Insulation

 Insulation, home inspection, how to

Insulation

Insulation is very important, it is the system that will continue to help you save money. The best insulation is one that does its job properly. Insulation is a system of air pockets trapped between other materials such as fiberglass or recycled paper (Cellulose) or it could be as simple as wool from a sheep or rock wool. Whatever you use ask for assistance in choosing what will work best for what you are insulating. If you choose to do a wall I recommend faced or unfaced batting. If you were to do an attic I personally recommend Cellulose blown in. Why Cellulose? It is treated with a pesticide and doesn’t make you itch like fiberglass insulation. The truth is you need to have enough to stop air from exchanging places. This is called a thermal block. As the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, the sun will heat different areas of the home. The walls will heat up causing your air conditioner to run more. If you stop the heat transfer it can lower your cost of A/C. In the colder areas around in the winter time the heat that rises to the ceiling and up through your attic can cause snow to melt on your roof then that turns to ice causing an ice damn. Thus why we would say to have insulation around your exhaust ports so that condensation doesn’t form on the vent pipes. Here in Florida we just worry about the heat of the roof making its way to the living space so we want to insulate between the ceiling and the roof. This helps prevent heat transfer. It is also having the proper ventilation which will be discussed at a later date. R-value is simple the higher the R rating the higher the number. R stands for resistance (thermal resistance to be precise) this is the resistance that heat travels through it. 


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