SOUTH KANSAS CITY Blog

The Numerous Benefits of Garage Insulation

Professional Residential Garage Insulation Services

Does your home always seem cold no matter how much you turn up the thermostat, light up the fireplace, or layer on thick wooly sweaters? Or do you notice that the master bedroom is blistering hot in the summer but frigid cold in the winter and has bad moderation for room temperature? Some homeowners make the haphazard assumption that their HVAC system is malfunctioning or their furnace is busted and so ask their utility provider’s on-call technician to calibrate their thermostat. Upon inspection, they may notify you that your thermostat is in the correct settings and your heating system intact. And your entrances and exits, such as doors and windows, don’t seem to be damaged letting in cold chills. Now that you’ve exhausted all options, you may be wondering what exactly is the root cause of a house that’s always chilly. Your home may not be haunted but it is in dire need of insulation. So it’s about time to ask a Kansas City Insulation technician from Koala Insulation for an insulation installation service. But before you go ahead and schedule your appointment it’s best to educate yourself on home insulation.

What Is Home Insulation And Why Is It Important? 

Lately, if you’ve noticed soaring utility bills, but your furnace is chugging along just fine without any plausible explanation your home may not be protected by enough cushioning to ward off harsh weather conditions. The purpose of insulation is to limit the conduction of heat and prevent heat transfer by diverting the flow of heat. Insulation allows you to keep a consistent and desired temperature in your house year-round, shielding it from too much cold in winter and too much heat in the summer. Also, insulation allows for resistance to heat flow by stopping outdoor air from getting inside your home and conditioned indoor air from escaping thereby reducing your heating and cooling costs. For example, the most important area of the house that must be insulated is the attic. As heat rises, most of it concentrates at the topmost level of the home, and during the winter season, heat rapidly escapes through the attic. And so, a home with a lack of insulation or without insulation will endure poor thermal performance and not only will the HVAC system become overworked, but your monthly utility bills will dramatically increase. Atop this, other problems will emerge without home insulation, including air that escapes through any leak, mold, mildew growth, and a frozen and broken pipe which can all have a disastrous impact on your home as it not only results in costly water damage but also compromises the structural integrity of your home. If you’re anticipating replacing or installing insulation because the bedroom above your garage is too hot or cold you are best advised to rely on a qualified and licensed contractor from Koala Insulation. There are numerous benefits to home insulation, such as:

• Improved Energy Efficiency
• Better Comfort And Livability
• Reduced Noise Pollution
• Increases Indoor Air Quality
• Environmentally-friendly Lifestyle 

Telltale Signs You Require Home Insulation

Skyrocketing Energy Bills: If you’ve noticed your energy use increase lately and it’s not due to inflation, then the most likely culprit is a lack of insulation. With this thick layer of padding, your home wastes more energy and you’ll notice more drafty sections during the ice-cold winter months or blistering hot spots during the next heat wave. This is because the air from the outdoors creeps into your home through the non-insulated sections of the wall and so your HVAC system has to work twice as hard to churn out the same amount of output in terms of wasting more energy to heat up or cool down the air. 

Fluctuating Temperature: It’s abnormal to have hot and cold zones in different areas of the house. This can be due to multiple reasons, including not sealing windows and doors with weather stripping or a busted furnace system but the biggest reason by far is no insulation whatsoever in the attic explaining the temperature imbalance. At the end of the day, the more insulation your home has the less heat will escape through areas of your home and the less energy you will consume. 

Cold Drafts: Drafts are the result of warm air leaking out of your home and getting replaced or forced out by breezy, cold air from the outdoors, which thereby transforms your house into an ice castle and makes it less energy efficient overall. Insulation will readily block unwanted air movement by preventing cold air from coming inside your house during the winter and also preventing warmer air from escaping. And so, less energy will be used to heat the home during the next cold snap and cool down the home during a heat wave. 

Frozen Pipes: Frozen pipes usually result when temperatures dip down below freezing and cause the drain lines to expand and contract resulting in a nasty clog. But if your plumbing system has been winterized and properly insulated with a thermal blanket or foam sleeves you won’t ever have this issue. 

Cold Rooms: If you have a larger room, such as a master bedroom, that is blazing hot during the summer but frigid cold during the winter with little moderation for temperature levels, something is amuck. If the room happens to sit below the attic or above the garage, that would explain why the temperature levels are so unstable and uncomfortable, as the attic or garage may not be insulated. 

Water Leakages In Attic: If you find water dripping from the roof, it indicates cold air has escaped from the heated parts of the house into the unheated parts of the attic space. The water vapor within the warmer air from the heated side of the house condenses to form liquid water on the colder attic surfaces which explains the next problem of ice dams. 

