WALL AND ATTIC INSULATION

Michael Holigan: Insulation is one of the most important elements in your new house. Today we're going to talk about two places that insulation is key in your home. First, let's talk about the attic. The attic is the biggest loser of energy in the whole house. As a matter of fact, a third of all heating and cooling is lost right here. People ask, how important is the thickness of the insulation in the attic? How much insulation should I use? The rule is not how much should you use, but to be sure your using a high enough rated R-value insulation. Remember, the R-value is the rating of the insulation's resistance to thermal transfer. Everything has an R-value. Walls, 2x4's, sheetrock, everything. And the rule is, the higher the R-value, the better the insulation. For the attic, most builders use an R-value of 22 to 30. We recommend an R-value of 38. It will cost you a little more now, but it will save you money every month. For example, if you're building a 2,000 square foot single story house, the difference between using an R-value of 22 and upgrading to an R-value of 38 will cost you a little over $300. The upgrade will pay for itself in three to six years. As a qualified insulation expert blows the insulation into your attic, there are a few tips I recommend you watch for. Make sure the insulation is blown evenly, creating a blanket effect. Make sure there are no dips or valleys. And make sure baffles are used in the attic to prevent the soffit vents from being covered by the insulation. You've got to have circulation in the attic to prevent heat from building up. Be sure you don't insulate over a light fixture from a room below because fire could result. And make sure you don't insulate over a combustion inlet for the furnace or water heater. And anywhere there is decking under the roof, be sure to install insulation before the decking is installed.

Al Carrell: Now, Michael told you about how important it is to have high R-values. The same is true when you're putting insulation bats into these wall cavities here. The higher the R-value, the better insulated your home is, and the more money you're going to save on your utility bills. If your home has 2x4 wall studs, the fiberglass insulation that is normally installed has an R-Value of 13. Now, Michael and I recommend building your home with 2x6 wall studs, using an R-Value of 19. The insulation is almost 6 inches thick. It's going to give you about 30% more insulation, less noise from outside, and it will save you money. Now, I know what you're thinking. You're going to go ahead and use those 2x4 studs and then just take an R-19 bat and squeeze it in there and compress it back in place in that stud cavity. Well, it doesn't work that way. You see, when you take this insulation, and you start compressing it, you defeat the purpose. You squeeze all those air pockets out, and without the air pockets you don't get the efficiency or the R-value that you're shooting for. You have to have a combination of the air pockets and the fiberglass to obtain the R-value that's going to save you big bucks. When installing insulation where wires run through studs, split the insulation so the wires run through it. If you try to compress it under the wire, it will lose R-value and it's effectiveness. What's the cost of a higher R-value insulation? Let's say you're building a 2,000 square foot home with 2x6 wall studs. It's going to cost you about $150 to upgrade the insulation from R-13 to R-19 in the exterior walls. And you'll recoup that in the first year or two that you live in the house.

M.H.: So you see, there are many reasons to use a higher R-value insulation in your home. You're going to have more comfort and best of all more savings every month in your new house.

Episode 34 1996 - 97 Season

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