Archive for the ‘Home improvements’ Category
How You Can Fix Up The House
Insulating your home
Nothing beats installing radiant barrier insulation in your attic for keeping your residence cool in the summer months and warm in the winter. When your roof heats up in the summer the air in the attic absorbs a lot of that heat, and there are two ways to handle it: radiant barrier insulation, or fiberglass insulation. The heat from the attic is only partially absorbed in traditional insulation, and so a lot of heat is forced down into the living quarters. However, when your attic has radiant barrier insulation 97% of the heat is reflected back towards the roof and your house stays nice and cool, plus you can keep your air conditioner off. During the winter the heat in your house rises to the attic, where the radiant barrier will save energy by blocking the heat from escaping. A supporting material such as cardboard, kraft paper, or plywood sheathing is given a thin coating of aluminum, and the result is radiant barrier insulation. What can be found at many outlets is radiant barrier insulation which has been fiber reinforced for long life and ease of handling. Bubble insulation, which is a bubble material sandwiched between a pair of metal plates, is inferior to radiant barrier, because the bubble material might lose air in time and the metal plates can touch. Recommendations to help you find radiant barrier insulation are found at Radiant Barrier Insulation Guide.
Upgrade your home
Save energy with fiberglass insulation
Today the most common type of insulation used in housing construction is fiberglass rolls, which are typically sold in widths perfect for fitting into the spaces between wall studs and between joists. The large, pink rolls of fiberglass insulation are a familiar sight. Blow-in insulation is best for spaces where accessibility is difficult, like eaves and tight crawl spaces. Using this kind of insulation, small bits of fiber are quickly forced into the area using specialized machines. To help prevent settling, which might reduce the insulation’s effectiveness, many of the blow-in products come with a type of adhesive that holds everything from moving. One other potential problem with blow-in insulation is the mess. If you rile up the stuff, it could wind up in places you don’t want it, for instance on the rugs and in your lungs and down your back. So, if you plan on turning your attic into a storage area, it will be best to use the pink rolls and then place plywood on top of the joists. This will give you the added benefit of further insulating your home. You might also cover the blow-in fiberglass, but installing the rolls is just a lot easier, less time consuming, and less expensive. Additional assistance to help you locate fiberglass insulation.