The house I've recently purchased has a finished attic space, basically a large bedroom with two closets and a half-bath. Looks like it was done 10-12 years ago. Home was built in 1948 and faces west. We've had several >100 degree heat index days here in Indiana, and it's a little warmer than I'd like to be. It's managable, but I'd like to improve it a bit. I'll spill everything I know about the attic in the hope that some easy-to-do priority projects surface. Attic Space -- Everything outside of the 54" Kneewalls and the peak of the roof (maybe 24" down from the peak tops). I have access ports to the Kneewall parts of the attic, but not the upper space. Insulation -- Looks like R-19 (yeah, I'd prefer R-38) on the kneewalls. About 18-24" of blown-in on the floor. The insulation on the kneewalls goes up to where it meets the roof, I don't see any baffles or anything to suggest that air easily flows from the lower attic space to the upper. Venting -- Looked around and found NO soffit vents. They could be installed at the east and west sides, not on the gable ends on the north and south. They'd have to be protected from the blown-in insulation. Two gable vents and two roof vents all are connected to the upper attic space, I don't think they recieve much air from the lower/kneewall attic space. Windows -- two wooden and one aluminum, all on the gable ends. No skylights. HVAC -- small duct and return doesn't give me much central air, but a previous owner installed a window unit which cools the room in 10-15 minutes. Air leakage is probably happening near recepticles, lightswitches, and the attic access ports. With no soffit vents, inadequate insulation and attic air circulation, it's really not that bad up there due to the near complete shading from a few maple trees. But I'd like to improve it a little, and I'd like to start with the easiest projects. My questions are: 1) How much can I benefit from reducing air leakage? 2) How could I properly install soffit vents and ensure they function? 3) Could I benefit from a radiant or radience barrier? 4) Should I remove the blown-in insulation if I plan to spend a lot of time crawling around behind the kneewalls? Any and all opinions will be appreciated

My house was built in 1986. When it was built the basement walls were covered in a black tar type paper (name??) from ceiling to floor ( and under the framing. Insulation was then added again from ceiling to floor and the entire job was ciovered by a plastic vapour barrier. I understand that the preferred solution would have had the black paper cfover to just below grade and the insulation stop about a foot or two from the floor, however it does not seem to have caused any problems. Is this a serious problem, or can I just let well enough alone? (I live in Ottawa Ontario = significant winters). Thanks