13. Cantilevered Floors. These should be insulated at the floor R-value requirements.
14. Attic Openings. The attic opening should be insulated with insulated covers or a piece of batt insulation at the same R-value as the attic requirements and secured in place.
15. Attic Cards. A completed attic card may be placed near the attic opening when blown insulation is installed.
16. Attic Rulers. When blown insulation is used, it is good practice to install attic rulers, one for every 300 square feet of attic area. The installed thickness of blown insulation should not be less than the minimum settled thickness on the attic card.
17. Eave Baffles. Baffles should be installed on eaves with vents.
18. Knee Walls. Knee walls should be insulated at wall Rvalue requirements. Insulation should be supported with an appropriately fire-rated backing on the exterior side.
19. Air Infiltration. All insulation requires proper air sealing or the installation of a rated air barrier. All air paths should be sealed using caulk, tape, air barriers or other air sealing measures. (For more guidance on air infiltration refer to the ICC Air Barrier and Insulation Inspection Component Criteria on page 18.)
20. Wet-Installed Insulation. Any insulation installed with water should be thoroughly dried before covering with gypsum board. Humid climates may require longer drying times.
21. Combustible Sources. Keep all insulation at least 3 inches away from combustible sources such as chimneys, non-IC fixtures, and heated flue pipes.
22. Unheated Rooms. The walls, ceilings, and floors between living space and unheated areas should be insulated.
23. Shower/Tub Enclosures. Insulation should be installed between tub enclosures and outside walls.
24. Exposed Facings. Unfaced or special faced insulation products, such as FSK-25 insulation, are acceptable for exposed applications. In an exposed application, it is not acceptable to place a flame spread rated facing, such as foil cap sheet, over a non-rated facing, such as kraft paper or standard foil.
25. Wet Insulation - Incidental wetting during installation is not usually a problem. Fiber glass batt insulation wetted with clean water can usually be dried and reused. All saturated loose-fill insulation should be replaced.
"25 Checkpoints for Inspecting Insulation Jobs"is intended to provide useful guidance on how to improve the quality of the installation of insulation products. Use of this guide does not ensure or guarantee compliance with building codes, acceptance by building inspectors, or compliance with any other type of governmental or building requirements.Use of these guidelines does not guarantee you any specific level of energy savings or dollar savings.Use of this guidance does not guarantee that mistakes have not been made in the installation process.NAIMA encourages consultation with individual manufacturer's guidance on proper installation of their specific products.
Exterior thermal envelope contains a continuous air barrier
Exterior thermal insulation is installed in substantial contact and continuous alignment with building envelope air barrier.
Breaks or joints in the air barrier are filled or repaired.
Air permeable insulation is not used as a sealing material.
Air barrier in any dropped ceiling / soffit is substantially aligned with insulation and any gaps are sealed.
Attic access (except unvented attic), knee wall door, or drop down stair is sealed.
Corners and headers are insulated.
Junction of foundation and sill plate is sealed.
Space between window/door jambs and framing is sealed.
Rim joists are insulated and include an air barrier.
Insulation is installed to maintain permanent contact with underside of subfloor decking.
Air barrier is installed at any exposed edge of insulation.
Insulation is permanently attached to walls.
Exposed earth in unvented crawlspaces is covered with class I vapor retarder with overlapping joints taped.
Duct shafts, utility penetrations, knee walls, and flue shafts opening to exterior or unconditioned space are sealed.
Batts in narrow cavities are cut to fit, or narrow cavities are filled by spayed/blown insulation.
Air sealing is provided between the garage and conditioned spaces.
Recessed light fixtures are airtight, IC rated, and sealed to drywall.
Exception--fixtures in conditioned space.
Insulation is placed between outside and pipes.
Batt insulation is cut to fit around wiring and plumbing, or sprayed/blown insulation extends behind piping and wiring.
Showers and tubs on exterior walls have insulation and an air barrier separating them from the exterior wall.
Air barrier extends behind boxes or an air sealed type boxes are installed.
Air barrier is installed in common wall between dwelling units.
HVAC register boots that penetrate building envelope are sealed to subfloor or drywall.
These checkpoints are intended to provide useful guidance on how to improve the quality of the installation of insulation products.They do not ensure or guarantee compliance with building codes, acceptance by building inspectors, or compliance with any other type of governmental or building requirements.Use of these guidelines does not guarantee you any specific level of energy savings or dollar savings.Use of this guidance does not guarantee that mistakes have not been made in the installation process.NAIMA encourages consultation with individual manufacturer's guidance on proper installation of their specific products.