Southeast region – dealing with heat and humidity year round

[Beau Thibodaux]

Starting a thread for Southeast folks in FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, SC. Our challenges are pretty unique – 12 months of heat, 8 plus months of high humidity, and hurricane season. What are your go-to assemblies?

[Rick Deluca]

For Florida: unvented attics with closed cell on the underside of the roof deck is standard practice now. Keeps the attic in the conditioned envelope, dramatically reduces AC load, and protects ductwork.

[Beau Thibodaux]

Totally agree on the unvented attic. Had a client cut his cooling bill by 35% just from that change. The ductwork being in conditioned space made a huge difference.

[Priya Sharma]

For crawl spaces in the SE: encapsulated plus closed cell on the walls is really the only responsible answer. Vented crawl spaces in this climate are a moisture disaster waiting to happen.

[Randy Kovacs]

Texas checking in – similar story here. We have basically stopped doing vented attics entirely. Building science has caught up to the climate reality.

[Beau Thibodaux]

The hurricane angle is interesting too – there is research showing closed cell roof deck insulation significantly improves structural integrity of roof sheathing against wind uplift.

[Rick Deluca]

Yes! There is an IBHS rating system for this. The foam adhesive strength keeps the OSB sheathing attached to the rafters even when nails pull. Growing segment for us in South Florida.

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