# Nothing Under Aluminum Siding



## dkel22 (May 19, 2009)

We recently purchased a new home and upon further investigation, I discovered that we do not have anything underneath the aluminum siding in our attic. This seems somewhat inefficient with heating and cooling in my mind, but I could be wrong. With it being aluminum it can sometime be somewhat noisy in the bedroom upstairs with rain, wind, etc and no insulation or barrier behind the aluminum siding. Couple questions...Is this common to not have particle board (plywood) under the siding in attics? What can I do to fix this situation? Do I need to remove the siding and put plywood underneath? Or can I just put some insulation in between the studs essentially right next to and touching the aluminum siding? Any thoughts suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Do you have a picture from the inside?

I've never heard of not putting plywood up & just siding
Where are you located?


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## dkel22 (May 19, 2009)

I do not currently have any pictures of the attic space with the exposed siding on the inside, but I will try to get some when I get home. The house is in Olmsted Falls, OHIO


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## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

Just to clarify this: Are you talking about aluminum siding as installed on a vertical wall without and exterior sheathing, and this is maybe the second story which has this unusual situation? OR-are you talking about some type of metal roofing which is installed without any sheathing? Either of these would be quite unusual, irregular, and probably violates many codes, no matter what area you live in. Please reply to clarify. Thank, David


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

A lot of houses were built with no sheathing on the attic gable end walls, both with trusses and rafters. It was not required as it is not living space. I installed ('70's) cedar siding on felt paper directly to the gables, clear up until the 80's, before code required sheathing underneath. If on an upstairs* bedroom* gable end wall, that would be different. Is it the same downstairs, as well?
Be safe, Gary


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## dkel22 (May 19, 2009)

This is the aluminum siding installed on the side walls of the house attic space. The house is a colonial and as far as I can tell (without pulling off siding) there is plywood under the aluminum siding up to height of the ceiling on the 2nd floor. So the vertical walls in the attic are just the aluminum siding nailed to the wall studs. Basically if I climb up in my attic space, I can touch the siding on the vertical walls. There is no foam board, plywood, etc underneath the siding at all in the attic on the vertical walls.


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## Maintenance 6 (Feb 26, 2008)

The gables on my garage were built that way 40 years ago and were that way for many years. If I hadn't reconfigured some windows, it would still be that way. Is there a specific reason why you want to change it now?


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

I can see the aluminum siding from inside my attic also. (Odd siding for a house) Is this similar to what you're talking about dkel22? 

I was told it doesn't matter since it's not a heated space. The guy who put the cellulose insulation in my attic (after this picture was taken) said he'd never seen anything like this.


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## dkel22 (May 19, 2009)

Yes that is pretty similar to what I see. Would putting insulation or anything behind the siding in between the studs help with the noise it causes or with heating/cooling?


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

Someone else will know a lot more about this than me. I've only worked on my own attic. 

As far as I know, the insulation would serve no purpose as far as heating and cooling are concerned if you're not using the attic for living space. 

Is your attic properly sealed and insulated? It doesn't seem like someone in the rooms below should be hearing rain hit the siding. I sealed every possible spot in my attic where heated air from the house could escape up into the attic. That alone helped my heat bills and made the house less drafty. Then I had a company add cellulose insulation up there. I think that would help deaden the sound of the rain in your upstairs. 

Just my .02 cents.


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