Insulation, Radiant and Vapor Barriers - Re-insulating Attic

I'm going to begin pulling out old insulation (not sure how old) and replacing it, along with a new sub-floor. I noticed the new standard for the Northeast is R-49, however, I only have 6" of total space to work with (joists are 2x6).

Currently, the attic isn't finished off and I use it for much needed storage, but I'd like the option of finishing it off in a year or so. As such, I was wondering how I could fit anything close to the required R-value within the 6"'s I have to work with?

Most building codes (including the national energy code) allow houses to have reduced R-Values if they are built air tight - the foam products are the ones that take advantage of this most often. Talk to your building official.

Looks like you'll be raising the floor to get your R-49. My house had no insulation at all, so I recently added it, pulling batts underneath a tongue-in-groove floor. The result is about R-23, though I wish I could get more than that. I went through that trouble to save storage space and keep from tearing up a perfectly good floor. Having R-23 cut my gas bill by 33%, so I wonder how much it'd be cut if I had R-49??

J

Thanks Doug - I'll check with my building official on the code. My house is a two-story built around 1925, so I'm not sure if it will meet the standard for being air-tight.

Jurched - Looks like I'll probably be raising the floor.

Thanks for the feedback.