When people think about home repairs, they usually think about fixing the gutters and replacing missing roof shingles, and not about installing new insulation in their homes. Insulation plays a big role in the comfort of your home. Proper insulation can help keep your home cool in the summer, warm in the winter, and can even keep away common pests that love to enter homes through cracks and holes.
Are you unsure if your home needs more insulation? If you answer yes to any of the following questions, you’ll know that your house is in need of some serious insulation work.
When the temperatures drop you feel like you have to turn the heat up as high as it can go to keep warm, and you had your air conditioning system on full blast during the summer. Yet even with all that, your home still feels too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. If your HVAC system seems to be running in overdrive during the summer and winter, it could be a sign that your home is in need of some new insulation.
Insulation is designed to keep homes comfortable and temperate, and if your home never seems comfortable when it’s hot or cold out you should consider adding some insulation to prevent heat loss.
If your HVAC system is taking on the entire burden of heating your house, it also makes your utility bills much more expensive. Energy efficient insulation such as spray foam insulation can reduce the stress on your HVAC system and lower your electric bills significantly.
Older houses have charm that some people find irresistible, but most older homes have a serious lack of proper insulation. Sweeping changes to building codes happened during the 1980s, and before the changes were made there were lax standards on installing insulation.
If your home was built before 1965, it likely doesn’t have any insulation at all. These homes in particular need a significant amount of insulation to get them up to code, especially if you’re selling it soon.
If you have an old home focus on adding insulation to the walls, attic, and crawl space. These areas need insulation the most to keep your home comfortable. And don’t make the mistake of just doing the exterior walls, your interior walls need insulation too.
Mold isn’t just a serious problem for home owners, it’s also a sign that your insulation could need to be replaced. Mold growth on your ceiling or walls could mean that the insulation you currently have is holding too much moisture and is slumping instead of staying in place. If this occurs, you need replace whatever insulation is in the affected area. Wet insulation is a breeding ground for mold, mildew, rot, and general bacteria growth.
When you replace the insulation, make sure you’re addressing the reason the insulation is damp as well. If there’s a leak causing water to end up in your insulation, make sure it’s repaired before you replace the insulation. If there’s not a leak, a dehumidifier or other method of moisture control is important when you re-do your insulation.
When some people feel a draft coming from their window or door they assume that they aren’t sealed tightly enough. Their assumption isn’t wrong, but if they go out and replace the offending window or door they’re going about fixing the problem incorrectly.
Sometimes air leaks like these can be fixed with a simple caulking around the openings. If you have bugs and insects such as ants getting into your home, this is likely the culprit.
However, often there’s more to it than caulking or replacing the doors and windows. If you still notice drafts in certain areas after caulking, you most likely need to improve the insulation around the area.
Once you’ve decided you need insulation, you’ll want to figure out what kind of insulation materials you need. Most of the time this depends on the age of your home and how much insulation you will need.
In general, spray foam is the best insulation you can get. It’s easy to install, and has the best R-Value of all types of insulation. Though there are some differences between open-cell and closed-cell spray foam, they’re both significantly better than the alternatives. However, sometimes a full installation of spray foam insulation is too expensive.
If spray foam alone is too expensive, consider mixing it with batt insulation to reduce costs. However, anytime you use batt or fiberglass insulation, it requires removing the drywall. This is usually not the best option for a home that’s getting insulation added unless you’re already removing walls and drywall during a remodel. New homes or attics are good places to use this combination as well.
If you think you need new insulation, it’s important to make sure the problem is with your insulation. The issue could easily lie with your windows, doors, HVAC system, or any number of other factors that influence the comfort level of your home. Take the time to figure out the core of the issue, and don’t hesitate to ask one of our experts for help!
