Insulating A Roof

Who says it is OK to foam a roof, for any odd contractor or home owner? We should fear roof rot within twenty years, unless foaming is with perfect completeness and perfect maintenance, forever, of a vapor barrier over the expanded living space. No one can offer that guarantee. A roof, foamed, rotted, is ruined. 

Instead, Raise The Roof. Look for agreement with the statement "raising a roof does better weatherization than insulating the roof ." Practically, it is less a quest to save energy if a bungalow attic has been converted to living space, and is uninhabitable especially in Summer. Claim comfortable living space, and more of it.

Raise a roof, Then weatherize an ordinary attic . Be smart though, about second floor spaces outboard of new and existing attic walls. The excellent builder here sealed none of the large openings between not-conditioned floors, and the walls and ceilings below. Whimsical bungalows will remain challenging of weatherization. Simple cape construction has much hope of rewarding and fairly easy cures, in modified roofs.

As a weatherization contractor working alone, and not as manager of a crew, I have insulated a roof, only a few times. Foaming a roof is not an option, in my opinion. The task with batts is a serious one and will usually be only-wishful thinking of a home owner. As growth of weatherization activity it is not likely in one's budget.

I want to illustrate my general approach, and immediately think of this example of a nice home in the prosperous Irvington neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. The link is a Google Photos album.

This afterthought child's play room in a kneewall closet, was cozy only a few months each year. It was mostly uninsulated, drafty, intolerable in high Summer and deep Winter. Here I begin demolition of flimsy paneling. The work followed thorough insulation of the upper attic and all  other kneewall closet floors, with imperfect treatment of all challenging heat bleeds of bungalow construction. Work done in 2008 is reported here in 2018, as example of best-effort coping with difficult-to-insulate bungalow construction, vs. better practice of raising the roof as an ordinary attic over a full second floor.

My method is durable, unlike found flimsy layup of paneling with nails. And yet, it is not honest treatment of all second floor heat bleeds.

Brittle stiff paper behind the paneling removed, a surprisingly full fill of cellulose on this gable wall only, tumbles down. See that insulation blown from outside with ending any hope the exterior sheathing is air tight, failed to treat very leaky non-insulation about the rough frame of a remodel vinyl window. Insulation was almost entirely bypassed by convection and large leakage-movement of conditioned air, between buckled stiff felt paper, and the flimsy wood-panel sheathing of the knee walls and ceiling.











See that I had previously insulated the ordinary floor of the upper attic, and had air sealed and stuffed floors of knee wall closets.

I am quite displeased with my leaving of perhaps-useless paper-faced mineral wool batts upon the second floor attic walls.





















See my placement of R15 kraft-faced batts with full filling against roof sheathing. In 2x4 space thinner insulation as with joke "R13" - - must not be commanded to cool  the roof. Allowed convection in foolish and ineffective deference to composition shingle warranty, ruins any insulation value. R15 was little enough, to be achieved. See that some odd roof pitches challenge the imagining of how to place batts.  Did I do right?

 























Know now that the kraft facing is nearly useless as an air and vapor barrier. I want both.

Apply then, Tenoarm 6-mil virgin polyethylene vapor and air barrier. Lose my shirt with the immense difficulty of setting strong GP Densarmor drywall. Accept meager payment that was larger than the customer wished. Learn that the room was nice for a family with a little girl, now grown. A heat bleed remains in the triangular wall to left in the photo above, where a difficult, expensive trapezoidal door, was not afforded although framing of the door was provided, just needing a cut through the drywall.

Might the new home owner now wish to raise the roof, for more living space, in a home where rent-out of portions is in great demand?

Motion-Sensing Outside Lights

Controlling a security light to come on only when needed is a painless way to add an increment of energy responsibility and independence. 

I have had this very satisfactory lighting arrangement at the front of my house, since May, 2014. Above the house number see a Atlas Guardian Pro MLGS180 light and motion sensor that controls lights along with a SPDT wall switch inside, just below in my living room. I call single pole double throw for the switch, and bought one, wrong color and odd. An ordinary 2-way switch is what you want; same thing. The 2-way switch with the Guardian sensor, allows forced-on operation, whether or not motion is sensed, in darkness. Want a sensor with options. 

Here is my Atlas Guardian Pro MLGS180W with effective simple mounting upon a luminaire ceiling mount selected from a bin of  Portland reclaimed parts store Hippo Hardware. I had to enlarge the post hole with a file. The still photo missed the periodic, pretty red blink warning of motion sensed. The black slider switch on sensor bottom face has on-hold choices of 10 minutes, 5 minutes 1 minute and TEST. A  sensitivity control RANGE, matters, and a medium setting works best for me.

