SOUTHERN TIER NEW YORK Blog

Three ways insulation protects your home in Corning NY

3 Ways Insulation Protects Your Home

Insulation isn’t normally at the forefront of someone’s thoughts as they go about their day-to-day activities. And if the topic of insulation comes up, it’s usually centered around the general idea that insulation keeps the home warm in the winter. But insulation serves other purposes as well. In fact, it can prevent damage to your home. How? That’s what we’ll explore in this post – the three main ways, other than temperature control, that insulation protects your home.

Broken Pipes

Good insulation is an important agent in preventing pipes from breaking during cold temperatures. You knew this, right? Maybe it just wasn’t at the forefront of your thoughts when the word “insulation” first came up. But preventing frozen pipes may be a little more involved than you expect.

Because every home is unique, different types of insulation will likely be required to fully insulate pipes against cold temperatures. Pipes can be in the attic, in the walls, between floors, in the basement, underground, or – yikes! – maybe even directly exposed on the exterior of the home. Each situation must be properly addressed, and it often takes a variety of installation techniques to insure proper insulation.

Any place where a pipe penetrates the home – that is, moves from outside to inside – should be properly caulked and insulated to prevent air from moving around the pipe. In many cases the pipes themselves should be insulated with pipe-specific insulation such as pipe foam. It is especially important to insulate pipes in unheated spaces. Even drain pipes and sewer lines need some measure of insulation to prevent clogs in extreme cold.

The amount and type of insulation, and the techniques for installation, may vary with geography. There are places in the northern extremes of the country where utility lines are buried six feet underground, and there are places in the south where it’s not uncommon to find pipes exposed to outdoor weather. Each situation must be considered on its own merit to know what is the proper amount and type of insulation required for pipes.

Fire

Fire prevention isn’t usually the first thing we think of when considering insulation. But insulation is a fire inhibitor, and each type of insulation has its own set of fire-retarding properties. Some types of insulation can actually promote fire, though, and these types must be coated in a fire-retardant material – and that fire retardant material needs to stay in great shape to be effective.

The correct type of properly installed insulation will help prevent the spread of fire because most insulation is resistant to flame and high temperatures.

Both the insulating properties and the flame resistance qualities of insulation must be considered at each point of an installation. An expert insulation technician will know the best insulation to use in each situation.

Pests

Perhaps the most important way insulation protects your home is in preventing various pests from entering it. But this gets complicated because some pests are able to penetrate or actually ingest certain types of insulation. Yes, the very thing intended to prevent pests from entering your home can encourage them to come in – and stay. This is where it’s so important to select the proper type of insulation (or combination of types) for each part of your home.

Foam insulation should be treated with borate or some other pest deterrent to keep pests out. If the foam is properly treated then it serves both its primary purpose of insulating and it works to prevent pests from entering your home.

Rodents are common pests that can either be encouraged or discouraged by insulation. Fiberglass, cellulose, rockwool, and sheep’s wool insulation can be inviting to rodents. These types of insulation can serve as a cozy place to tunnel in for the winter for rodents, and the result is both a pest in your home and damaged insulation. An insulation expert knows when and where these types of insulation should and shouldn’t be used.

Using the wrong type of insulation or improperly installing insulation will leave gaps that allow pests to enter your home. For example, a mouse can squeeze through an opening as small as the diameter of a ballpoint pen! Imagine how tiny a crevice it takes for smaller pests to get through. This is why it’s so important to not only choose the correct type of insulation but to make absolutely sure it is properly installed—and proper installation includes sealing all gaps.

Spray foam is an excellent pest deterrent. When properly applied it leaves no gaps, and pests won’t eat it or nest in it. Also, it doesn’t sag over time, so it continues to serve its purpose for many years.

Termites are a big concern in many parts of the country, and the proper type of insulation can help prevent them from entering your home. It’s not common to find termites in fiberglass insulation, for example, but they will tunnel right through foam board. That doesn’t make foam board a bad insulation – it just means it has to be properly installed. Building codes don’t allow foam board “below grade” (below ground level) unless the foam is properly protected because it will act as a direct conduit for termites to enter a home. This goes back to proper installation techniques, and knowing which insulation types can be used where—a job for a knowledgeable insulation expert.

How Do I Protect My Home?

In summary, insulation serves an important part of protecting your home – beyond just helping to maintain a comfortable temperature. But, it’s important to know the correct type of insulation to use, and it’s just as important that insulation be properly installed.

An inspection by a qualified insulation expert and a consultation with that expert about your concerns and needs is the next step in learning more about the quality of insulation already installed in your home and the possible presence of any pests. At Koala Insulation, our technicians are experts in all kinds of insulation materials and installation techniques. Our experts bring state-of-the-art equipment with them to thoroughly inspect your home or building top to bottom, inside and out. They will give you a detailed assessment of your home. They will design a custom solution to meet your needs, and will help answer your questions about the effect pests may have had on your insulation. And since every building is unique, your expert may suggest a combination of installation options to protect your home from cold, heat, moisture, and pests.

Don’t forget the investment you make today will reap years of energy-saving benefits. Contact us now to schedule a consultation to start your journey toward higher energy efficiency and better protection for your home.