Think About INSULATION When Renovating

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Think about insulation when planning out your summer home renovation projectRenovation season is here !  It's spring, and its time for all of us to get going on our own home renovation projects.  For some, this may be a simple flower bed upgrade, and for others, it may mean the addition of a kitchen expansion, the addition of a second floor on a bungalow, or finally devloping that basement  you never use.

Insulation is not a cosmetic aspect of your home, so it's often overlooked when planning a renovation.  It's not as beautiful as new kitchen countertops, but it can help pay for those new countertops by saving you up to 40% off your current heating and cooling costs.  When planning your renovation, here are a few areas you should consider improving, while you are making a mess in your home.  

  • Upgrade your attic. It gives you the best return on your investment, it's simple, and doesn't really affect any other areas of your home. If you have a home that is more than 15 years old, you can probably save significant money on energy costs, especially during our bitter winter season, in Calgary.

  • Inspect and upgrade your ventilation in the attic. If you are planning on a new roof, there is nothing more important than ensuring that your roof is protected from below, from searing heat that may build up in the summer, and frozen moisture that may build up in the winter. Ensure that you have air intake at your soffits, and make sure that you have adequate outflow of air, via roof vents and turbines.

  • Basement insulation. The second leading cause of heat loss in an older home is typically poor, or no, insulation in the basement, particularly in the "header" and "joist end" areas at the top of your concrete frost wall. This is an service that we offer, that is often overlooked. Even if you are not developing your basement, please make sure that you have adequate exterior frost wall insuation, and that you have no drafts or cold air penetration through your joist end spaces. We offer a full line of fiberglass, spray foam, and even reflective insulation to combat heat loss.

  • Draft proof other areas of your home, on the exterior walls. This is a great DIY project. You can buy outlet gaskets at your local home improvement store, and add caulking around those drafty window and door casings. This is also a great time to ensure that you have good weatherstripping on your exterior doors as well.

  • Don't forget about your garage attic. Many modern homes have an attached garage and they often have a shared attic space. Most new homes have less or even zero, attic insulation in the garage portion. This can lead to significan cold infiltration into your home, and causes a convective effect, drawing heat out of your common garage wall.

  • Be kind to your electrician. If you are doing major electrical work up in your attic, or you are adding a second floor onto your bungalow, please remember that we offer full insulation removal services. Trust me, this is something you don't want to tackle yourself. We often get calls from frantic homeowners who start removing their insulation with shop vacs, and shovels, and garbage bags. When we empty our five ton truck at the dump, and it contains 2 tons of material that we just vaccumed out of someones attic, I often wonder "who does this by hand ?"

Pleae remember that this is a great time of the year to get some insulation work done because the cost of labour is lower, and everyone is not stressed out about cold winter days.  Give us a call, and get a free onsite estimate, to see what areas we can improve, and save some money this winter !