Thank you for your response! I'll try to answer your question below define poorly installed batts. We have gaps between bats AND some sections where batts don't lie flat on the attic floor. Builder's insulation subcontractor originally tried taking the 9inch thick batts and slicing them in thirds (like slicing bread) to make three 3 inch batts that he thought I would accepts as the correct insulation! These were laid between joists. When I caught onto the subterfuge, he claimed that he hadn't been aware of the cheating but would make sure the insulation was done over properly. Instead, he allowed them to just drape 9 inch batts perpendicularly across the joists over the top of the 3 inch thick slices. Because it was very difficult for me to get up into the attic (attic ladder hadn't yet been installed), I trusted builder to make sure it was done over correctly. It wasn't and it is a MAJOR mess. To the extent that we are able to reach the batts, we intend to pick them up and reposition them correctly or just take them out. But there are areas behind the heaters that the only way to reach is by crawling over the heaters so we were hoping we could just blow insulation into those areas without first repositioning (or taking out) the batts. Guess not. do you have service platforms around the units? there should be a 3' walkway to and around units for service. The units both lay beside a platform so it is easy enough to get to one side but there is no walkway "around" them. check & see if batts were installed under unit platforms and walkways...water heaters too if they are in the attic. there are batts between the joists that the units sit on. Whether the batts extend the entire distance under the units were only put in place at the very edges to make it look like underneath the units was insulated, I honestly don't know. Will have to pull a couple out to check. Thanks for suggestion. understand that under heating system you'll only have R-30, which is code here in La. how about in Tx? at max we put R-38. We're outside of a code restricted area but under our contract the builder was supposed to have built to meet code requirements of the nearest major metro area which, at that time was R-30 in the attic. New recommendations for this area are R-50. I'm not sure what the nearest metro code now requires. I don't know what value you plan to insulate to... what is your goal? and what is the purpose of the added insulation? We would like to get as close to R-50 as possible even if some parts of the roof are only insulated to R-30 or lower. Seems like it is good to insulate as much of the attic as possible to R-50 to reduce heat transfer between attic and living areas. I find it is usually air leakage into the house that people try to solve by adding insulation. it never works unless the new insulation both insulates and air seals. (foam ins) with propane you'd have to add combustion air if you foamed the roofline. many insulation companies don't understand how to do this...nor to hvac companies. air sealing is easier with batts than with any other insulation. move the batt...do the air sealing... put the batt back. Not sure I totally understand you here. Our attic is not sealed. We have ridgeline vents and soffit vents. So far I haven't seen any signs of inadequate ventilation in the attic and I know that we need to leave space for air to circulate between soffit vents and ridge vent. We intend to be sure to leave the baffles in place and not block either end. As for air infiltration into the house, the house is pretty tightly sealed. We fired the builder before the interior walls were insulated or sheetrocked and I personally went around with cans of spray foam filling in every crack where I could see light coming thru the exterior shell. All the gaps around exterior electrical plugs, etc. Then we hired a different insulation sub to install the wall batts and I checked every piece of it before sheetrocking started. So, the house is tight. do you have recessed lights? IC or ICAT? the IC lights are a big leakage to living space. We do have recessed lights. They are ICAT. (I've checked). were ducts mastic sealed? or just duct/foil tape? returns in attic mastic sealed? I don't know. What should I look for to find out? And if just duct/foil tape sealed, what is the proper way to fix it and is this a job a homeowner can do or will we need to hire pros? I'm assuming this should probably be done before blowing in additional insulation so one is not having to tromp over and thru the blown in insulation to reach the ducts to work on them.

Question is how to find all the leaks. Incense stick around doors & windows, DH has already sealed pipe and sire penetrations in basement with Good Stuff. HVAC people taped duct seams and wrapped them (with foil tape). I did notice today standing on the counter that modular company sealed seams in range hood install with plain old duct tape, plus I can feel air coming down onto cooktop. Not sure how to fix that. Shouldn't there be a flapper on the vent so it only opens when fan is on? We can seal penetrations (vent stacks) in attic with Good Stuff - only other penetration is ductwork coming through chase but I think that's pretty tight. Bathroom fans have firecaulk around them and are under the insulated plywood floor in attic. Have radon pipe running basement to attic (for future use) but it's within exterior wall, should have been glued at joints when house was set I can't get at it now. Walk up attic with solid pine door into computer room - walls are insulated, door is pretty tight to carpet but I can install sweep (don't notice draft). The auditor is actually supposed to do caulking - I can check again. If they do more than just give list of recommendations it could be worth $75. How about my idea of caulking the back of casing just before installing it? I don't want to caulk around outside of stained woodwork. Or will the low-expanding foam do just as well? What do do b/t floors? I'm not sure about air infiltration, I guess I can check if leaks around my recessed lights in kitchen. I know there's no insulation b/t floors. But what to do about anything now???

