Tips from Roseville Insulation Contractors to help keep you cozy when the wind chills.
How to Insulate a HouseDo it right to save $$, stay warmSeal up air bypasses before adding attic insulation (or you’ll be wasting money)Attics are one of the easiest and most cost-effective places to add home insulation. But you’ll increase the effectiveness of home insulation substantially if you first seal up air bypasses (Fig. A) around chimneys, plumbing vents, wires, interior walls and exhaust fans—places where warm, moist interior air escapes into the attic.
Careful installation increases the insulation’s R-value by over 20 percentLeaving 5 percent of a wall uninsulated will reduce the entire wall’s R-value (resistance to heat flow) by 20 percent. It doesn’t take much more time to install fiberglass insulation properly.
You probably don’t need kraft-faced insulationKraft paper—the asphalt-impregnated brown paper facing available on insulation—is rarely called for these days. When insulation was first developed, it was only an inch or two thick and the attached kraft facing was stapled to studs to keep it from sagging. Insulation today is so “full-bodied” and fills stud and joist cavities so completely that it resists settling—even when walls have been purposely vibrated in tests.
High-density home insulation can pay offInsulation is rated according to its R-value, or resistance to heat loss: the higher the R-value, the higher the insulating value. Standard fiberglass insulation has an R-value of about 3.5 per inch of thickness (Fig. C); this provides an insulating value of R-11 for 2×4 walls and R-19 for 2×6 walls. But if you’re serious about energy savings, you can buy better-performing products. High-density types of fiberglass insulation, with more fibers and air spaces per square inch, offer R-values of up to 4.25 per inch. Some provide R-15 for 2×4 walls and R-21 for 2×6 walls. There’s also high-density insulation for ceilings and attics. You’ll wind up paying more and in some cases you’ll need to special-order it, but high-density insulation delivers up to 35 percent more insulating value per inch.
How to Insulate a HouseDo it right to save $$, stay warmSeal up air bypasses before adding attic insulation (or you’ll be wasting money)Attics are one of the easiest and most cost-effective places to add home insulation. But you’ll increase the effectiveness of home insulation substantially if you first seal up air bypasses (Fig. A) around chimneys, plumbing vents, wires, interior walls and exhaust fans—places where warm, moist interior air escapes into the attic.
Careful installation increases the insulation’s R-value by over 20 percentLeaving 5 percent of a wall uninsulated will reduce the entire wall’s R-value (resistance to heat flow) by 20 percent. It doesn’t take much more time to install fiberglass insulation properly.
You probably don’t need kraft-faced insulationKraft paper—the asphalt-impregnated brown paper facing available on insulation—is rarely called for these days. When insulation was first developed, it was only an inch or two thick and the attached kraft facing was stapled to studs to keep it from sagging. Insulation today is so “full-bodied” and fills stud and joist cavities so completely that it resists settling—even when walls have been purposely vibrated in tests.
High-density home insulation can pay offInsulation is rated according to its R-value, or resistance to heat loss: the higher the R-value, the higher the insulating value. Standard fiberglass insulation has an R-value of about 3.5 per inch of thickness (Fig. C); this provides an insulating value of R-11 for 2×4 walls and R-19 for 2×6 walls. But if you’re serious about energy savings, you can buy better-performing products. High-density types of fiberglass insulation, with more fibers and air spaces per square inch, offer R-values of up to 4.25 per inch. Some provide R-15 for 2×4 walls and R-21 for 2×6 walls. There’s also high-density insulation for ceilings and attics. You’ll wind up paying more and in some cases you’ll need to special-order it, but high-density insulation delivers up to 35 percent more insulating value per inch.