What’s the biggest hole in your ceiling? For lots of homeowners, the biggest hole in their ceiling is the pulldown folding attic ladder.
That hole is almost as large as the hole where your front or back door are located in your house!
It’s certainly as big as the average window. And we can spend $500 to $1000 (or more) to replace one energy efficient window unit.
So, why don’t we consider sealing and insulating that huge hole in our ceiling where the pulldown ladder is located? It’s a big source of contaminants in your indoor air. And it’s the place where bugs and high humidity trespass into your living space.
After all, if your attic is vented, the environment inside your attic space is hostile! There is no way under heaven that you’d tolerate day-to-day living if you were placed in a room or area with those conditions!
Your Attic is an Inferno!
Afternoon summer temperatures in a vented Atlanta attic hang out in the 140 degree range, all the way till 9 and 10 pm!We install insulated “exterior rated” doors to our basement steps, yet ignore the big hole in our ceiling that gives access to the attic! Yet, with a vented attic, the environment is far more hostile than any unfinished basement.
Handmade vs. Manufactured Attic Stair Tents
Twenty years ago, when I started Bird Family Insulation, we built our own insulated boxes to sit over the attic stairs. There were no retail, mass produced products available to seal and insulate that big hole!
Heck in 1998, when I re-insulated my first attic, the internet was still an infant and plenty of companies still didn’t have a website! The internet was used primarily for research, not so much for commerce.
In the early years of business, I used 1” thick foam board, cut into panels to fit the huge hole in the ceiling of my clients home. I reinforced my corners using 1×1 wood. It was big, bulky, and easily added an hour onto my job, when I was already exhausted. (Remember, my helpers were my two oldest children Abbey, 14 and Beau, 10).
A few short years later, I discovered the sewn, zippered “tents”. WOW! There are many different brands of these now – and the price reflects the quality.
Choose your Brand of Attic Stair Insulation Wisely!
Buy a cheaper priced attic stair zippered cover, and you will discover that the zipper-seams will ultimately let you down. The zipper pulls apart from the material.
Think of these products like soft-sided luggage. Except, the material has insulation stitched inside of it!
I’ve tried the cheaper ones, and I’ve bought some from a local guy in Atlanta who was sewing these in his basement. But like I said, the zipper-seam ultimately gives out.
For the last 8 or so years, I’ve stuck with only one brand, and to my knowledge it has never let my clients down. They come in several different sizes, and are military grade tough-as-nails!
Attic Tent: Military Grade
The brand I am referring to is Attic Tent. I buy all of my material from Rod McKenzie at Green Building Resources, and the Attic Tent is the only attic stair “tent” that he will stock.
All of my services carry a one-year warranty. No questions asked, we will return to your home as often as you request. Generally, even the cheaper priced attic stair insulation products will last at least a year. So why do I bother with installing the more expensive Attic Tent brand?
We want our clients to win! Our decisions are always built on the foundation of the client winning. Winning is our business culture! We know we win only as a result of you winning and benefiting from having employed Bird Family Insulation for your attic re-insulation and comfort upgrades! So, we only install the Attic Tent brand.
Is your attic stair unit old, tired, and sagging a bit? Those springs get tired and little-by-little relax and cause that small gap to form. You need the Attic Tent!
Go to their website and buy yourself the Attic Tent. To install it, you will need a staple gun loaded with at least 5/16” staples. Grab a can of Great Stuff expanding foam too.
After you’ve installed your Attic Tent, use the Great Stuff to seal the gaps where the Tent is stapled into the frame. Let the foam dry for at least 4 hours, or it will make a mess on your skin and clothes!
We charge $295 to install the Attic Stair Tent. However, I’m thinking about including it (bundling) in our attic services, and not list it as an accessory, because it’s so dang important!
Bob goes on a little “rant”, about the Attic Tent!
Would you buy a new set of tires, and not balance them?
I’d don’t get a haircut without having my neck shaved.
When you wash the car, do you wipe the door jambs?
Would you change the oil in your vehicle, and not the oil filter?
Why would you invest $3200* for me to upgrade your attic insulation, and not seal and insulate that huge hole in your ceiling?
Honda Motorcycles, Mud & Dirt, and being a Kid in Forest Park Prove my Point!
Some homeowners are like that. I get it. As a kid, I had Honda motorcycles. (We called them “dirt bikes” back then.) Bill lived in my neighborhood and he had one too. We’d ride the trails in the woods after school and on the weekends, and there was a whole gang of us youths in Forest Park who’d ride and “race” each other. We’d jump creek banks, jump see-saws, see who could ride the longest wheelie and cut donuts the longest, and all kinds of jumping. Like kids on skateboards nowadays!
On Sunday afternoons, we’d meet at Bills or my house, and wash our dirt bikes. They were filthy! I’ll never forget Bill… he’d never wash his wheels and tires. He’d wash his entire motorcycle, and ignore the wheels and tires. I loved washing my wheels, they were so shiny and chrome plated… cleaning every spoke until they gleamed.
Bill’s excuse for not washing his wheels was, ”Bobby, they’re going to get dirty again!”
So, I get it. There are people that don’t find it important to “finish the job” the way I believe it should be done.
But that big hole in your ceiling, where that pulldown attic ladder is located… you gotta put an Attic Tent on that! Order it today! Their website is their name, Attictent.com.
Thanks for reading!
May you see and experience God at work all around you today.
Bob Bird, Bird Family Insulation
*$3200 is the 2020 average for our Attic Bump-up Service.
