TEXAS HILL COUNTRY Blog

What Part of a House Should You Insulate First?

Picture it. Night has fallen. Driving rain has swept in from the East. The cold has set in and you’re late for an evening out.

Here’s a leading question to use as an analogy: would you set off without wearing a raincoat and warm clothes? Of course not. And, in a similar way, you should protect your house from the elements by installing proper insulation.

Read on to find out where you should begin and how Koala Insulation of Texas Hill County can help.

A Holistic Approach to Heat Control in Your Home

An energy-smart thermostat, double-pane windows, and an alarm that reminds you to close outside doors are part of your plan. They’ll all help reduce your carbon footprint and save energy. But you need to do more.

According to the Department of Energy, "Space heating and cooling account for almost half of a home's energy use, making this one of the largest energy expenses in any home.”

As your Texas home ages, your insulation begins to deteriorate - as do the seals around your windows, doors, and lights. Did you know that 50-70% of the energy used in your home consists of heating and cooling? By reinsulating your home, you can save money each month on your utility bill.

It’s up to you to plug the entries and exits and wrap an insulating blanket around your home. Here are the top 3 places to insulate:

Attics

Home energy experts tend to agree that the attic is the single most crucial site for insulation in the home.

Hot air rises. If you have insufficient insulation in your attic, the air you’ve spent your hard-earned cash heating up will head to a place where you’re least likely to benefit from it. Furthermore, it can simply disappear through the roof. It’s a little bit like losing valuable body heat on a cold day when you don’t wear headgear.

If your goal is to have an energy-efficient house, insulating the attic is a smart move. It will help prevent your treated air from leaking out and your furnace from running on overtime. This means potentially significant savings on your monthly energy bills.

And warmer air can enter your home through the roof and attic during the hotter summer months. The build-up of this warmer air can make it harder to cool down the lower floors.

Give your Texas home controlled air flow movement with an air sealing upgrade and experience savings, good health, and home value!

Exterior and Interior Walls

Many estimates suggest about 35 percent of the heat in any home will escape through the walls. That includes gaps in and around windows and doors.

Insulating walls will also keep cooler air-conditioned air inside, helping us stay more comfortable in the summer months.

You should consider insulating all exterior walls. That includes those between unheated spaces such as garages. A lack of insulation in your walls will create drafts. And, if you’ve already insulated the attic, air will look for other gaps to escape from or enter your home through.

Koala Insulation of Texas offers first-class insulation removal and insulation replacement services.

Basement Insulation

You should also insulate any concrete walls in your basement. Doing so creates a more comfortable space and reduces the risk of issues from moisture. Interior basement wall insulation has the following advantages:

• It’s far less costly compared to exterior insulation for existing buildings
• You can use almost any insulation type
• It mitigates the risks of insect infestation

You may need to consider these points when installing interior basement wall insulation:

• Some kinds of insulation need fire-rated covering
• Interior insulation reduces internal space by several inches
• It won’t protect damp-proof coating like exterior insulation does

If you’re asking yourself whether insulating an internal wall is worth it. The answer is often “yes.” It will help keep a consistent temperature throughout the home. It has the added benefit of creating a degree of soundproofing between rooms. That all adds to the comfort and enjoyment of being at home.

Crawl Spaces

You should insulate both unventilated and ventilated crawlspaces. This is going to help keep pipes protected from fluctuating temperatures. It will also maintain ductwork at the right temperature in all seasons.

There are other money-saving advantages too. When your pipes are warmer, they’ll keep the heat in and deliver hot water more efficiently. A/C and heating will work more effectively too when ducts maintain an even temperature.

Because your crawl space can let in cold air, it can make floors uncomfortably cold. If you stand barefoot, you’ll soon start feeling a loss of body temperature in the cooler months.

Blown-in insulation fills every nook and cranny of crawl spaces and attic crevices and creates an extra fluffy layer of effective insulation. It is a convenient choice that can be blown in over existing insulation or in between walls and ceiling joists without disturbing structures.

Loose-fill fiberglass or cellulose can be blown on your attic floor, inside crawl spaces, or other spaces that may require insulation. Blown-in insulation can easily cover large areas and will fill in areas with tight spaces and angles. Koala Insulation of Texas Hill Country installs blown-in for retrofit, residential, commercial, and new build construction.

How to Check Insulation Efficiency in the Home

A clever way to check where your home needs insulation is to take the temperature in different locations. Uneven or colder temperatures might mean you need more insulation installed.

Conduct your own internal audit by noting what type of insulation you have and where. Insulation in walls, attic spaces, and floors tends to be visible.

For exterior walls, you could find an electrical outlet, shut off the power, and shine a flashlight into the area around the outlet box. You should then be able to check for insulation, and in particular, its thickness.

How Areas of the Home Feel to the Touch

The floors, walls, and ceilings of your home ought to feel dry and warm to the touch. When paneling and drywall inside the home feel cold or damp, it’s a clear sign there's insufficient insulation.

On the other hand, when touching the outside of an exterior wall, you should get a cold sensation because the insulation is keeping warm air inside the home.

Proper insulation will ensure your bathrooms are at a comfortable temperature all year-round. You should consider bathroom projects carefully because of the moisture and humidity that bathrooms generate. When moisture gets trapped in walls, mold and mildew can grow. That can cause damage and health issues.

Understanding Different Insulation Types

Figuring out the places to start insulating your house is half the battle. What also matters is the kind of insulation you choose for specific areas around the home. Check here for the different types of home insulation we can offer.

Get in touch with Koala insulation of Texas Hill country today for all your home insulation needs.