ADU Construction in Covina
Covina ADUs roofed over radiant barrier sheathing that turns back attic heat, with vented eaves, a Class A covering, city review and inspected stages.
Under the roof covering of a Covina backyard unit, we specify radiant barrier sheathing: plywood or OSB with a foil face turned down toward the attic. On an inland lot, hard sun loads a roof with heat, and the foil sends much of it back before it reaches the ceiling. A cooler attic eases the work of a small heat pump and keeps the rooms more even while the main house is rebuilt nearby.
Making the foil work
A radiant barrier only works when it faces an air space, so the foil looks into a vented attic with clear intake at the eaves and exhaust near the ridge. Baffles keep insulation from blocking the eave vents, and the vents themselves carry fine metal mesh against embers and pests. The sheathing is nailed on a pattern the engineer sets, since it also braces the roof. Over it go underlayment and a Class A roof covering, so the assembly resists fire from above as well as heat.
Energy forms and the city's review
Covina's plan check takes the ADU drawings together with the state energy compliance forms, which list the radiant barrier, the attic insulation, the windows and the heat pump as one set of measures. If the barrier were left off, the insulation or windows would have to make up the difference on paper. During construction, the inspector sees the sheathing nailing before the roof is covered and the attic insulation before the ceiling is finished. Those visits are built into the schedule, so nothing gets covered early.
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ADU Construction in Covina: questions
Covina has to permit the unit for occupancy before the house is finished. With that approval, the ADU is built, inspected and lived in first, and its attic details become a tested model for the larger roof that follows on the same lot.
It does if the Covina design keeps to a single story and its floor stays within 500 square feet. The energy forms are part of what we prepare, and the radiant barrier is one line on them, so the roof detail and the forms agree from the start.
Garage roofs often have bare rafters and old board decking with no attic to speak of. We check the rafter size and spacing, the condition of the deck and the walls and slab below, then decide whether a new radiant deck over the old framing makes conversion worthwhile.
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