the measurement of your opening. 4. Finally, attach the blanket insulation and wrap it. Take the blanket insulation to the attic side of the cover box with adhesive and then wrap it with building wrap to prevent air movement in the insulation from degrading its R-value. Put the box squarely on top of the attic stairs frame to support it. The latches help to ensure a tight seal. Most importantly, for you to optimize savings and comfort, make sure your attic stairs cover box is > Durable enough to withstand repeated openings and closings > Has an R-value similar to the rest of the attic insulation > Provide an air seal. Also, in many homes, poorly insulated attic access stairs provide an opportunity to improve comfort and save energy and money. Follow the steps above to build your insulated cover box, air seal and insulate the attic stairs opening, and then insulate the entire structure.