8 Factors to Consider Before You Decide to Insulate Your House
Are you incurring huge energy bills every year? Does your house feel too hot during summers or too cold during winters? Insulating your house is the best way to tackle these problems. Insulation prevents temperature fluctuations inside the house, thus ensuring you live comfortably without the worries of having a huge energy bill to foot at the end of every month. Insulation also helps in soundproofing your house, thus enhancing privacy.
Whether building a house, giving your home an insulation upgrade or renovating an existing house, it is essential to consider various factors before embarking on the insulation project. Here are some factors to consider before you decide to insulate your home.
1. Where to Insulate
Before you embark on your insulation project, your first task should be assessing your house and identifying areas that need insulation. It is virtually possible to insulate every area of your home to maximize energy savings. However, due to financial constraints, it is essential to identify priority areas to insulate first, such as your house’s exterior walls and roofing. When determining where to install insulation, assess the condition of the current insulation. If dilapidated, consider upgrading the insulation.
2. Type of Insulation
There are various insulation products in the market to choose from. Therefore, it is essential to be well-informed before shopping for insulation material for your project. For hard-to-reach areas like the attic, blow-in insulation, also known as loose-fill insulation, is the most suitable type of insulation. Blow-in insulation does not require cutting or fitting. Hence, it is easy to insulate in any space regardless of its size or shape.
Batts are most suitable for walls, floors, ceilings, and cavities with electrical wires. They are pre-cut for easy installation. Acoustic insulation roll is a go-for if you want to soundproof your rooms and the entire house. Other types of insulation you can go for are reflective foil, foam board and spray foam.
3. R-Value
Now that you know what you will be working with, it’s essential to consider the R-Value of the insulation product. R-value means resistance to heat flow. It indicates the effectiveness of the insulation product in thermoregulation. Therefore, the higher the R-value, the greater the insulating power, and the greater you will save in energy bills.
When you choose to upgrade your insulation or are newly insulating your home, always go for the insulation product with the highest R-value as long as you can afford it. This will help you experience the full benefits of house insulation.
4. Faced or Unfaced Insulation
Determine whether you need faced or unfaced insulation for your project. Faced insulation has kraft paper attached to one side of the insulation. Unfaced insulation has no vapour retarder, but apart from that, it is as good as faced insulation. The purpose of a kraft paper is to control water vapour transmission from one space to another. The paper also helps make the insulation sturdier so that it does not easily fall.
Unfaced insulation is best used in interior walls and rooms that are not exposed to moisture. Unfaced insulation can also be used over existing insulation.
5. Hiring Professionals or DIY
Insulation installation can be easy or challenging, depending on the type of insulation material you choose to use. Many self-builders prefer the DIY approach. DIY approach cuts on labour costs. However, when you decide to do the insulation works yourself, you will be limited to a smaller number of insulation options to choose from.
Hiring a professional is the best option if you want expertise and experience. Professionals also have the right equipment and protective gear to ensure effective insulation without exposing themselves to the insulation products that can cause health and medical concerns.
6. Cost
An insulation project can make you dig deeper into your pockets than you had intended. Some of the main factors that influence the cost of installing insulation are labour and the type of insulation product. The cost of labour depends on whether you have hired a company or are doing the insulation yourself. Different companies have different rates.
7. Safety Precautions
Safety is a key factor when insulating your house. Therefore, before you decide to insulate your home, watch out for any hazard sources. For example, electrical wires can pose great danger if covered in insulation. The wires can heat up or spark, leading to a fire outbreak. Also, some of the insulation materials can cause health hazards. Spray foam insulation is flammable, while fiberglass materials can cause uncontrollable itchiness. If insulating on your own, ensure you have protective gear to protect yourself.
8. Maintenance
Ideally, you don’t have to worry about anything after you insulate your home. However, exposure to the environment and other factors will cause the insulation material to degrade with time. For example, when you step on your attic insulation, you reduce its thickness making it less efficient in thermal insulation. Pests and rodents can also feed on the insulation. Therefore, you may have to check on your insulation from time to time to ensure it is in good condition and upgrade it for maximum thermal insulation and soundproofing.
