After you finished the addition to your house, the best option for your attic is blown insulation. So, you will find in this article some tips in case you want to complete your process easier.

So, you will need to make some measurement first. You will need to measure your attic which will probably need a value of R-30, R-38 or R-49. This value depends about your climate and location. After you measured the attic, you will need to determine the correct amount of insulation you will need. After that, you will need to determine the materials that you’ll need for the process.

You will start by preparing your attic for blown insulation. First, make sure that you wear goggles and a dust mask and a long sleeve shirt. You will need to install flashing around recessed lights. You will use a utility knife to cut a piece of flashing of the correct length and you will form it into a cylinder shape to secure the edge with duct tape. You will place it over recessed light and you will leave a four inch open area which will allow heat to go out. You will need to repeat the process for the fans in the attic area and vented kitchens. Next, you will need to take care of baffles which represent a job that nobody enjoys. You will need to install the baffles over the vents to prevent covering them with insulation.

Next, you will need to create a dam around the attic access hole and the easiest way to do that is to cut a few extra cardboard baffles of about 4 inches above the insulation you will install. It is recommended to have another person to help you to load the insulation blowing machine. If you use fiberglass, you will need to add a cup of water per bag which will help to cut down the static electricity when you blow the insulation. Your assistant will also need to help you with the excess hose if you don’t want to get tangled in it.

You will need to start with far ends of the attic and you will need to make sure that the level is smooth. Also, you will need to make sure that you don’t fill any vents or light areas. Measure by some time with your tape measure to assure that the level is continuous. You will need to stop the machine when you get about 6 feet away from the access hole if you want to get on the ladder. Make sure that you bring the level evenly against the dam previously built once on the ladder finish installing. Into the final step, you will have to place a piece of bat insulation in the access hole and put the attic hole lid back into place carefully. You will need to stay out of the attic as much as possible if you want insulation to keep its R value.

Ceilings, walls, attics and basements usually use expanding foam insulation. This type of insulation it is also used for window seals, electrical boxes, outlets and other small enclosed places. It is also used by sailors for docks and pilots for wings. In this article you will find precious information about it and about how it is applied.

Expanding foam insulation has a lot of advantages if we think about improving the air quality and lowering air conditioning costs. It is a great air sealer and eliminates wind washing, caulking, and house wrap or vapor seal. Expanding foam reduces also the noise and prevents flooding. It is not biodegradable and controls condensation as well.

Also, you can apply this foam over an old material but remember that you can still choose it from three options: loose fill, batt and blanket and rigid foam board. First material is made of fiberglass or cellulose. Expanding foam is blown into the walls to create a blanket effect and it is used to unfinished attics or walls. Batt and blanket it is a good option as it is made from fiberglass and rock wool. It is cheap, but requires a good installation process.

Rigid board is the last option to think about when you consider choosing your material. It is made of fiberglass polystyrene or polyurethane. It is used for flat roofs, basement walls, cathedral ceilings and perimeter insulation. It is not resistant to fire and it must be covered with fire resistant paneling or dry wall. You will also need treated material or insecticide to keep bugs away from it. So, this is not a good option as expanding foam is cheaper, more efficient and easier to install. However, you should keep in mind that is ecological and reduces noise.

The reasons why blown in insulation became so popular is that it is easy to put in and due to the fact you won’t have to do extensive tearing of your walls. You will simply need to create an opening for a machinery to insert a tube which will blow the insulation particles to your wall.

If you are confused and you don’t know the areas where the insulation of your house can be blown, we recommend you all areas like ceilings, walls, floors or attic crawl spaces. You will find out that this job can be a little bit expensive if you want to cover large areas, but into the same time you can use recycled material which is popular for this job and you will save some money.

If you’re asking for some advantages, we will tell you that blown insulation is cheap and safe. You will also find out that it is ecological and some materials are fire safety. The most important advantage of the blown insulation is the easiness of installation. You will simply create a hole into your wall and after you will finish the job, the hole will be sealed.

On the other side, a disadvantage for blown insulation can be the fact that you will struggle to seal areas with electrical junction boxes or plumbing structures because the foam insulation will expand. Another disadvantage is the fact that over the time, the material blown will settle and creates issues for your walls.

If you’re asking for materials, a very good option is represented by wet-spray cellulose which contains adhesive and it is treated with aluminum sulfate which will keep fire away from your house. Also, you can use materials like vermiculite, fiberglass, slag wool, hemp wood chips or granulated cork.

In case if your supply store doesn’t allow you to rent materials needed, it is recommended to let professional contractors to do this job for you. Contractors have experience in this kind of jobs and they will know precisely what they need to do after a quick checking of your house. Remember to ask for price first, then you can let them do the job.

You can use expanding foam insulation for the ceilings, walls, attics and basement. The expanding foam insulation is applies using a special equipment that shots polyurethane or modified urethane liquid. While it dries, the foam expands and fills the area. The expanding foam insulation has a lot of benefits: it’s a good air sealer, it improves air quality and reduces a lot of energy consumption. It is a good sound reducer, it doesn’t shrink and it helps against flooding.

There are also other insulation materials you can use. First, the loose fill insulation made from fiberglass or cellulose. It is applied the same as the expanding foam and you can use it for attics and walls. Another type, Batt and blanket, made of fiberglass and rock wool, is very cheap but requires professional installation.

And the third type to consider is rigid board insulation made of fiberglass, polystyrene or polyurethane. It differs from foam insulation with the fact that it need to be covered in fire resistant paneling or dry wall, unlike foam that is flame resistant. This is not a recommended type of insulation.

