How do I figure out how much more insulation I need to hit R-60?

Oct 18, 2026 Last reply: 2 days ago 3 Replies
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EmberNic59

The varying depths you measured are totally normal, by the way. Old blown-in settles unevenly, and whoever did the original job probaly just eyeballed it too. Don't stress about the 5 vs 9 inch difference, but do take a bunch more measurements and average them out, because that…

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Finally getting around to topping up my attic and I want to do it right this time. Problem is I have no clue how deep the stuff currently is. The joists are buried, so I can't just eyeball against them. I poked a tape measure down through the fluff in a few spots and got wildly different numbers, like 5 inches in one corner and closer to 9 near the middle. My plan was to air seal everythign first, then rent a machine and blow in enought to bring the whole thing up to R-60. But how do I actually know when I've hit that? Do I just do the math from the coverage chart on the bags, or is there some trick to measuring the finished depth once it's all fluffed up? Also wondering if I shoud rake the existing stuff around a bit first. It's pretty uneven, piled thick in some spots and skinny in others, and I'd rather not pay to insulate on top of a lumpy mess if flattening it out first makes more sense. Anybody else been in this spot?


The varying depths you measured are totally normal, by the way. Old blown-in settles unevenly, and whoever did the original job probaly just eyeballed it too. Don't stress about the 5 vs 9 inch difference, but do take a bunch more measurements and average them out, because that average is your starting point for the math.

On the raking question, yes, spread the thick spots out before you blow anything. I used a garden leaf rake and it worked fine, the old stuff pulls around easier than you'd think. For hitting your depth, what saved me was cutting a few scrap 1x scraps marked with lines every inch and poking them down at random spots as I went. Blown insulation fluffs up more than the bag math suggests, so trust the ruler over the coverage chart. Also blow perpendicular to the joists at the end to knock down the ridges.

Air sealing is the part people rush and it's honestly more work than the blowing. When I did mine I spent a whole Saturday crawling around with cans of foam and caulk sealing every wire hole and the tops of the interior walls. Stuffed the big chase openings with cardboard first, foam over that. Also make sure you keep an eye out for old knob and tube wiring if the house is older, burying that hot in insulation is a real problem. One more thing, throw a couple rafter baffles in at the soffit ends before you blow. Way easier to staple them in while you can still see the edges than trying to fish around after the attic is deep in fluff.

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