Thread: Attic painted

In a large (8700 sq. ft.), 12year old home the entire unfinished attic, trusses and sheathing, was painted white. Now, I was told this home had a prior kitchen fire and I know sometimes painting areas not normally painted is done to eliminate odors, like the charred smell from a fire. In this case the kitchen is on the first floor and the attic is above the third floor. I wouldn’t have known there was a fire based on visual inspection and I don’t know the extent of the fire. In addition, the attic was not accessible except to stick your head up in the area above the air handler where the ducts branched out. I’ve also heard about creative ways to keep attics cooker, like using foils, etc. So, is painting an attic white an energy saving thing? Secondly, what do you think about the fire scenario? What do you look for when told there was a prior fire, melted connectors? Thanks in advance.

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Normally the "white" paint will be Kilz or a Kilz-like product designed to hide not only old odors, but also old staining. The odor is sometimes overwhelming that the homeowner just can't get it out of their nose until the entire attic is painted, even though it may not have been directly effected by the fire.

On the other-hand, a "silverish" colored spray on (aluminum impregnated) paints are what is what you will usually see for a home that has had a spray-on thermal barrier for energy-efficiency.

There is only a slight difference in the looks of the two but if you have had the opportunity to see very many of each, they are quite distinguishable.... Hope this helps.

RR

Originally Posted by Jim Kasterko

In a large (8700 sq. ft.), 12year old home the entire unfinished attic, trusses and sheathing, was painted white. Now, I was told this home had a prior kitchen fire and I know sometimes painting areas not normally painted is done to eliminate odors, like the charred smell from a fire. In this case the kitchen is on the first floor and the attic is above the third floor. I wouldn’t have known there was a fire based on visual inspection and I don’t know the extent of the fire. In addition, the attic was not accessible except to stick your head up in the area above the air handler where the ducts branched out. I’ve also heard about creative ways to keep attics cooker, like using foils, etc. So, is painting an attic white an energy saving thing? Secondly, what do you think about the fire scenario? What do you look for when told there was a prior fire, melted connectors? Thanks in advance.

Inspecting fire damage that has been painted is difficult. I try to probe what I can just to see how charred the wood is. On a 12 year old home, it would most likely be a kitchen fire, heating equipment or lighting strike. Of course it could also be from just about anything, but those would be the most common I would think. The best thing you can do is to simply say "I do not know", when in fact you really do not know. Do not guess.

If you really want to know, you can contact the local fire department they will have very detailed records of the fire. The FD will detail down to the number of man hours it took to put the fire out.