And What About Flat Roof Insulation?

Posted by admin on 2011/01/04 0 comments

Many people tend to view flat roof insulation as an annoyance and are unable to appreciate the benefits of the same, thinking that after all there can’t be much of heat or dampness that might get trapped in such a small area. You may like to understand why is it really necessary to insulate even a flat roof.

Why is insulation actually needed for a flat?

As a matter of fact having appropriate FRI is far important than the requirements of insulation for sloped roofs. That’s because the flat roofs are most exposed to natural elements of extreme heat and cold. Since they are flat, there is no escape route for pressure or run-off, unlike shingled roofs, and thus heat, water, and ice, can cause serious harm.

Look out for the damage!

Because of its design that has no-slope, it becomes more prone to damages. As many homes and commercial buildings have many square footage of area below the flat, it is quite prone to developing a serious, often unseen, trap for major damage. All the water vapors from the bathroom, kitchen and laundry room by and large get stuck there. In the absence of adequate insulation and appropriate ventilation the chances of flat roof getting damaged are rather bright.

Bottom line – Is flat roof insulation worth your time?

Most professional insulators have the same opinion that it certainly is worth the time. But it has to be done the right way. Insulation and ventilation are equally important and have to work in harmony. The two establish a very good working relationship. With insulation providing the protection, the ventilation allows for the much-required flow of fresh air for the flat roof to breathe. If this relationship can be designed to work with a 50-50 ratio, the circumstances are sure to deliver amazing results.

Finally, the insulation coupled with appropriate ventilation can make or mar not only your home, but also the quality and comforts of your life at home. You may continue living in an unhealthy atmosphere, in a not so healthy home that keeps demanding repairs and maintenance or choose to have a healthy life in a comfortable home by hiring professional services for assessing the condition of the flat roof of your home!

How Can You Get A Warm Roof?

Posted by admin on 2010/12/18 0 comments

If you are getting concerned about the increasing expense of energy bills as a result of keeping your home warm in winters and cold in summer, you should consider warm roof insulation. Perhaps you are not aware of this kind of roof insulation and how it is installed. Warm roof refers to the type of roof that is insulated at the level of the pitched rafter or even beyond and not at the level of horizontal ceiling joist or over it.

Usually, this kind of roofing forms a part of an insulating structure covering the main part of a building. The reason for such an installation is to derive the benefit attached to it as it results to achieving stricter U-Value targets that is caused by an increase in the performance requirements of thermally adequate buildings. U-Value is a measure of the overall heat transfer coefficient; which is an indication of how well building conducts heat.

The benefits of having a warm roof in your home are not difficult to understand. Because of the insulation the loss of heat is very much reduced, meaning that in summer hot air will not be able to penetrate and in winter the hot air will not be able to escape the room as a result of which your air conditioner or the heater will not be so much strained and that brings down your energy bills and you enjoy better quality of life at home in more comfortable atmosphere.

Apart from this kind of insulation, you should seriously consider complementing this arrangement with another kind of insulation, which is wall foam insulation and is better known as spray foam insulation. Primarily there are two specific kinds of foams employed for the purpose. One is the open cell, and the other is the closed cell. Though both have more advantages than the fiberglass variety, the two are rather different in the sense that open cell is porous and cheaper, but the closed cell is not. That’s why the non-porous closed cell results to giving wall foam that is waterproof, thus preventing mold formation that is injurious to occupants’ health. Additionally, wall foam comprising of closed cell increases the strength of home walls and enables the exteriors of your home to be more water resistant.

Over and above the benefits that you derive by having warm roof insulation is that it transforms your attic or loft to amazing living quarters.

Five Roof Insulation Techniques You Could Use

Posted by admin on 2010/11/11 0 comments

The consumption of power and hence the resultant energy bills of your home are decided by two factors: one is how frequently you use the air conditioner or the heater in summers and winters respectively and the other is how well is your home insulated.

Now, you have no control over natural temperatures during summers or winters, but you certainly could have control over the quality of insulation used at home. Over the past few years many new and effective insulating materials have been developed and employed for the purpose. So, if you are constructing a new house, you may use some of the energy-efficient materials available today. However, most of us living in old houses can’t make use of such materials. Yet, you have many options open to you.

You may already be aware that energy efficiency starts from insulating your attic, the area just under your roof. Here are five options for you when considering roof insulation techniques:

1. Let it be as per original manufacturer’s specifications:

This can’t help you reduce your energy bills. That’s because there are no steady laws or guidelines taking into consideration energy efficiency. Unless your builder expressly built an energy efficient home at the time of your buying it, it is likely to fall short in many ways.

2. Blankets and rolls:

The most traditional way of keeping your attic cool has been to use blankets or rolls that are spread out and stapled to the rafters. The most often materials used for the purpose include mineral wool, fiberglass, plastic and natural fibers. Blankets and rolls prevent loss of heat thru conduction only and are not really effective in blocking heat loss due radiation

3. Spray foam insulation:

As is evident from its nomenclature, spray foam insulation is applied by spraying it from a nozzle. Generally, materials used for this kind of foam are cementitious, henolic, polyisocyanurate and polyurethane. The benefit of this insulating technique is that the foam expands around every gap, thus preventing any air from entering your attic, and that’s the main source of energy loss in any home. Spray foam helps maintaining constant indoor temperature. The shortcoming is that it needs the installation of a costly air-to-air exchanger to tightly seal the home.

4. Radiant barrier foil:

This is the best choice for insulation. It needs to be applied by stapling it to rafters or spreading it out over existing insulation. Radiant barrier foil can reflect 97% of radiant heat meaning heat is retained indoors during winter but kept out during summer. It is the most economical energy improvement you may include in your home. The only shortcoming is that it is unable to insulate against conductive heat.

