Insulation Buying Tips

Basic Insulation Buying Tips

Insulation is the process of enclosing or covering an object with a material that serves as a barrier and reduces (or blocks) the flow of energy, specifically heat. It is essentially used for the following reasons:

-To reduce heat energy losses.

-To prevent nearby objects from heating up.

Below are some examples where insulation is typically used:

-On appliances - stoves and ovens, refrigerators and freezers, water heaters, water pipes, etc.

-On industrial applications.

When done properly, insulation can provide indoor comfort (by keeping your house cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter) and energy efficiency.

Determining and buying the insulation that is right for your household can be a challenge. Below are some helpful hints on how to go about buying the perfect insulation for your home.

#1 What to insulate.

The first thing to consider is to identify where the insulation will be installed or used. A personal inspection of your home may be sufficient, but it is still best to let the qualified people (such as your contractor) do the job.

Depending on your (or an expert's) findings, your household might need any or all of the following insulation:

-Wall/cavity wall insulation. Cavity wall insulation prevents your house from being exposed to rapid temperature changes outside. Studies show that heat loss due to un-insulated walls can reach as much as 50%, and cavity wall insulation could possibly prevent 70% of this from happening.

-Loft/roof insulation. Because hot air rises, heat loss through the roof can reach as much as 25%. This can be greatly reduced with proper attic or loft insulation.

-Duct/pipe insulation. Leaky ducts or pipes can contribute to an increase in your heating (or cooling) costs. They can also burst (or freeze), so it is also important to have them properly insulated.

-Water cylinders/storage tanks. Hot water cylinders and cold water storage tanks also need to be insulated event them from being exposed to intense cold or heat.

#2 What to Use to Insulate

Traditional insulating materials that are commonly-used in the households are the following:

Fiberglass/fiberglass mats/mineral fiber. Fiberglass is the most common and versatile type of insulating material that is made from molten glass and spun into microfibers.

Usually pink or yellow in color, fiberglass comes in 3 forms:

• Rolls - blankets of insulation that may or may not have vapor barriers, which prevent condensation in cold areas that could result in damage (such as mold).
• Batts - similar to rolls but come in lengths ranging from 4 to 8 feet.
•  Blown- these are loose insulation that can be 'blown' into walls or ceilings.

 

Cellulose Insulation

Another insulating material that is commonly used in households is cellulose. It is a fibrous material made from scrap or recycled paper (like newsprint or cardboard) that is shredded and treated with chemicals that would make it resistant to fire and insects. It is then applied (poured or blown-in) into place, either as loose-fill or wet-sprayed with the use of a machine.

Rock wool

As the name implies, rock wool is an insulating material that is made from rock. Manufactured similarly to that of a fiberglass (with molten rock replacing glass), rock wool can be in the form of a hollow brick or a porous concrete block.

 

Synthetic insulation

Synthetic insulating materials are manufactured in several forms, some of which are the following:

Polystyrene foam - usually as rigid, pre-cut boards.

Polyurethane foam - usually as boards or foamed 'insitu' ("in position").

Spray-on expanding foam - similar to that found in aerosol cans, it can completey seal and insulate even the smallest areas in the house by 'poofing' up to as much as 2 to 4 times the original size when applied.

Deciding on the right material to be used for installation largely depends on the area that requires installation. Below are some of the standard insulating materials that are recommended for the specific areas in your home:

For loft or roof insulation

• Mineral wool quilt
• Blown mineral wool
• Blown cellulose fibre

For duct or pipe insulation

• Mineral wool mat
• Pre-formed split foam insulation
• Foil-faced fiberglass insulation
• Vinyl-faced insulation
• Ridged foam insulation

For wall insulation

• Blown-in cellulose
• Fiberglass (batt and roll) insulation

#3 Check with an expert

Aside from your personal considerations, the key to finding the perfect insulation for your home is to consult a professional who is knowledgeable in this field. It is still best to check with an expert, who could provide you with several options that would best suit your needs.

Insulating your home may add to your household expenses today, but in the long run, it will not only save you money (by lowering your utility bills); it will also protect you and your property.

Attic Insulation Helps with Cooling

Attic insulation is designed to keep heat in your home in the winter and out of your home in the summer. Heat rises and, in the winter, any air that is heated by your furnace goes up – and out through your attic. In the summer, your roof becomes very hot and, with no place for the hot air to go, your attic can become the hottest space in your home. Without attic insulation, that heat would quickly get into your home.

