You probably know how important a properly insulated attic is for your home’s health and your wallet’s happiness, but, with so many options available, it can be hard to know what material is best for your attic.
There’s no avoiding attic insulation: in our Canadian winters, keeping your house warm will be expensive without proper insulation. And the opposite is true of our hot summers because appropriate attic insulation helps stabilize your home’s indoor temperature to give your cooling unit some help. Most of our homeowners understand this and want to ensure their homes are properly insulated but are often unsure about where to start. In today’s blog, we thought it would be helpful to give you some tips for choosing the right insulation material for your attic and home’s specific needs.
Questions to Consider:
When it comes to insulating your attic, buying the first thing you see might not serve your best interests. Trust Empire Roofing & Exteriors to professional assess your current attic situation and recommend your best options for your home’s needs. Some of the baseline questions you need to consider include:
1. Is Your Attic Finished or Unfinished?
Your answer to this question is essential for choosing the right material for your attic’s insulation. You have a larger variety of choices if your attic is unfinished compared to finished. While most finished attics should already have some insulation or be partially insulated, older homes are normally under-insulated and need to be topped up. The best option for finished attics is normally a blown-in insulation product simply because it is great for filling in hard-to-reach places. The difference between a finished vs. unfinished attic will also affect the amount of space you need to cover. It helps to consider the space available for insulation in your attic when choosing material.
2. What is Your Target R-Value?
An R-value measures your material’s heat resistance or the resistance of heat transfer from one side of the material to the other. We use R-value as an indicator of how well your home is insulated because it reflects a material’s ability to resist heat loss. Essentially, the higher the R-value of your attic, the greater the heat resistance and the better the insulation. The region you live in and its climate will help you determine how much insulation and what type will help your reach your target R-value. For example, a homeowner living in the Southern Ontario region will require less attic insulation than a homeowner up north where the winters are harsher and colder.
The Empire Roofing & Exterior team will get the job done right by helping you determine the best insulation materials to reach the right R-value for your region. In the Guelph, Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo, and surrounding area new building code requires roughly 22.5 inches of attic insulation or R60 value. Older homes will typically only have 8-10 inches of Insulation and need to be topped up.
3. What is Your Budget?
As with any home project, your budget will impact the insulation options you choose from. We can walk you through our recommendations so that you get the most bang for your buck and the best-insulated attic for your budget. Insulation materials can range in price but also range in quality and each has its advantages and disadvantages. The Empire Roofing & Exterior team will always outline why we think our selected attic insulation material and method are best suited for your home’s individual needs so that you are never left in the dark. We are transparent about our process and are always happy to answer any of your questions about your attic insulation project.
Attic Insulation Material Options:
The most common types of attic insulation in the Guelph, Cambridge, Kitchener, and Waterloo areas are loose-fill blown-in insulation, blanket insulation, and spray foam insulation. Each has its own benefits and costs that we will explain so that you understand what option will best serve your home’s needs.
1. Loose-Fill Blown-In Insulation
This form of attic insulation is the best option for you if your attic is irregularly shaped as the distribution of loose fibres or fibre pellets can fill hard-to-reach places. Loose-fill insulation works best for tight quarters, nonstandard joist spacing, odd gaps and spaces, and attics with low clearance, many obstructions, penetrations, and existing insulation that needs to be topped up. This type of insulation comes in fibreglass, cellulose, and mineral wool options.
2. Blanket Insulation
Also referred to as batts or sheet insulation, this product comes in rolls or batts that work best in attics with standard beam spacing and no obstructions. The sheets are sized to fit in between floor joints and wall studs but can be cut to fit in irregular spaces as well. This type of insulation works best with attics without existing insulation and with plenty of clearance for installation. Blanket insulation is available in fibreglass, cellulose, mineral wool, and cotton material.
3. Spray Foam Insulation
This type of attic insulation involves spraying a prepared compound from special equipment that acts as both an insulation and an air barrier. Although this type of insulation is usually more costly, you get your money’s worth back in performance. Spray foam effectively seals gaps to prevent heat loss and cold air penetration while also being fire-resistant, insect-resistant, and noise reducing. This type of insulation has the highest R-value for insulation products and substantial long-term savings in regard to home heating and cooling bills.
Let Empire Roofing Get the Job Done Right
Leave your attic insulation to our professional team to ensure the health and longevity of your home. Empire Roofing and Exteriors is your best choice for Attic Insulation in Guelph, Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo & surrounding areas. As a professional Guelph Roof Repair company, Empire Roofing & Exteriors will be there for you now and in the future. You can trust our Empire Roofing & Exteriors team with local, reputable, and licensed roof repair services backed with years of proven expertise. All your attic insulation and roof repairs will be handled by our licensed and insured workers, all of which are carefully vetted and selected because of their commitment to quality and safety.
Let the roofing experts at Empire Roofing & Exteriors get your attic and roof done the right way today by calling 519 265-ROOF (7663) or fill out our online quote form. Don’t forget to ask us about our financing options as well through FinanceIt, the most powerful financing in the industry.