Should I insulate my finished attic

Question: Should I insulate my finished attic?

Rober writes from Mount Joy, PA: "Should i insulate my finished attic?" We recently purchased a 100 year old house in south central PA with a finished, uninsulated attic room with a hip roof and dormers on all four sides. The house has a very nice staircase that is open all the way up to the third floor, so insulating the attic floor is not an option. We have an estimate from a
trusted contractor to partially remove the plaster ceilings and insulate with ventilation baffles and fiberglass batts. At $7000, I figure it might take us ten years at 20% lower heat bills to recoup the investment. We have a gas fired hot water heat system. No AC, although we are considering adding central.

Answer: If you want an unbiased opinion you are asking the wrong cat because I am definitely pro-insulation. It is your home, however, and you must ultimately make the call. The percent savings referred to in Owens Corning advertising is for a typical under-insulated home. Yours sounds lovely but less than typical with a staircase that is open to the third floor. My point is that you may not see a 20 percent savings. there are so many factors to consider it is hard to say precisely what the savings will actually be in your case. Two other factors you may consider before making your decision: A well-insulated home is more comfortable and less drafty than
an uninsulated or poorly insulated home. And a well-insulated home uses less energy and emits fewer greenhouse gases than an under-insulated neighbor