As professionals in quality spray foam and blown-in insulation service, insulation removal, and fireproofing services, Reitzel Insulation often gets asked a host of different insulation questions like how much insulation is needed, or on the flip side, how do you know if your business or home is under-insulated?
SIGNS YOUR HOME IS UNDER INSULATED
Without proper insulation, the heated or cooled air your heating and cooling system works so hard to produce escapes through the walls and attic. Here’s what you should look out for:
- Uneven Temperatures - from room to room is a sign your house is under-insulated. The touch test reveals a lot about what’s going on behind your walls, floors, and ceilings. If any areas are under-insulated, they will feel cold to the touch in the winter and hot in the summer. Heat and cool air can escape almost anywhere that doesn’t have insulation to stop its path.
- High Energy Bills - as your insulation fails, you’ll need more and more energy to keep your home comfortable. This is a sign that the blown-in insulation in the attics and walls may have settled, making the home insulation less effective and possibly leading to areas that are not protected from cold temperatures.
- Moisture in the Attic - Just as poor insulation lets the heat out of your home, it also tends to let water in. Summer's intense attic heat can cause moisture to condense, and water tends to find its own level. Water damage can cause many costly problems down the road, including mold issues.
- Ice Dams – these occur when heat (rising from your poorly-insulated home) melts the bottom layer of snow off of your roof. The melted water then trickles down towards your gutters and may begin to freeze once it hits the cooler air. These oversized icicles, called ice damming, can wreak havoc on your roof and your gutter, and turn into a safety hazard for those below.
- Frozen Pipes – are a huge sign of insulation problems. Poorly insulated exterior walls can cause frozen pipes, which can burst, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage.
- Old and Dirty Insulation – air and moisture leaks, and time itself can cause the insulation to get dirty and worn down, which creates the potential for rodent infestation, dust, cracks, and mold. We recommend adding a fresh layer or insulation as soon as possible.
To know if any of these issues affect your home, check how the house has been built structurally and measure the thickness of any insulation that you find in the ceilings and walls. Check your house for air leaks from holes made for your plumbing, electrical outlets, baseboards or windows. Finally, if you determine that you do in fact need to add additional insulation, there are many different types of materials to consider. Before you decide on how much additional insulation you need to add, an easy way to seal air leaks is to use caulking or weather stripping in each of the areas.
CONTACT AN INSULATION CONTRACTOR FOR SERVICE IN THE KW REGION OR BURLINGTON
For complex insulation jobs, contact Reitzel Insulation’s certified insulation contractors at 1-800-265-8869 today for more information. We service all over Southwestern Ontario, including Kitchener-Waterloo, Burlington, and surrounding areas are known for our professionalism, our 5 year workmanship warranty, and our second-to-none project clean-up procedures.
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