So attic insulation is probably the most important insulation in your home. The type of insulation you choose is also important because they are not all created equal.

Fibreglass batt insulation is probably the most popular type of insulation for attics. It is easily installed by homeowners and it fits perfectly between the joists of your ceiling. Installers need to be careful to make sure that the batts fit every crevice and corner snugly or a lot heat will get through the gaps.

Johns Manville R38 16 Unfaced

Moisture in your attic will reduce the degree of insulation you get from fibreglass batts. Any leaks, condensation problems or other sources of moisture must be fixed before installing batt insulation.

Loose-fill fibreglass and cellulose is another popular type of insulation for attics. Spread by hand or with a blower, loose-fill insulation can be blown into corners and hard to reach areas, so there is less of a problem with “gaps”. However, moisture also damages the fibreglass and cellulose in loose fill and you must fix all moisture problems before installation.

Spray foam is an increasingly popular type of insulation for attic applications. Not only does it get into hard to reach places, it expands to fill every gap and hole, so heat can’t pass through spaces in the insulation.

Spray foam is also waterproof and often, because it expands, it will stop small moisture leaks. Condensation isn’t a problem because of how well spray foam seals your attic.

Other spray foam benefits include support for the structure of your house, fewer airborne pollution and irritants in your home, and less outside noise.

Attic Insulation has a Tough Job

Attic insulation is designed to keep heat in your home in the winter and out of your home in the summer. Heat rises and, in the winter, any air that is heated by your furnace goes up – and out through your attic. In the summer, your roof becomes very hot and, with no place for the hot air to go, your attic can become the hottest space in your home. Without attic insulation, that heat would quickly get into your home.

 

When building a home, insulation is one of the major aspects that can cut future heating and cooling costs. Fiberglass insulation has been the primary choice, but not anymore.

Alternatives to Fiberglass Insulation

People have become much more sensitive to environmental and energy savings issues when building homes. Whereas such subjects were rarely discussed 20 years ago, they are now on the front burner for many of us. This transition has been so extensive that homebuilders now incorporate both issues in their projects and use their solutions as selling points. If these subjects have become part of the marketing, you know the transition to more environmental and energy consciousness has come full circle.

Have you ever wondered what happens to the newspapers you haul out to curb with the other recycling every week? Since I am mentioning it in this article, it is probably obvious the newspapers are being turned into insulation products. This relatively new insulation product is quickly overtaking fiberglass insulation in new home building projects, remodels and additions. Known as fiber insulation, it is more environmentally friendly than fiberglass, less expensive and just as good at sealing homes.

Fiber insulation is typically made up of recycled newspapers. Yes, those newspapers you haul out to the curb each week with the trash. Small amounts of ground up cardboard can also be included in some products. The material is shredded and then treated with acrylic binders to make the material hold together. To prevent fires, it is treated with various forms of fire retardant materials.

Fiber insulation almost always comes in a loose fill form. The loose fill is typically blown into cavities requiring insulation instead of being stapled up as seen with traditional fiberglass rolls. The material usually goes in dry, but there are wet versions that are sprayed on much like more traditional spray on insulation products.

As you may know, recycling newspaper is something everyone does these days. Just take a look down the street on garbage day. Recycle boxes of newspapers are on every driveway. This massive recycling produces tons of shredded newspaper material. Frankly, it can’t be turned into usable materials fast enough. This inventory problem means the material is extremely cheap. As a result, fiber insulation can cost up to 25 percent cheaper than fiberglass insulation.

Whether you are building new, doing an improvement or just adding on, fiber insulation represents a good deal on all fronts. Just tell them you want the stuff made out of recycled newspapers.

At Pacific Material we sell Celluose insulation at all 70 of our locations nationwide

Does Insulating my Floor really help?

The ins and outs of insulating your floors

We often think of insulating the walls or insulating roof spaces, but insulating the floor is also of paramount importance. The cold feeling you have when walking on the floor is certainly very real and a sign that this stage has been forgotten. To avoid repeating this kind of error or to remedy it, here are some tips that it is better to have consulted before and will avoid further setbacks in the course of insulating the floor.

Why Insulate the Floor?

Insulating a floor is therefore important, but before knowing how to do it, you need to know what you will gain from it. And it is also necessary to define what is your priority, thermal insulation or sound insulation?