Please know, Atlas has discontinued this product. Why, I want to know. And, I must now find an equivalent product for mention here.







I am served by Pacific Northwest electrical wholesaler, Platt . Find that my Atlas MLGS180W is still available at Platt, for hefty $50.83. A competing product with same features or better is this:
Desa SL-5316-WH 500W DualBrite Sensor , $21.78.
What has happened? The Atlas product was imported from China, not somehow made more expensively or better. Was it killed by too-aggressive mark-up?

At the Platt website, I am surprised to find this statement of very excellent Customer Service hours:
Call For Availability
800-257-5288
4a-midnight (pst) 7 Days
Platt has excellent brick and mortar service of the USA western states, and aspires by excellence, to online sales and service, nationwide. A knowledgeable, nice, real person in Beaverton, Oregon headquarters answers, quickly.

At Fall, 2018, I find that Platt still has an inventory of Atlas sensors now-discontinued. The preferred offering is tiny SMS 500, by RAB Lighting , 

This illustration is from a PDF Instruction Manual .

 I needed two, purchased at hefty $58.58 each, in-store. 

Two, to control a string of three lights at the edge of my garage and back entry door. Either, activated by darkness and motion for a set interval, will power the string.

I knew to bench-test this before commitment to on-house installation, and was dismayed. Each sensor goes into a self-test mode every time its source power is interrupted, to be confused with other test variables. 









Self-Test Mode:
The sensor has a 3 minute Test Period which allows it to be aimed and walk tested day or night.
• For the first 30 seconds, the lights will be turned on. During this time, test that all fixtures and lamps function properly.
• For the next 3 minutes, the sensor will keep lights on for 5 seconds each time it detects movement in its Detection Zone. The sensor will change to Automatic Mode after the 3 minute Test Period.
• If another 3 minute Test Period is desired, turn the power off for at least 10 seconds and back on again.

Again, this was maddening as complication of my bench test. Furthermore, I could not see this as anything but confusion for future home occupants who might unintentionally switch off the source power, then unaware of the now-needless invitation to get out a ladder and play with sensitivity and aim settings, at raising the switch. I had another set of sensors to test, and immediately preferred them for simplicity, lower cost and rock-solid behavior as-expected.

Choose:   Coolwest, found at ebay   Illustrate as soffit-mounted, with no visible wiring. Pull 18 ga leads for a sensor through a 1/4" soffit hole, hidden from view.

COOLWEST Security Automatic PIR Motion Sensor Adjustable Human Body Infrared Switch,Max 800W IP44

$16.28 with free shipping.

A negative in this decision is inability to command lights-on at night, independent of motion, with the wall switch. The ability of manual control is not missed where lights reliably come on and stay on with usual continued triggering by motion, at darkness.






The RAB sensor has a Manual Override of Automatic control:
Keep lights on by flipping the wall switch two times within 5 seconds. Sensor resets to auto mode at dawn.

For lights, choose these 1500 lumens 3000°K yoke-mount flood lights found at e-conolight:.

I choose these unhappily, by default. They are tiny and too glaring, but nothing better is found.

As with the PIR sensor, pass wiring simply through a soffit hole. Drill through the hole in the center of the yoke, just big enough to pass the hefty power lead into space above the  soffit.

The installations are at newly-added soffit vent openings, where wires can be easily pulled from a control panel in the attic, then twist-connected to the short, hefty lead installed by the manufacturer. See that light power cables feed through the yoke opening and a minimal drilled hole in the soffit. 

This is the sensor activated an night when the back door is opened, and one of two lights at the back olf the house.







Both lights at back of house:

Here see minimal and sufficient controls, visible at bottom of a sensor. Controls are Sensitivity and Time-On.

Lights come on at this proximity to the front of house and driveway.























In all of this I was somewhat perceived as a trouble-maker at professional-electricians-store Platt. It seems electricians do things differently. I defend myself with report that I had a constructive conversation with RAB Engineering, welcoming the sensor returns. 

Living increasingly as a political person, door-knocking and circulating petitions, I find that intelligent security lighting is rarely found. The average discovery is of dead incandescent fixtures or of CFL or LED mis-directed or wastefully hidden in a can. Let us see security lighting as important to safety of both occupants and welcome visitors. See. Don't stumble.

