Dwayne writes from Raleigh, North Carolina: "My c. 1925 house has a normal-looking roof that is actually set low so that the roof line cuts into the top floor. This results in some interesting angled wall sections between the vertical walls and horizontal ceiling. These sections are about 9 feet long and the attic spaces above them are much like you would find in a newer home's cathedral ceiling. I would like insulate these sections. My plan is to put 3" round soffit vents at the exterior end of each rafter cavity, somehow put rafter vents down the cavities and then blow in insulation under the rafter vents. I will preform the rafter vents with a lip on the soffit end so the soffit vents vent up into the rafter vent. All this, of course, will be a big pain (no contractor in my area wants to touch the job) and none of it will be able to be very tight. My questions are: do I need to lay down a 4-mil poly vapor barrier, and can you think of a better way of insulating these spaces?"

Answer: I do not have a clear-cut answer because there are a lot of variables involved in your questions. Taking the easy one first, we recommend using Kraft-faced insulation where a vapor retarder is needed. You use the term "rafter vent" and I am unclear whether you mean Raft-R-Mate® attic rafter vents, VentSure® ridge vents or VentSure® roof vents. There is information on the Owens Corning Web site about rafter vents, ridge vents and roof vents. If these pages don’t answer your questions I suggest you call Owens Corning Customer Service at 1-800-Get Pink to discuss your questions with a representative.