Even though it can be a little more expensive, expanding foam insulation doesn’t require extra spending. And it is also environmental friendly.

Your home could turn out to be the one obstacle to living a quiet life. The noise can come from everywhere: neighbors, cars, from your home and you will surely want a solution fast.

The quickest solution to solve this problem is installing soundproof insulation. And besides giving you the most wanted quiet, adding soundproof insulation also increases the house’s value.

Soundproofing the house will eliminate the arguments between adults and teenagers that like listening to loud music. It will make conversations private from the others, people in one room can sleep and others can wake up early.

The thing with soundproof insulation is that it will increase the home’s energy efficiency. It is practically acoustic foam that is installed as insulation into your walls preventing the loss of heat in cold weather or the opposite in the summer.

You can save yourself from annoying noise if you install soundproof insulation at the construction stage of your house. A good insulation depends on its thickness. After you decide you want to use soundproof insulation you should hire a contractor to help you in the process.

When starting to insulate the attic you must first measure the area of the attic and calculate how much insulation you need. You can’t start the insulation process without preliminary preparation. You have to leave an open space of at least four inches from the flashing to the light for the recessed lights. Cut a piece of flashing using a utility knife into the shape of a cylinder. To allow the heat to escape you have to place it over the recessed light. The same process applies to the vented kitchen or bathroom fans near the attic.

The next thing to do is to install baffles in the place where the ceiling joists intersect with the roof rafters. You can install them using a staple hammer. Always install the baffles over the vents and don’t cover the vents in insulation.

By now you should have a partner that will help you with loading the blowing machine. Once a bag of insulation is loaded there will be a few minutes until a new bag is needs so ask you partner to climb the ladder and remove the excess hose from the attic.

Blowing the insulation isn’t hard, just be careful to blow it smooth and level. From time to time you could measure the level with a tape measure and in this whole time your partner should keep on removing the excess hose from the attic.

Insulation is the thing you need to check when trying to reduce energy bills. You have no idea how a little insulation can save you a lot of money. As a start, begin with checking the garage doors. As earlier said, a little amount of insulation applied to the garage doors, will reduce the energy consumption strongly.

The garage in modern houses is usually connected to the main living quarters, so the garage has a great influence on the temperature inside the house. But insulating the garage will help you through the drastic temperature swings that happen in seasonal weather.

The easy solution to insulate the garage doors is to use foam panels inside of them. They are easy to cut and the fit any surface. Any hardware store or home improvement store has this product for sale, or an insulation kit with foam boards. With the kit you also get fasteners and adhesives.

For a faster finishing of the job, we recommend you get the kit, because it also comes with instruction on how to use it and all the materials you need. The price you will pay for this isn’t high and anyway you recover your money from the savings you make on energy bills.

First get yourself a sharp blade with which you will have to make clean cuts to obtain uniform looking panels. Be careful with which part you have to apply on the surface of the garage door, there should be some indication on this.

From the many types of insulation, mineral wool insulation is just another type that will help you reduce the energy consumption inside your home. The material from which this insulation type is made is called rock wool and slag wool and it is a recycled material, fire resistant also. This can turn out to be a very good advantage.

This type of insulation comes in two forms. The first one, blanket insulation comes in precut rolls and it is used in interior walls between wall studs, very easy applicable. The other type is loose-fill insulation.

It is important to choose the best insulation type for you house, so research about all the other types depending on the areas you want to insulate. It depends on a lot of factors, including what desired effect you are trying to obtain. And when using recycled materials you are certainly helping the environment. Also mineral wool insulation isn’t a treat to your health like fiberglass is.

It’s just that some types of insulation work better than others so perform all the necessary research to find out which insulation type fits your house best. Mineral wool insulation is recommended especially when you’re insulating the interior of your home because it is very safe and cheap.

You can compare the cost of spray foam insulation to the other insulation types, fiberglass and cellulose insulation in many aspects. You will have to spend more money than planned with the other insulation types because they are costly to upkeep.

You can find in a kit the following things: An air barrier that helps sealing all the leaks. Vapor retarders to help reduce the moisture build up. A high value spray foam insulation which is the best on the market and you get the job done perfectly with this. And finally a light green foam which helps you in case you want to use more types of insulation, making it easier to identify.

There is nothing difficult when it comes to use the kit. The cost of spray foam insulation is something that worth’s. It is very efficient against insects and mold; it is an insulation that gives you the piece of knowing nothing is able to get inside the house.

When using fiberglass or cellulose insulation, you will add extra costs because the replacement of these types is extremely costly. So this is an extra reason to use spray foam insulation, but there is another reason. This insulation is environmental friendly, so if you want to help the planet stay green this is the solution.

If you decide to use spray foam insulation, all your concerns about the home’s condition due to insulation will disappear. The material this insulation is made of is called polyurethane, and it is applied in any surface, no matter how thin it is, and when it dries it becomes a tough foam consistency.

This is one of the most energy efficient insulation types, keeping all the hot air or cold depending on the weather inside, helping you save a lot of money with the energy bills. Also your health is not in danger due to this insulation type like it is in the fiberglass insulation type. No particles brake off and flow in the air from spray foam insulation.

You can also see that after installing spray foam insulation, no more insects or pests will get inside the house. It’s also very efficient against moisture, meaning there will be no mold. This is a great relief because eliminating mold is known to be very expensive. Also you should let a professional do the job for you, especially if you have to remove the old insulation first.

Even though the initial costs of spray foam insulation are big, you will make your money back after a while and the value of the house will also increase. To finish the benefits list, polyurethane is also an environmental friendly material.