I think it’s common to get insulation blown into the attic space, so that there’s a deep pile of the stuff. I think that’s supposed to be pretty effective and low cost, at least compared to a new roof.

A lot of time with these rowhouses, the only “roof insulation” sits in the top floor’s ceiling, with the roof itself having none. Also, the attic or crawl space or whatever you want to call it between the ceiling and roof is often unvented, so it gets super hot in the summer and pretty cold in the winter. I remember on really sunny and hot summer days, sometimes I could feel the heat radiating off the upstairs ceiling.

Two years ago, I got a white membrane roof with 4 inches of insulation. It was expensive, but I really wanted a high quality roof after so many years of gross layers of tar and leaks. The upstairs no longer feels like it’s broiling in the summer. I will say though that there are so many other places in the house that are poorly or not at all insulated, including the sides of the attic, which is barely separated from the neighbors’ broiling attics, that it reduces my shiny new insulation’s effectiveness…but I could address those areas in the future. After I got the new roof, my energy use decreased a little bit, just in time for energy costs to go up.

If I were a neighbor, I would be unhappy about how exiting traffic is directed into that narrow alley.