If your home is a few decades old, you’ve likely inherited low-performing attic insulation. Energy to heat or cool a home was cheap back in the day. We knew less about carbon emissions, and building homes to be energy efficient wasn’t a priority. Things have certainly changed.
Retrofitting your home’s insulation will translate to sizeable energy savings. That upgrade starts in the attic. Advanced Insulation in Winnipeg shares more:
How do I know I need an attic insulation upgrade?
High energy expenses and uneven temperatures are usually signs that your attic insulation isn’t doing its job. Both result from thin, uneven, and inefficient attic insulation and can cause a lot of strain on your heating and cooling system.
The age of your home will tell you if you need an attic insulation upgrade too. For example, homes built in the 1970s will have inefficient saw-dust or paper-like insulation with very low R-values. If you’ve never had an upgrade, you’re already losing a lot of energy through the roof!
Ice dams are also a tell-tale sign your attic insulation and ventilation need upgrading. Ice dams are when ridges or blocks of ice form on the roof due to constant melting and freezing. Heat is escaping through the roof and causing the melt. Ice dams can block water and snow, impede drainage, and damage your eavestroughs, fascia, and soffits.
What kind of attic insulation should I get?
Advanced Insulation recommends blown-in loose-fill insulation or spray foam, or a combination of the two. Loose-fill is resistant to mould and is made of non-flammable recycled material.
Spray foam has incredible thermal performance and works well in those hard-to-reach spaces. It works as an insulator, vapour barrier and can be sprayed directly on the roof deck in sloped attics.
What about ventilation?
Some insulation contractors will “top up” your attic insulation by blowing new insulation over the old material. However, older attics typically lack proper ventilation, vapour barriers, or even have leaks that allow warm moist air from the house into the attic. So that top-up might not do the trick without also addressing those issues.
If you change the attic’s temperature from warm to cold without addressing the leaks, you’ll get excess condensation build-up on the underside of the roof. This condensation will freeze, eventually, melt, and cause ‘attic rain.’ This cycle can occur several times during the winter, and that melt and rain will damage your roof, insulation, and ceiling.
The ventilation needs upgrading to complement your insulation installation. Advanced Insulation will also ensure the attic is sealed by checking bathroom fans, plumbing stacks, pot lights, and other fixtures that might leak. Once that is addressed, your new insulation and ventilation will keep the heat in and the moisture out! Read more information about attic ventilation.
Insulation Contractors in Winnipeg
Advanced Insulation Inc. is an insulation and firestopping contractor serving Winnipeg and the surrounding area. They have a strong reputation for providing honest advice, exceptional customer service and superior work. Advanced Insulation can help with new building projects, renovations, and large-scale commercial projects. Spray foam insulation, blown-in attic insulation, air barriers, radon protection, waterproofing, fireproofing, and firestopping are some of their services.
Do you need an attic insulation upgrade? Call Advanced Insulation Inc. today!
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