The key difference between the two is that faced insulation keeps moisture out because it has kraft paper or plastic on one side whereas unfaced only provides insulation.
Faced vs unfaced foam board insulation.
It is needed to have more of them just like in the case of loose fill insulation and foam insulation.
Faced insulation has a vapor barrier or a vapor retarder the facing that helps prevent moisture from moving from one space to another.
Most eps is unfaced which means it is fragile.
Rigid board insulation 1 roxul insulation 1 thermafiber insulation 1 unfaced insulation 58 archives.
Unfaced insulation the type without paper is what you would use if you are adding insulation to your attic or to place between floors when living space is above and below.
Unfaced means the insulation lacks a vapor retarder paper or plastic facing.
Insulation being unfaced doesn t mean it s a bad choice.
Faced insulation is a vapor retarder and may need to be used in your home depending on your local building codes.
Any time you use a faced insulation the paper needs to be facing toward the living space.
Unfaced batt insulation is often used for beefing up the r rating with the r rating being the insulation rating scale that says how much or how effective insulation needs to be in that space.
Like blanket or batt insulation foam board comes in faced and unfaced varieties.
For insulating the walls of your crawl space most experts recommend a rigid foam board.
So in an attic the paper faces downward and in a crawl space it faces upward.
It means ensuring that it s the right product for your space.
Kraft faced insulation includes a paper vapor retarder which helps prevent mold and mildew.
What is the right insulation for an attic.
Extruded polystyrene xps easily recognized by its blue green or pink color xps falls in the middle of the three types of rigid foam insulation in both cost and r value about r 5 per inch.
It s also considered semipermeable to water vapor so it does not create a vapor barrier.
The same applies to faced unfaced and other kinds of insulation products.