From a thermal point of view, we know that the energy losses due to the ground are 10%, so it is easy to calculate the achievable savings and to know how long it will take to pay off your work.

For example, the insulation price for a typical house of 100 m², with 15 m² of glass surfaces and heating for more than 15 years is established at:

from 2,000 to 4,000 $ in case of insulation of a pavilion with basement;

from 3,000 to 5,000 $ if low floor insulation on the median or on crawl space not accessible.

It was also calculated that the annual energy saving was then $124 in the case of gas heating, $ 167 for electric heating and $ 183 in the case of oil heating.

If we consider an expenditure of $ 3,000 and aid of around 30%, we see that it takes 10 to 15 years to amortize this expenditure and that, over 20 years, for example, you have gained 'money. But, above all, you will greatly benefit in terms of comfort.

How to Choose your Floor Insulation

The choice of insulation material is majorly based on its thermal properties: the coefficient R. It indicates the thermal resistance of the material. The higher the thermal resistance, the more efficient the insulation. To effectively insulate your floor, we recommend an insulation with a thermal resistance equal to or greater than 3 m².K / W (R ≥ 3 m².K / W).

The other element to take into account in the choice of insulation is its conductivity, that is to say its ability to transport heat. It is measured per m² in degrees Celsius and per Watt (m². ° C / W). This will result in the thickness necessary to obtain the desired performance.

Finally, when applying the coating directly to the insulation, check the compressive strength. It is this which determines the maximum crushing that the insulation can withstand. After this threshold, the material settles and loses its insulation capacity. Compressive strength is calculated in kilopascals (kPa). These insulating materials are delivered in bulk or in the form of rolls but most often in sheets.

To make the right choice of insulation technique, you will also have to take into account the climate of your region and the characteristics of your floor.

Other elements will have to be taken into account in the choice of your insulation. The destination of the room is important. So, if you are installing a water room (bathroom, toilet, kitchen) you will need to provide moisture-resistant insulation, because in the event of an incident such as water leak, you will have to review all of your insulation and the finishes that go with it!

Also, the choice of coating can also influence that of the insulation. Indeed, some materials already have interesting thermal performances, such as carpets, plant fibers, parquet floors or certain vinyl coverings.

Other coatings require very meticulous floor preparation for a completely flat surface. Tiling, waxed concrete or laminate will therefore be reserved for more circulating rooms such as bedrooms or living room.

Floor insulation methods

To build a good quality insulated floor, you have to use the right method and choose the right insulation material. Here is an overview of the most common floor insulation method:

Layer 1 - Concrete slab: a reinforced concrete slab at least 10 centimeters thick is the essential basis for good quality floor. This prevents moisture from entering the soil, strengthens its stability and prevents pests from eating away at the insulation layer.

Layer 2 - Protective cover and insulation: the protective cover is placed directly on the concrete. It provides additional protection against steam. Then put the insulation on the tarpaulin. To seal the edges of it, insulating strips are used.

Layer 3 - Pipes and screed: above the insulation layer, you can install the pipes for central heating or a heated floor. Once the pipes are installed, the assembly can be completed by applying a screed at least 8 cm thick.

Layer 4 - Finishing: put the floor covering of your choice on the screed.

How to go about insulating floors

The first step is to make the floor perfectly level by updating it. On a concrete surface, start by deburring the underside of your floor using a grinder and a new deburring disc. If the surface has holes, fill them with cement. Wait for complete drying before installing the insulation. If the surface is not completely flat, a leveling off the floor (2) with a plaster must be used.

On loose floor, such as clay, the ideal is to successively apply a layer of sand and / or gravel and then a thin waterproofing film before installing the insulation panels. Finally, before tackling the finish, it is advisable to fix a vapor barrier and possibly a reinforced concrete slab or a dry screed if the coating requires it.

Depending on the choice of floor covering, the insulation can be left bare or covered with a finish (plates or coating) depending on whether it is visible or not, or whether or not it requires protection against mechanical attack, for example.

Note: To limit thermal bridges, here are some tips:

• the insulating panels must be joined, placed continuously and applied against the floor;

• also insulate corner walls and floor supports to treat thermal bridges.

• Take the time to study all the elements necessary for your choice before you buy materials: the local climate, the base of the floor, the insulation in place, the destination of the room, the type of coating, the type of heating.

Does Attic Insulation Help?

Does Putting Insulation in my attic really gong to make a difference?

