Choosing to spend money upgrading the insulation of your home will end up lowering your energy costs. For a number of homeowners, the best time to insulate your attic may be in conjunction with another home renovation project. You may not want to invest money into this type of project separately to save money on your energy bill unless you are also doing an upgrade or remodeling project at the same time. There are also numerous government, utility or manufacturer rebates available depending on your location that increase with the amount of your renovations.
Best Time to Insulate your Attic
Here are some examples of the types of projects you could combine with insulating your attic:
- Repairing or replacing your roof. Get an assessment of your current insulation. If necessary, it can be re-insulated at the same time that the work is being performed on your roof.
- Adding one or more rooms. As long as you need to have your contractor install insulating for the new addition, you can ask to have the attic insulation project included in the work order as well.
Types of Insulation for your Attic
There are different types of insulation which may be used in attics. Your main goal when updating your attic insulation is sealing any air leaks. If you place a good quality insulation over a hole in the ceiling, you will improve your indoor air comfort as well as the quality of the air in your home.
- Batts
Batts are large pieces of insulation made from interweaving fibres with adhesive binders. They are made of fibreglass and are an economical choice. The downside to choosing this type of insulation is that depending on how they are cut, they may not completely fill all the spaces between ceiling joists. The batts will not be as energy efficient as other options.
- Blown Insulation
A better option (and one which we install) is blown insulation. It is installed in a homeowner’s attic by using a large hose that is attached to a machine. The installer holds the hose at the entrance to the attic and blows the chunks of installation into the space. The machine churns them and uses air to blow them through the hose. Since an attic can heat up to temperatures which are well above the outside air temperature in summer, this is a task that is best performed in early spring or late fall.
Once the blown insulation is applied, there will not be any gaps in the insulation which allow the ceiling drywall to show through. This option provides a complete layer of insulation.
- Sprayed Insulation
Spray foam insulation is the most expensive option for insulation. Since the roof is a major place where you lose or gain heat, it makes sense to pay the extra money to ensure that it is sealed up tight. Having sprayed insulation applied directly under your attic floor gives you extra room overhead if you have plans to finish your attic and add an extra room.
Do you have spring renovation plans that include adding insulation to your home? Request a quote from George Kent Home Improvements today.
