QUESTION: We live in an early '70s-era home that has a cathedral ceiling on one side of the house. It starts in the living room on the first floor and extends to a peak over the master bedroom on the second floor. There are only six inches of insulation there, and there's no attic space in which to add more. The roof was replaced just a few years ago, and we don't want to rip it off to add blueboard insulation. It has been suggested we could add the foam insulation board on the inside, attaching it to the existing sheetrock on the ceiling, then covering it with additional sheetrock as the new ceiling surface. Loss of ceiling height would not be an issue.What do you recommend?ANSWER: It seems as if it is a plausible solution, but you will need to figure out how much weight you would be adding and then have a qualified structural engineer determine whether the ceiling joists could handle it. You are talking about a lot of weight coming down if it doesn't.You also should ask an insulation contractor if adding properly installed foam insulation board will truly enhance energy efficiency. Sometimes, layering insulation does little and might inhibit proper air circulation.Get an expert's opinion before you act.

QUESTION: My question concerns formaldehyde in kitchen cabinets and wall-to-wall carpeting.We're planning a kitchen remodel, and we will need new carpet soon. I've been looking at a lot of magazines and articles online that have indicated concerns related to the presence of formaldehyde in building materials and synthetic carpet.How seriously do your sources regard this as a problem? Does it mitigate relatively quickly through "off-gassing" of the vapors? I am concerned for our family's health and don't want to compromise any future sale of our home or waste money on materials that might be banned, but I get the feeling formaldehyde-free materials are more expensive. I am on a budget.ANSWER: Many years ago, we bought kitchen cabinets that were billed as formaldehyde-free, which was true. The boxes in which the cabinets were shipped contained something that wreaked havoc with family allergies — so much so that I had to store the cabinets in the basement until we were ready for them, and the person with the reaction couldn't use the basement until after we were done with the boxes.What I have been told is that if you are susceptible to these additives, you are more than likely to have a reaction — maybe not now, but somewhere down the road, because it seems to be cumulative. It is true that carpeting and plywood off-gas have become less of an indoor pollutant, but in some people, even a whiff can cause a reaction.I'd shop around very carefully. You would be surprised how inexpensive some healthier alternatives are.