Hiring an Insulation Contractor to Improve Your Home
There are a number of reasons for hiring an insulation contractor for improving your home, the most apparent reason is saving money on your cooling and heating bills every month. These bills do not remain fixed, in the sense that there is a likelyhood of their rising over the years, even though your usage is the same. If your usage does not remain the same (and homes become less efficient as they become older), your energy costs may be far higher in a few years than now. Perhaps you are already spending too much. Following are few more things you should know about how to get your home insulated properly.
Benefits
As stated, the first benefit of engaging an insulation contractor is the saving it can make in your electricity bill. It is reported that for an average an American home, almost 70% of total energy costs is due to heating and cooling. When your home is not insulated properly, this figure can go up. Of course, bringing down your energy costs is only part of the benefits. Another benefit is controlling levels of moisture in your home. This can be a great advantage when it is a question of improving the air quality indoors, keeping bugs away and avoiding mold. Many of you may have also realized that it is also a fine soundproofing idea. So if you’re tired because of lack of sleep due to sound of chirping of crickets and birds outside, insulation could be the answer.
Types
An insulation contractor usually offers you several types, each with a promise of different benefits. If you are only keen on the rolls of thick fiberglass material, you can even do the job yourself, provided that there is an attic safe enough to work around in and take the right precautions against the irritation that occurs when working with such materials. Of course, there will be gaps when you use the rolls whereas some of the other types like spray foam do not. Spray foam should be installed by a professional only and, for the job to be done correctly, you should consider allowing an expert install the rolls as well.
Effectiveness
If you wish to have a clearer understanding on what you are expecting when selecting from different insulators, it is advisable that you become more familiar with the R-value system of rating. R-value is the measure of rating the effectiveness of the material measured. Generally speaking, when the R-value is higher the cost of the material will also go up. Talk to your contractor who is carrying out the insulation work about the R-values of the different materials he has and decide the level at which you can get the work executed.