Ice Dams On Roof: If the garage is not insulated don’t be surprised if the room above it is not only ice cold, but the roof above the room is also frozen out. If you notice a handful of leakages springing from the roof, it can indicate there is an ice dam formation. An ice dam is forged along the eavestroughs of your roofline when a scathing snowstorm hits. Over time the buildup from the snow accumulates, which ruptures your gutters and causes the roof to leak. 

Rodent Or Pest Infestation: If you’re not careful, your home’s insulation can become a zoo that hosts a diverse number of animals and bugs from rats, mice, raccoons, beetles, mosquitos, cockroaches, and more. As these critters nestle in and make the attic a breeding ground for themselves, defecating between exposed sheets of insulation or even eating it up or tearing it all out you want to try your best to do an effective insulation installation that uses resilient material.

How Koala Insulation Approaches A Expert Home Garage Insulation Installation

Why Do I Need To Insulate My Garage Door Anyways? 

If the room above your garage is always colder or hotter than the rest of the house cold air may be rising upwards through the floor. This is all due to a garage that is not properly insulated. Many homeowners overlook the importance of preparing their garage based on the season and local climate for example, by winterizing it through a heated garage pad and insulation. So they quickly find themselves with problems such as a malfunctioning garage door opener or a bedroom adjacent that does not have moderate temperature levels. For the latter, you can increase your comfort and cut down on waste money on utility bills by insulating your garage door.

What Is The R-Value? 

An R-Value is the insulation’s material capacity to divert heat flow which is measured by thermal resistance or R-value. Basically, the greater the R-value the greater the resistance or insulating effectiveness. A higher R-Value indicates the quality of the insulation material too in terms of thickness and density, so an R-38 for attic insulation, for example, would chalk up to about 10 to 14 inches of loose-fill fiberglass insulation. Plus it will be better for energy efficiency. But the highest R-Value doesn’t necessarily be the most effective, as of course, insulation application depends on the area of the home you are insulating, the type of material including fiberglass, cellulose, spray foam, or mineral wool, and the local climate. 

Types Of Insulation 

Fiberglass: Fiberglass is made of finely strung together fibers which are plastic-based and has numerous applications as it can be laid as loose-fill, blanket, or for duct insulation. It’s very absorbent and bodes well in moist environments, is resistant to fire, is a great sound muffler, and even comes in recycled glass varieties. Although it has a lower upfront installation cost, it does emit toxic fumes, which can be bad for your health if the assembly process is not done properly. Another drawback is that if it happens to become wet it loses its ability to insulate, rendering it useless compared to its counterparts and is more prone to leakages. Please note this is also the best type of insulation for your garage as it’s inexpensive and easy to install. 

Cellulose: This is made of plant-based fibers made from recycled newspaper or cardboard, is best reserved for around pipes and wires within the wall, is fire-resistant, fares well against mold growth, is great at preventing noise pollution and pest invasions, and overall is more energy efficient. Although this drawback is that it doesn’t survive as well in moist areas, especially after a heavy rainstorm, and is more vulnerable to water damage, decreasing its capacity to insulate over time as it becomes firmer and rigid. As a result, cold winds will quickly infiltrate the room.

Sprayfoam: This is made of a combination of chemicals, including isocyanate and polyol, which react together to form a solution that expands rapidly and intensely once applied to a surface. It allows for an airtight seal that eliminates air leakages allowing for improved energy efficiency. Spray Foam comes as either open-celled or close-celled. Open-cell spray foam has a lower heat resistance and works best for the interior of your home and closed-cell foam has a higher heat resistance and is completely waterproof so it is ideally used for the exterior of your home. Mostly spray foam is best used to seal up cracks or gaps in attics, roofs, walls, and floors. Although it’s pricier, it readily reduces heat transfer as it bodes well in moisture-prone areas and works great for nose pollution and blocking insects. There are drawbacks, though, like spray foam can shrink over time and it takes a long time to dry and cure. 

Mineral Wool: Although more expensive, mineral wool is a great substitute for fiberglass as it’s very similar apart from the fact it's made from natural fibers and is not plastic-based. It’s either made of rock wool made from fibers of stone or slag wool made from iron ore. It does well against moisture and is fire-resistant. It also doesn't easily absorb water, which can result in mold and mildew growth plus it’s a good noise reducer. The only drawback is that because the fibers are made of glass or stone, they can be harmful if it’s ever inhaled and they can also irritate your skin.

Goosebumps No More–Call Us Today To Cloak Your Humble Abode! 

Nobody wants to live without the comfort and convenience of insulation and the moderate room temperature levels it provides for your home. If there is that one room that you never quite understood why it feels cozy unlike the rest of your house a lack of insulation is the most likely culprit. So don’t procrastinate and ask one of our trustworthy and experienced team members to bolster your insulation. Whether you’re in Jackson, Platte, or Clay reach out to our friendly customer service representatives at (913)-675-6722 to schedule a consultation or service appointment so you too, can reap the benefits of insulation.