I have a 2-story house built around 1925. On the upper floor, about 75% of the ceiling area is old tongue and groove planks painted by the previous owner. Looks nice, absolutely. Above it, there is (barely) tar paper and sawdust between the beams. So, almost no insulation up to the attic. How do I make this more efficient? That is, keep the heat in during winter and keep it out during summer without suffocating the house?

I'm thinking of removing all the sawdust and tar paper and adding proper insulation. But what should I have between the insulation and the tongue and groove? Plastic sheeting doesn't seem like the best option? Is there some natural fabric that allows the house to still breathe? It should be noted that the windows will be replaced with triple-glazed with ventilation. But the upper floor is almost uninhabitable during these days.

After this, I plan to install a LVP, partly to provide some heat and also to get some AC in the summer. We have district heating, so it's anything but cheap during the winters.

I can upload pictures to show what it looks like if needed.
 
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There's no reason to remove the sawdust. Just insulate on top. Check with a company that comes and sprays mineral wool or eco fiber, it's often about the same cost as buying the material yourself. 300-500mm is appropriate.
 
larsbj larsbj said:
There is no reason to remove the spån. Just insulate on top. Check with a company that comes and sprays mineral wool or ecofiber, often it's about the same cost as buying the material yourself. 300-500mm is suitable.
"The 'problem' is that there are some gaps in the ceiling from which spån comes out if you move up there. I also suspect that the old paper has done its job."
 
MalZon MalZon said:
"The problem" is that there are certain gaps in the ceiling from which sawdust comes out if you move around up there. I suspect that the old tar paper has indeed done its job.
That can of course be a problem. If it's not possible to seal from below, there's nothing else to do but vacuum the attic.
Then new tar paper/membrane and insulation.
It can be difficult to lay plastic properly with beams and such in the way.
 
larsbj larsbj said:
It could be a problem, of course. If you can't seal it from below, the only option is to vacuum the attic.
Then new underlay membrane/fabric and insulation.
It can be difficult to lay plastic properly with beams and such in the way.
Yes, exactly.
Give me an example of underlay membrane/fabric that I can use before the insulation.
 
MalZon MalZon said:
Exactly.
Give me an example of cardboard/fabric that I can use before the insulation.
One can say that there are two types of cardboard from a diffusion point of view (how easily water vapor can pass) either open, like most common windproofing on the market. Or vapor brake, which is a middle ground between open and plastic. Even though the theory suggests you should use the type vapor brake, both will work. At least if you insulate less than 400mm.

Which type of cardboard also depends on the structure. Are there beams you will place them in between? Sawn or old logs? Two open types that work. https://www.byggmax.se/vindpapp-ac-...8QIVBKOyCh1pZwUGEAQYASABEgLMFvD_BwE#267=33522 https://www.byggmax.se/vindskydd-bi...8QIVBKOyCh1pZwUGEAQYAiABEgKZHvD_BwE#973=46434

And a vapor brake https://www.byggmax.se/ångbroms-bis...8QIVgrmyCh2L-w_OEAQYASABEgJgsfD_BwE#973=46438
 
larsbj larsbj said:
You can say that there are two types of paper from a diffusion standpoint (how easily water vapor can pass) either open like most common wind paper on the market. Or vapor brake, which is an intermediate between open and plastic. Even though theory says you should use the type vapor brake, both will work. At least if you insulate less than 400mm.

Which paper also depends on how it looks. Are there beams you are going to put between? Sawn or old logs? Two open types that work.
[link]
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And a vapor brake
[link]
Ok. I recognize the second of the open types. It was probably something similar I covered the garage with.

But if I scoop away all the paper and sawdust, lay fabric and insulation on top of it. Then have you made a good solution?

There are beams across the entire inner ceiling, I think they are sawn but you can see log-like profiles on them. I haven't examined everything that closely yet. There are some planks in the middle that you can walk on and where we have thrown up some obstructing boxes and such.
 
MalZon MalZon said:
Ok. The second of the open ones I recognize. It was probably something similar I covered the garage with.

But if I scoop away all the paper and sawdust, put a cloth and insulation on it afterwards. Then have you made a good solution?

There are beams across the entire ceiling, I think they are sawn but you see log-like profiles on them. Haven't examined everything that closely. There are some planks in the middle that you can walk on and where we've thrown up some obscuring boxes and stuff.
It will definitely be a good solution. Just be careful when laying the paper.
 
larsbj larsbj said:
It will definitely be a good solution. Just have to be careful when laying the cardboard.
Yep. Just need to place it exactly according to how the beams and ceiling go. Will have to tape where necessary too.
 
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