Most people are aware of the benefits of insulating your home. You use wall insulation and roof insulation to maintain a comfortable temperature and also absorb noise. But it isn’t just as simple as buying the insulation and stuffing it into your wall cavities.
If you’re going to the effort of insulating your home, you want to make sure it is fully effective. Without knowing what to look out for, you’ll be wasting your time and money. So how do you ensure you get value for money when insulating your home?
Here are a few tips that will help you insulate your home properly, ensuring you get the desired result and don’t have to repeat the process in a few years.
Choose The Right Kind Of Wall Insulation
There are a few things you need to look for when choosing wall insulation. Unfortunately, not all products are created equal. Look for brands that are:
- Soft and easy to handle
- Made for high thermal performance
- Provide quality sound absorption
- Non-combustible for additional fire safety
- Come with a warranty
- Eco-friendly
All wall insulation (and floor and roof insulation) should come with an ‘R’ rating. This refers to its resistance to heat loss. The following is a guide to the ratings you should be looking for:
Floor insulation: R-1.7
Wall Insulation: R-1.5 – 2.7
Ceiling Insulation: R-2.5 – 6.0
Essentially, the thickness will increase as you go up through the resistance ratings, so you must be choosing the right thickness for your wall and ceiling cavities.
Roof Insulation Tips
Adding roof insulation is often considered one of the easiest forms of insulation to install. This is because you can usually access the roof cavity more easily than covered walls. While this is true in some respects, you need to remember a few key things when installing roof insulation.
Firstly, getting the right thickness (resistance to heat loss) is crucial. If your insulation is too thin, it won’t be effective. But it isn’t just the insulation you need to worry about. There are plenty of areas in a roof where air can escape, such as the space around chimneys, vents, exhaust fans, and cracks where walls meet. It would help if you always sealed these areas before installing insulation.
Secondly, although you’re essentially trying to trap heat, you still need to ensure appropriate ventilation. Without proper ventilation, you’re risking moisture problems, which can cause any manner of problems down the track.
Weatherstripping Doors and Windows
Sealing the areas around doors and windows is important for keeping your home insulated. The best thing is, it’s reasonably inexpensive. You can buy weatherstripping at your hardware store and install it easily yourself.
For a simple solution, look for adhesive weather stripping, which you need to press into place. Try to line all of the seams around doors and windows to give you some extra protection from unwanted air transfer.
If you’re building or renovating and looking for insulation to better your home, make sure to do your research. That way, you get it right the first time around and don’t have to worry about it in the future.
