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Insulation Tips
Insulating a home is a big project and can be costly. If
done well, however, it also can be a big money saver in the future. Here are a
few key points to consider when insulating your home.
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"R-value": This is a term you will become familiar with when picking the
insulation for your home. The R-value measures the insulating power, or
thermal resistance, of the insulation. A higher R-value means
more effective and efficient insulation. Determine the minimum R-value that
you want for your home first and foremost.
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There are a few main factors you need to consider when starting an
insulation project.
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The cost of the insulation that you choose. This cost will be effected
by the amount of insualtion it is going to take to reach the desired
R-value.
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Then there will be the cost of the installation itself. This will again
be determined by the R-value you are looking for, as well as the
installation method. Common methods are spray-in-place foam, blown-in
cellulose and fiberglass applications. Each has it's own
strengths and weaknesses. Discuss these with the contractor
and determine which is the best fit for your unique home situation.
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Lastly, will there be any additional building costs? If the walls
are prone to air infilltration, which will reduce the effectiveness
of the insulation, then other steps will be needed to minimize such
air-flow. Yet, homes do need to be ventilated, so it will require
careful planning to reach that minimum R-value you seek.
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Be sure to inquire into the projected longevity of the insulation, as well
as its flamability.
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If done well insulation can help heat and cool your home more efficiently
and save you money down the road.
Contractors that do this may also provide the following services:
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HVAC
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Duct Cleaning
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Framing
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Foam Insulation: Tips to Avoid Foaming Your Home to Ruin
By Lee Dobbins
Making the wrong choice of insulation for your home can certainly be a recipe for disaster. Choosing the right insulation material is therefore a decision process that requires long and careful consideration. It's definitely not advisable to automatically go for pink fiberglass just because all your neighbors chose it for home insulation. You can dare to be different! You can, for instance, choose spray-on foam insulation for your home!
Tips on Foam Insulation for Your Home
Information is the key to everything. Just to ensure that you won't be accused of making an uninformed decision when you do proceed to use foam insulation for your home, here are a number of basic facts that you have to know about it:
How Foam Is Able to Insulate Your Home
You may think of foam as this fluffy cloudy material that couldn't protect you from anything in this world, but you've definitely thought wrong, because in this case, foam can be quite a tough nut to crack.
Firstly, when we talk about foam, we're pretty sure that your mind is automatically conjuring images of foam which we usually see in bathtubs and Jacuzzis. You're only partially correct, however, because what we're strictly referring to is the type of foam used by appliance makers in refrigerators and water heaters. Foam, in this instance, is made of polyurethane materials, to be specific.
What happens next is that the foaming ingredient goes through pressure-bound spray needles and is then released on the external area of your home's attic and side walls. As it spreads around, it creates an insulating protective shield that encompasses your whole house.
Comparison of Spray-In Foam Insulation against Other Types of Insulation
Compared vis a vis other types of home insulation, sprayed-in foam insulation is the clear and obvious winner.
Firstly, unlike fiber glass or even cellulose, spray-in foam insulation has the ability to seal close even the most minuscule cracks in your house's walls, cracks that are practically invisible to the naked area. Secondly, spray-in foam population doesn't waste huge amounts of energy just to filter the air properly inside the house and produce a well-ventilated atmosphere for its inhabitants. Thirdly, its main ingredient, polyurethane, has been measured as having the highest R value in terms of thickness in comparison against other types of insulating materials. For this reason, people who choose this method of insulation are able to benefit from using thinner and definitely more affordable 2x4 walls than the standard 2x6 walls.
Cost-Efficiency of Using Spray-In Foam Insulation
Besides the benefits already mentioned in the previous paragraph, there are other ways of which you automatically save money just by choosing this method to insulate your home:
Lesser Framing Costs - When you use spray-in foam insulation, you immediately save on framing expenses because you don't need to have extended windows or door jambs.
Increased Living Space - Consequently, your house get to benefit from additional living space. By coordinating with an architect, you might even be able to combine all extra space resulting from your choice of insulating method and create a new closet or even a guest room in the end!
Moisture Control - This is especially important because excess moisture at home can lead to numerous complications. Firstly, it can cause your attic or basement to retain a damp and undesirable odor, which will consequently affect the smell of whatever it is that's stored in those rooms. Secondly, moisture can gradually cause damage to paints or wallpapers, which will then require you to pay for renovation expenses. Thirdly, excess moisture can also ruin your painting collection as it can cause paint to peel off. Fourthly, damp areas are hugely attractive to insects and this will increase the risk of you and your family contracting any dangerous insect-carried disease like dengue or malaria.
Warnings When Choosing Spray-In Foam as Insulation Method for Your Home
You can not implement this insulation method all by yourself; everyone, even the handiest of homeowners, will still need the aid and experience of a professional.
Spray-in foam insulation is also more suitable for homes that are still in its pre-construction and construction stages. Homes that have already been built may be subjected to a little physical alteration - and yes, that means cracking certain parts of house - to properly install the insulation system.
Lee Dobbins writes for http://insulation.unique-articles.com where you can learn more about types of insulation and get tips on insulating your home.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Dobbins
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A Guide to Insulation for Your Home
By Richard Chapo
As energy prices increase, warming and cooling your home is becoming more and more expensive. Upgrading your insulation is one way to fight the increased costs.
A Guide to Insulation for Your Home
Insulation acts as a blanket for you home. During cold winters, it serves as a barrier to keep as much of the warm air produced by your heating system as possible in the home. In summers, it servers the opposite role of keeping warm air out and cool air in. All and all, this makes it a pretty flexible building material when you think about it.
The key to keeping your heating and cooling costs down is to understand insulation and use the best possible type for you home. To assist in this regard, every community maintains building codes calling out for minimum levels of insulation. Unfortunately, these minimum levels often are insufficient, a particular problem with new homes given that builders use them as the standard to minimize the cost of construction. Nearly every home could significantly cut heating and cooling costs if they upgraded their insulation.
Insulation comes in three basic forms � flexible insulation, loose-fill insulation and reflective insulation. Flexible insulation is the most familiar, to wit, the rolls of pink stuff you see at construction projects. Loose-fill insulation comes in bags and is actually sprayed into walls. Reflective insulation is used like flexible insulation to fill stud walls, but works by using a material that reflects the radiating heat in a structure. There is also rigid insulation, but it is rarely used.
When considering insulation in your home, there are two key issues to address. First, the insulation in your home should have an �R� value, which represents the insulations resistance to the transfer of heat. If you really want to cut utility costs, you should replace your current insulation with a brand that has double the R value you currently have installed.
A second issue to consider is coverage. You might be surprised to learn that insulation is missing in certain key areas of your home. Heat rises, so checking the insulation in your attic should be your first step. You should also consider placing a seal around the entrance to the attic from the interior of the home. This space is almost always unsealed and acts as a highway for heat to escape.
Insulation is hardly a sexy topic when it comes to home improvements. While it may be bland, improving it can save you thousands and thousands of dollars.
Rick Chapo is with SolarCompanies.com - visit us to find out more about building your own home.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Chapo