Insulation is a crucial structural feature in any house nowadays. It brings several benefits, including a decrease in your energy bill and your carbon footprint, maintaining the house cooler during summer and warmer during winter without using the air conditioner or heather, helping you to maintain good health, and many other positive things. However, finding the right insulation is quite difficult.
There are many different types of insulation, and many areas in your house can get insulation, like your windows or attic, for example. So, how can you determine which area is the best to get insulated? And which type of insulation is ideal? Let’s see what to insulate and why through this checklist.
Check Your Walls
Whether you’re building a new home or renovating your current one, your exterior walls must have enough insulation to prevent any excessive draftiness in your home, or else the insulation may not work properly. The best way to check if your exterior walls have enough insulation is by turning off the power to the outlet and unscrewing its cover. If there’s insulation inside the walls, you’ll probably see it with a flashlight. A professional company can do a more thorough inspection, if necessary.
Besides that, insulating your walls helps reduce sound transmission, protect against moisture damage and air leaks, and improve energy efficiency.
Since you are checking your walls, take this opportunity to check your windows and floors for the same reasons. Both can help improve heating and cooling control, moisture prevention, and reduce sound transmission.
Overall, if you want your house to be fully protected, you’ll probably need to insulate all walls, windows, and floors. Luckily, most professional insulation companies offer those services as a full insulation package for you, so it’ll be cheaper than insulating each area separately.
Check Your Attic
Probably the commonest type of insulation is attic insulation. Almost every house has an insulated attic. But why does this happen?
Insulating your attic is crucial since it is the highest place in the house, so it is most likely that the air escapes through any existing gap in the attic. Therefore, good attic insulation can help reduce attic temperatures and keep your home more comfortable. The “stack effect” happens when indoor air escapes from the top of the building, usually the attic, and outdoor air is sucked in from the bottom. As you can imagine, often poor attic insulation leads to it.
A visual inspection is the first step to properly inspecting your attic’s insulation. Check the insulation material, if there’s already insulation there, and see if the material is covering or is at level with the floor joists. After that, measure the R-Value of the attic insulation, if possible.
Check your basement as well; most heat loss in basements comes from under-insulating, so ensure to insulate thoroughly enough to seal off from the living spaces below. Insulate your basement walls, floors, and doors, specifically on sealing off from the living spaces below. Proper insulation also improves humidity levels in basements, making for a more enjoyable living area.
Check Your Garage
Insulating your garage door is a quick, easy process that will protect your home from inclement weather, make your garage door more durable and prevent external noise. The thought of insulating your garage may seem a bit strange at first, but don’t worry. It helps a lot since most garages are integrated with the houses, so the air that passes through them will also pass through the house. It also helps to protect your family’s privacy and keep pests away.
Understand Which Type of Insulation is Better for You
Overall, three types of insulation are between the most used and loved by homeowners. Of course, each has an area they work best in, as well as they have different prices and strengths. They are:
Spray Foam
Foam insulation is often wrapped around the pipes and wires in your home. It’s highly effective in reducing heat loss, improving air quality, and increasing energy efficiency. The most common form of foam insulation is acrylic foam, which is generally lighter than other types of foam boards. However, spray foam is the most efficient one. Anyway, foam insulation comes in many different formats and densities, so you can find the product that best fits your needs.
It can be applied to almost any part of your home, making it an ideal choice for anyone looking for a reliable and safe way to make their home temperature-efficient and energy-efficient. This type of insulation has three variants: polyisocyanurate, extruded polystyrene, and expanded polystyrene. The first two are similar because they both provide excellent R-values (thermal resistance values). At the same time, the third has the highest R-values among all types of insulations available today.
Blow-in Insulation
Also known as loose-fill insulation, it is one of the commonest types. It is very useful because you can use it in walls, ceilings, crawl spaces, and attics without disturbing the structures. This makes it ideal for areas where normal insulation would not be suitable. It can be installed without disrupting existing systems, and because it’s made of fiberglass, cellulose, or mineral wool; it’s great for walls, ceilings, and attics.
Batt Insulation
Batts and rolls are commonly used, as they are not as expensive as other forms of insulation, and they give you a lot of bang for your buck. You can DIY them yourself, which makes this type of insulation very popular with homeowners. It is also one of the cheapest types of insulation, and it can be made of natural fibers, fiberglass, plastic fibers, or mineral wool.
Hire a Professional Insulation Company
A professional insulation company can help you with installation and inspection, including choosing the right type and material for your house, since they are experts that work with insulation all day, every day.
If you live in the United States, Universal Insulation Doctor is the best fit for you since they offer several services, including those stated earlier, and even air duct cleaning. Check our website out to request a free inspection easily.