Review, GM Lighting S4 4" LED Disk Downlight, Driver On Board, Sold At Amazon

Don't go here!

GM Lighting - 4" Round LED Surface Mount 3000K 90 CRI Fixture White 

This looked to me, like Glimpse and Nicor DLS10, a reversion to junction box mating with screws revealed under a pretty access ring. I should have known better, where it is described as "driverless", then some cheap stamped-pan thing. 

As a dutiful reporter, I did show respect for yet another Amazon offering of a seemingly pretty LED disk downlight. The Amazon asked price is $24.95. I got a tempting better deal at Bees Lighting , $19.80 and free shipping. I should now be grateful and uncritical.

This is not offered with hardware to clip into a can light.




































See the many slots that will be unprotected against intrusion of light-seeking-always bugs, to die in a pile of litter upon a loosely-attached obscuring lens. An informed installer might tape over the screw keyways. The large openings of lens keyways CAN NOT BE BLOCKED. Seal the junction box air tight, as I do, or don't install such cheap lights.

Keyways for box screws are at small 2 3/4" pitch.  Boxes with the small screw pitch are the most likely to be badly installed, with large visibility of spilled light.

Take this side by side comparison as confirmation of GM S4 claimed brightness and color temperature.

If glare numbers were required in advertising  and on packaging, the mindless degradation since Sylvania 70732 v1,  might have been avoided.

Review, Commercial Electric 74203 and 74207 Color Changing Edge Lights Almost Surface-Mount

There is big change in LED downlight offerings at Home Depot. A new two-member family of very promising ultra-thin LED edge lights offers easy mounting anywhere. First review the big brother of the family:
Commercial Electric 74207 (the identifier in the bar code) 

5/6 in./J-Box 12-Watt Dimmable White Integrated LED Round Flat Panel Ceiling Flushmount Light with Color Changing CCT  

Let us not encourage a naming as "Color Changing." I dispute any virtue in user control of the illuminating color temperature, achieved by phosphor coating of diodes.

Find an identifying number in the bar code at bottom of box. Find a box that is compact and fully recyclable. Commercial Electric (17801), product ID 74207. Unboxing, find preset of mounting as retrofit of an A-type bulb in a can light. Simply detach the plug at the quick-connect  and free the harp springs by compressing to remove nylon ties. You know the rest of the simple mounting that will probably air seal a decrepit can.

I am interested in the mounting upon a junction box, and pry off the mounting bracket to detach the harp springs. Look closer at the color temperature selector switch that you will not want to leave in the SWITCH position. In the default SWITCH position, the color is initially perhaps 2800°K, not the box-claimed 3000°K.

On my comparison stand with Nicor DLS10, 3000°K, 750 lumens at left, and CE 74027 at right. See about-equal brightness confirming the box claim of 800 lumens output.

Cycle the wall switch, to BW, Bright White, claimed to be 4000°K.

Cycle the wall switch again to bring up setting DL, Daylight, claimed to be 5000°K. 

Daylight? We all know sunlight does not shift perceived color of a beige wall, to blue.









In fact blue illumination is in absence of daylight. This photo is found among "color temperature" discussion at Wikipedia. A cream-colored house is blue and purple at sunrise, illuminated only by the back glow of blue sky; not at all by direct sunlight.

Here is a spectrum of sunlight correlated color temperature from Wikipedia . The Wikipedia discussion states: Daylight has a spectrum similar to that of a black body with a correlated color temperature of 6500 K (D65 viewing standard) or 5500 K (daylight-balanced photographic film standard).

Blue colors are thousands of degrees Kelvin, above that of luminaires called 5000K. Something is wrong in our marketing of LED color achievement with painted-on phosphors. I'm afraid it is deliberate deception to sell luminaires of blue diodes. Blue is the easy color to achieve, and lumens count is not diminished by blockage in phosphor. Call blue (sky color), daylight. Get away with it for awhile. If it is deception, honesty may arise only in a fuzzy transition to white light from RGB diodes and in the inevitable arrival of low-cost OLED lighting. I'm ready for that.

See the test stand setup with 74027 at SW, Soft White setting.

74027 box mounting is simple and secure.

Get curious now, how "color changing" works. The white rim of the luminaire is resilient plastic, easily deformed to successively release keys that retain the metal pan.

One of the keys has easily-separated gluing to the pan and between the rim and the obscuring lens. Leave the rim/ lens bond alone.