Insulating the attic is the most cost-effective method of saving energy. As the heat rises, it is not surprising that 25% of the heat escapes through the roof, so energy is lost through the roof. You can learn about the attic insulation methods here.

Once the main elements that can cause air leaks in the attic have been sealed, the time has come to proceed with the insulation or its improvement. The most commonly used insulators in accessible attics are mineral wool (glass or rock) in mats or loose cellulose.

Insulating the attic is worth it. An average household can save 800-1000 m³ of natural gas annually by insulating the attic. With a gas price of $ 0.62 per m³, that saves around 500 Dollars. The costs of placing the insulation are therefore recovered relatively quickly. Besides that, the comfort of living will greatly increase because less heat is lost through the attic. Thanks to the improved indoor climate, the attic becomes an interesting space for use as living space or for storage.

When you want to insulate the attic, you can insulate both the roof and the attic floor. If you are using the attic only as a storage room, you will do well to insulate the attic floor. Would you like to use the attic as a living room, you will have to insulate the roof too. Obviously, it is also perfectly possible to insulate both the floor and the roof. Here is an overview of the methods and options:

Option 1: Insulate the attic floor

Insulating the attic floor is the best option for saving heating costs.

The heat from the rooms no longer escapes to the attic, which saves you on your heating costs. In terms of price, floor insulation is the cheapest option. The installation method generally depends on the construction of the floor. So, you must apply a different insulation method depending on whether it is a solid concrete load-bearing structure or a wooden herringbone structure.

Insulation of the attic with wooden support structure

A non-solid attic floor can be insulated by filling the space between the joists with an insulating material. The mineral wool insulating panels are particularly suitable for this. It is recommended to reach a thickness of 15 to 23 centimeters. It is the thicknesses which have the best relation between costs and savings.

Just like when insulating the roof, you should always provide a vapor barrier that must be attached to the interior side of the construction, aligned with the warm side. If a vapor barrier is difficult to install, there are insulating batts with a vapor barrier. This is often called kraft faced.

In addition to mineral wool, the floor can also be filled with mineral flakes or with polyurethane foam (PUR). The finish of the floor depends on whether the floor should still be passable. If the floor is not used often, the choice is often made on inexpensive wooden panels such as oriented strand board (OSB) or fibreboard.

Insulate an attic with a solid supporting structure

In the case of a solid floor, the insulation must obviously be mounted above the floor. First, a vapor impermeable film is applied to the existing surface. This film should not be fixed, except at the joints.

The same applies to the film cuts adjacent to the walls. Then the pressure-resistant insulating panels can be installed above the film. These panels are preferably placed in two crossed layers (a thickness of 20 centimeters in total).

If you do not choose hard insulation boards, you can opt for mineral wool. In this case, a wooden frame should be installed on the floor in which the insulation is inserted. The costs will obviously be a little higher. Receive a tailor-made price for this work here.

Option 2: Insulate the roof from the inside

By insulating the roof, you get a pleasant atmosphere that is less susceptible to temperature variations. The simplest way to insulate a pitched roof is to use mineral wool.

In the case of glass wool or rock wool insulation, the space between the rafters is completely filled with insulation. It is very important that the insulation is applied in a sufficiently thick layer. It is recommended to apply a layer of 15 to 20 centimeters, otherwise the insulating power of the layer will be reduced. In most cases, there is not enough room between the rafters to install such insulation. In order to remedy this problem, you can install new rafters which are laid crosswise.

You should always cut the mineral wool in a format slightly larger than the distance between the rafters. An extra centimeter is enough. The glass and rock wool are well compressible and stays tidy when you insert it between the rafters. Above the insulation, a vapor barrier must be applied.

In addition, you can also buy mineral wool that already has a vapor barrier, including tab mattresses. These have an aluminum film on one side which functions as a vapor barrier. They are available in different thicknesses, from 6 to 22 centimeters and in different widths from 35 to 60 centimeters. They are particularly useful in case of equal distance between the rafters. The tabbed mattresses are stapled to the front of the rafters. The joints are sealed with aluminum tape.

Option 3: insulate the attic roof from the outside

If the roof covering needs to be replaced or the roof needs to be replaced completely, you can insulate it from the outside. Several insulating panels are available for this purpose, some of them are already provided with boards. It goes without saying that exterior insulation is the most drastic measure, but if the roof needs to be renovated and the attic finish is impeccable, this is an option to consider. However, the most correct method is always interior insulation.