Radiant Heat
Even new homes may NOT have enough R-value in their insulation to prevent heat loss through the roof of an attic. The first clue to the need for more insulation is the lack of snow on the roof of a home during the snowy part of the year.
The best insulation for an attic – and the easiest and quickest to install – is blown-in insulation.
Ice Dams
Ice dams – those annoying and even dangerous signs – form in your home’s gutter system is because of insufficient insulation in your attic. If your attic is warm and has skimpy insulation, the heat of the home rises and radiates causing the snow on your roof to melt.
Melting snow pools into your gutters, and then freezes and you end up with an ice dam. This will cause major havoc to your gutter system, your roof and can cause serious water damage to your home. The dams melt due to the continuing radiant head and turns into water that will infiltrate your home.
If you have discolored ceilings, peeling wallpaper or even leaks that run down your walls, it’s very likely due to the freeze/melt/freeze/melt cycle of radiant heat. Worse of all, that issue can actually cause structural problems and in extreme cases damage or even destroy the walls and ceiling of your home.
Key Questions about attic insulation
1. What is the best way to insulate an attic?
Blown-in insulation is the best type of insulation for an attic. It is easy to install, can be done quickly and doesn’t cause a mess. It also makes reaching the recommended R value (A measure of thermal efficiency) much less costly.
2. How much does it cost to have your attic insulated?
In most cases, adding attic insulation to an attic should pay for itself within one year or less.
3. Is adding insulation to an attic worth it?
Yes! For comfort, energy savings – and even saleability of the home – it is the investment that keeps on paying dividends.
“Quick fixes DON’T work"
Hot Weather Issues
If the upper-level rooms in your home are hot during the summer months, you are not only going to be uncomfortable, you are going to either spend a LOT of money running air conditioning or being sweaty, sticky and cranky – or all of these.