5. Radiant barrier paint:

Its principle of working is just like that of radiant barrier foil and it reflects radiant attic heat very effectively. However, its application is by painting instead of being rolled out and stapled. The difficulty is that you have to hire professional contractors for doing an effective job and to keep you safe. Additionally, its reflective ability is less than the foil variety, being limited to reflecting about 75% of radiant heat transfer.

The best way to improve the energy efficiency of your home is to continue having your present fiberglass insulation in place and add a layer of radiant barrier foil. This should keep out 97% of radiant heat while providing insulation against conductive heat transfer too. You may do it yourself or hire a local professional from your area for better results.

Foam Roof Insulation – It’s Safe And Effective

Posted by admin on 2010/10/30 2 comments

There are many advantages of foam roof insulation. The insulation material is derived from polyurethane foam. After it has been applied in liquid form, it gets dried up, leaving behind a single film lining that covers the whole roof. This yields a seam free area, which is the best, as by and large it is the cause of most leaks in roofs. It is really safe to apply this foam straightaway to the roof without any apprehensions. The foam may really be applied to almost any chosen surface as it easily molds itself into the irregular shape of the roof and overhangs.

Despite being lightweight Polyurethane is a very durable and rigid material. On an average, one square foot of foam insulation equals to approximately 50 pounds of worth, compared to 100 to 800 pounds for other roofs. Its R-value, which is a measure of thermal resistance, is very high. And, we know that the higher the R-value the better is the insulation. The R-value of Polyurethane foam is even higher than the standard fiberglass. That keeps the home to be cooler. If you have an attic you would have experienced that heat piles up there much after the sun has gone down. That makes it necessary to have foam roof insulation even for homes without attics because it is capable of keeping the home cool.

Mobile homes and trailers can also benefit from foam roof insulation, which almost doubles the R-value of such homes or trailers. Air-conditioned buildings that essentially need to main comfortable temperature in their interiors include: livestock operations, barns and commercial buildings. Foam roof insulation being a highly versatile material can be painted on and even be covered over with shingles or an asphalt layer.

Foam roof insulation is extremely useful. On getting the roof insulated there is a substantial drop of heat that can filter thru the home. As a result, the load on air-conditioning system is considerably reduced. It’s very beneficial to have the foam sprayed onto the roof and in between the tiles. It effectively prevents roof tiles or shingles from getting blown off by strong winds during storms. It is already proven that foam roof insulation has the capacity to withstand winds blowing above two hundred mile an hour. That goes to establish its reliability. Foam roof insulation also decreases the risk of dew point issues.

Leaving the roofs untreated, would lead to water condensation. Water condensation or moisture entering the building is the main cause for damaged structures. As you incorporate a layer of foam in between the roof, it prevents any leakage from piercing any further even when the top layer of the foam roofing gets busted. Though hairline fissures may appear in the top layer, no leaks can pass through even after a decade without any repair, as is already established by the incident with the Super Dome in New Orleans.

Another advantage of foam roof insulation is that it requires very negligible to almost zero maintenance. It is proven beyond doubt that this type of insulation is much more durable than any other presently available roof covering materials. And, the best part is that it surely costs much less compared to getting the roof repaired and it takes much less time to complete. The cost of Foam roof insulation varies from $0.50 to $2.25 per square foot. The costing would vary, depending on the climatic conditions of the area and on the preferred R-value of the product. A typical attic may cost from $750 to about $1,100.

Roof Insulation – How Valuable It Really Is?

Posted by admin on 2010/09/28 0 comments

Compared to many other home improvement projects, like changing of shingles on the rooftop, insulating the roof is not so expensive. Many seem to be unaware of the fact that roof insulation is as important as roof ventilation to give it an extended life and enable its adequate functioning.

Surprisingly, even on date, people get concerned about the insulation of the roof only when some problem arises or on being informed by the home inspector of an issue needing urgent attention.

The unbelievable news is that its benefit is not confined to just providing insulation to your attic. It gives a steady environment that enables the attic ventilation to work at its best. Unless the roof is adequately insulated, the roof ventilation is highly affected.

There should not be any heat or moisture getting trapped in the attic. Appropriate roof ventilation helps a lot but having an insulated attic makes a great difference. A continued free flow of fresh air traveling from its bottom to the top of the attic is essentially needed for the roof insulation to remain effective. In the absence of proper or insufficient ventilation the insulation becomes damp and loses most of its insulating properties. The movement of air from bottom to top all through your attic works best by implementing 50% soffit and 50% ridge ventilation, meaning 50 percent intake and 50 percent exhaust.

Airflow of such an equal ratio optimizes the condition of your attic and helps the roof insulation to remain most effective. We’re talking of moisture and heat levels. The roof insulation safeguards the attic from intruding elements. Which are such elements?

Let’s proceed with kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms. A couple of years ago I came across a very freak case. During the course of my inspecting an attic, I observed that the vent from the clothes dryer was expelled into the attic. With a continued stream of hot moist air blowing into the attic, the insulation was severely damaging the attic insulation. What made matters worse was almost zero roof ventilation. I wasn’t surprised to note that the client’s house was beginning to decay.

The roof deck was depressed, the attic insulation was plainly covered with water, deterioration had set in the shingles ten years before its due time – the list of damages kept piling up. The original complaint of my client was an “unpleasant smell”. And, the odor was indeed offensive! It was caused by years of accumulated dampness in the attic.

I could spot at least twenty damage points right through the house only due to trapped moisture moist the attic that had nearly destroyed the insulation totally. Once moisture enters the attic, whether it is from shower steam, laundry dryers or the one caused by cooking on the stove, it damages the insulation of roof.

There is absolutely no doubt about the worthiness of the expenses incurred for protecting your roof insulation.