How To Look At A House
McGarry and Madsen's home inspection blog for buyers of
site-built, mobile/manufactured and modular homes
Why is the attic painted silver?
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
There are two likely reasons for attic roof sheathing that is painted silver. If the paint is a dull silver color, there was a fire in the attic or in the house below and the paint is used to seal the smoke particles to the wood. Silver paint is also sometimes used as a radiant barrier, to reflect solar heat that penetrates the roofing back out of the attic, and that type of silver paint would be somewhat reflective. You would also see some glitter flecks in the surface. The photo above is an example of silver paint sprayed onto the under side of the roof sheathing and top chords of roof trusses as a radiant barrier.
Another way to have a radiant barrier in the attic is to install foil-backed roof sheathing plywood, like in the photo below.
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Here’s links to a collection of our blog posts about ATTICS:
• What are the mistakes to avoid when doing attic improvements?
• What are the hazards to avoid when going into an attic?
• What are the building code requirements for installing an appliance (furnace, air handler, water heater) in the attic?
• How do I safely remove a dead rodent (rat, mouse or squirrel) from the attic?
• What are the common problems with attic insulation?
• Why is there no attic access hatch in the house?
• How do I safely clean up rodent (rat, mouse or squirrel) urine or droppings the attic?
• Why is there no attic access hatch in the house?
• Is an attic required to have a light by the building code?
• What is the building code requirement for an attic access hatch, scuttle, or door?
• Why is vermiculite attic insulation a problem for both buyers and sellers of a home?
• What are the code requirements for NM-cable (nonmetallic-sheathed cable or Romex®) in an attic?
• What are the warning signs of a dangerous attic pull-down ladder?
• How much of a roof truss can I cut out to make a storage platform in the attic?
• When was a fire separation in the attic first required between sides of a duplex?
Visit our ROOF AND ATTIC and INSULATION pages for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles
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