Drop out the lens and backing paper to reveal three conductors between the diode strip and the converter block.

At full power in SW setting, find light of diodes with an orange phosphor coating.

In the BW setting, all diodes are powered, and light that will be projected through the obscuring lens, seems a natural color.

In the DL setting, only the diodes with a white phosphor coating, are powered.


















I hoped to find the luminaire desirable, in the BW setting. I do not. There is unacceptable bluing of illuminated objects. I imagine virtue in display of multiple color temperatures to better represent natural sunlight. Perhaps many soft colors will be the emerging best design. The two colors equally blended here are of too extreme a range.


See remarkably small lens luminance. There are many wonderful things about this 

Here is Commercial Electric 74207 among Nicor DLS10 lights upon a kitchen ceiling. The 74207 color temperature setting is BW, Bright White. All diodes fired. I imagined this then to be the best setting. Clearly though, it is too blue, to my eyes and to sensitivity of my iPhone 6 Plus camera. The diodes with less yellow phosphor are only a corruption of the luminaire usefulness. I will find the 74207 useful in the SW setting, but with upset over "color changing" misconception.

I persist in supportive curiosity about the new Home Depot offerings of surface-mount ultra-thin LED edge lights.. I want to buy and try the 500 lumens little brother of 74207 . Not in my store. Nor sold online.

There is this, too, not really on offer. 
Commercial Electric 4/5/6 in./J-Box 12-Watt Dimmable White Integrated LED Energy Star Recessed Trim Disk Light with Color Changing CCT 

I have dutifully purchased the little brother of the new Home Depot edge light family, called 74203 in the bar code.

Out of the box, 74203 is ready only for setting in a cylindrical 4" can light. I won't bother to remove the spring clips, sticking this onto my illumination comparison stand.

Original 4" Glimpse 3000°K 500 lumens at left. 74203 at right, at full power, first setting SW, delivered in SWITCH position. 4" Glimpse, 3000°K, correctly illuminates wall color. The 74203 SW illumination is a bit on the yellow side of correct. This clearly though, is my preferred setting.

Original 4" Glimpse at left. 74203 at right, at full power, second setting BW, delivered in SWITCH position. 4" Glimpse, 3000°K, correctly illuminates wall color, but my eyes and my Canon Digital Rebel now find corruptive yuck in Glimpse color.

Original 4" Glimpse at left, 74203 at right, at full power, third setting DL, delivered in SWITCH position. 4" Glimpse, 3000°K, correctly illuminates wall color, but my eyes and my Canon Digital Rebel find yuck in Glimpse color. The 74203 color illumination is GLOOMY.

Look from further back at comparison in the DL setting. Everything is wrong.

The 74203 does not fully dim. Here at about 20%, see very gloomy night lighting.

Now give another three-star review at homedepot.com, disliking push of "color changing" as virtue.

Done, and with regret. This small and efficient light will be superior to many other luminaires that might replace dead bulbs in 4" can lights, especially as architectural lighting or security lighting upon home soffits. For this and with many installation virtues, this deserves at least four stars,

I said in a three stars review: At 500 lumens this is correct brightness from a "four inch" light. Wrongful comparison to a useless fifty watt light bulb, still sold and claimed 825 limens, will mislead. A 500 lumens LED downlight gives illumination matched to a 100 watt point-source incandescent bulb.

All three settings selectable by cycling the wall switch, are gloomy. Does any home owner want the 5000°K blue light I have hated in some ugly CFL bulbs? Blue gloom comes from absence of sunlight, not from afternoon brighter sunlight.

At 3/5/2020, add to this post, to report continued purchases and satisfaction with 74203 and 74207 lights. Here are six 74203 500 lumens lights in BW setting now accepted as 3000°K good color temperature. This is the completion of the remodel of my own kitchen. The photo is presented in my blog post My Kitchen LED Starry Sky With Constellations, of 11/23/2018. I call this lighting constellation, "Dining," which I imagine to be at the island, upon bar stools. The now-fully-modern 1955 ranch home is now a very desirable, energy-efficient rental.

 Although these Commercial Electric lights are no longer offered in Home Depot stores, they remain in stock for online purchase.Click HERE for the 4" light now Model 74202. There see twenty reviews 4.4 stars on average, with my unfortunate 3 star review seventh for helpfulness.  Click HERE for the 5" - 6" light now Model 74206. There, see 95 reviews averaging 4.6 stars, with mine ninth-rated for usefulness despite indelible three-stars..