Macaulay writes from Reno, Nevada: "I want to provide a vapor barrier between my kitchen and the attic above. I bought insulation with kraft paper but no vapor barrier as part of that. Can I use visqueen? And, how far away from canister light fixtures do I have to keep the visqueen?"

Answer: The Kraft facing on the insulation you have is a vapor retarder. You shouldn't need another vapor retarder between the kitchen and the attic above.

Insulating around the canister light fixture will depend on whether it is IC-rated or not. IC-rated means the fixture is suitable for use with an Insulated Ceiling. Operating temperature of the Kraft paper is 150 degrees F and it is very common for the paper vapor retarder to be down toward the warm-in-winter side of the insulation and thus in contact with IC-rated fixtures. The IC-rated fixture requires no special consideration.

If the canisters are not IC-rated, insulation should be placed three inches away from the recessed lighting fixtures. If insulation is placed over an unrated fixture it may cause the fixture to overheat and perhaps start a fire.