If you add foam tape to the wood-stop that the door rubs against as it closes, you will tear it off. There is weather stripping specifically made to properly weather strip a sectional garage door. In more northern climates, you could buy it a HD or similar store. Down where you are, they may not carry it as a regular shelf item. Your local garage door company would have it. It comes with a steel retainer with a vinyl finn, or is available in a Polly/Vinyl that we prefer because it's easier to work with. It can be cut to proper length with an electric mitre saw and it can be finite adjusted with a sharp knife. Install it with color co-ordinated aluminum nails. If you drop into a door company, they usually have doors on display in the showroom and you could see how the weather stripping is installed, and pick their brains on any little installation tricks. Properly installed, you will be happy with the results.

mnzinnia, I'm a bit baffled at Marvin making a window smaller than what you needed for your opening. Marvin has always been really good at making windows to the specs we require. The only time they can't meet these needs is when we push the over-sized units. Otherwise they've always come within a fraction of an inch of what we need. In your case the person that measured told you the "vertical style", or the proper term being the "Center Mullion or MULL", would be spread to fit. This is a very common practice in the industry used everywhere. We call it a "Spread Mull" when we order a product needing a special sizing. We use it when ordering custom sized doors with side-lights all the time. If your windows didn't come with the spread mull done properly your installer should have sent them back to be done to the right size. We would have never installed these windows if they were to small unless the customer gave us the go ahead to downsize the opening. One thing I've seen lately are the outstate contractors still do things the old school way. Their continuing education on the changes in our installation practices always seems to be light years behind. One thing the installer has to be aware of is the new building codes from 2006 have specifically stated that the manufacturers installation instructions for windows and doors become code. This means every installer must know and understand the application instructions of each product they install or they will void the manufacturers warranty. In your case there's no problem because Marvin's insructions only state that "If You Desire" you can use a low-expansion foam sealant around their window next to the nailing fin. In todays practice we are using a low-expansion foam all the time during our installations. We have also been using the stuff in fiberglass combined with the low expansion foam. We spray the foam in first against the nail fin and then use the stuff in fiberglass behind the foam. The main reason being it stops the expanding foam from oozing out of the opening and making a mess. The use of low-expansion foam properly will eliminate any "Air Infiltration" from around the window. Fiberglass insulation is really made to be most effective at it's expanded 3-1/2" or more. When the fiberglass is compacted around a window in that tiny gap it's air infiltration impedance is nothing. So any air leaking in past the nail fin will find it's way into the home. The low expansion foam forms a barrier that stops air infiltration from entering the home. It will fill the little voids and cracks that the stuff in fiberglass won't. The positive feature of low-expansion foam is it stops water from entering the cavity. If water happens to get past the exterior barriers the foam will act as a watershed and keep the water from penetrating. The stuffed in fiberglass will soak the water up like a sponge and start to break down or sink in the cavity it's suppose to protect. When this happens you get an opening to possible mold & mildew issues that I'm not even going to think about getting into. Just to make you feel a little better about things and I don't send you into a panic attack. The worst case scenario of leaking water and air threatening your lake home is very small. Since it sounds like your completely overhauling the exterior of the lake home you have a couple barriers that will more than likely stop anything before it gets to the window cavity. You've already told me the home was wrapped with Tyvek and flashing was done around the outside of the windows. Hopefully the installers used a nail-fin application that was back caulked before anchoring. If all these items were done properly and drip caps were installed above each window with the Hardiplank siding finishing it off. Your probably going to be just fine. Just make sure all the windows are caulked and sealed to the Hardiplank to form that first coat of armor. In other words I think you'll be just fine and dandy down the road. Sounds to me like your only problem will be that sheetrock dust and touch-up painting. I wish you well in the final moments of your project. Then you can sit back and enjoy the great Summer Minnesota has for us every year!! Good Luck!!!