There are many needs for house insulation to help keep
out moisture, drafts, dust, and insects. Because each
house is built with various building materials that expand
or contract at their own rates and with differences in
weather, a house is very likely to have cracks or gaps
where any two different materials meet in the building
structure.
Ask any Sutherlands helpful employee about options and
products for your individual insulation project or e-mail us your needs and questions. We'll get back to you as
quickly as we can. This Project Plan will cover only basic
coverage information with minimal details. Emphasis will
be on attic insulation since that is where the most heat
is lost.
A well-insulated and weather-stripped home is comfortable
at 65 degrees inside during the winter. If your home is
poorly insulated, it will need a temperature at least
three degrees higher for the same level of comfort. This
amounts to the wasted energy resources and your wasted
dollars, especially over many years. Some real estate
research indicates that upgrading attic insulation can
give "do it yourselfers" much more than one
hundred percent return on their investment.
TOOLS & MATERIALS MOST LIKELY NEEDED: Insulation
with correct R Values, tape measure, razor knife, straightedge
board, foil-faced tape, hammer, mallet, chisel, putty
knife (or wide bladed tool), shears, sander or planer,
caulking gun, staple gun and staples, screwdriver, nails,
tacks, screws, caulk sealant, duct tape, polybutane cord
or rope, turpentine, stiff brush, work light (suggest
light with hook that can be hung on a nail and/or a flexible
Black & Decker snake light that can be wrapped around
a convenient rafter), stepladder, broom. You'll probably
also need some pieces of cardboard to use as thickness
measurements.
Wear safety glasses, gloves and a respirator when working
with insulation. (see About Paint
and Painting for information on ventilation and needed
safety equipment.) A safety helmet may also be helpful
when working in close, cramped spaces such as an attic.
Sutherlands has a large choice of safety equipment items.
WEATHER STRIPPING
Your doors and windows probably have air leakage, with
doors being the biggest culprit. Weather stripping the
cracks around these doors and windows can help reduce
your heating and air conditioning costs perhaps as much
as thirty per cent. Storm windows and storm doors are
suggested.
Once you have determined which windows and doors are critical
to insulate, you'll have several materials to chose from
to correct the leakage including metal, felt, rubber,
vinyl, or plastic foam. These come pre-packaged with nails
or screws at all Sutherlands Locations.
Weather stripping is to be installed with the resilient
part sealing out the air by pressing against the window
or the door. Don't make them too tight that the window
or door won't operate correctly. You may have to adjust
the door to hang straight before you begin the weather
stripping by adjusting the hinges and then sanding or
planing the edges until the doors can open and close smoothly.
You need Insulation at the location that separates any
living space from unheated areas because that's where
heat loss happens and also where the sun's heat comes
in during the summer months.
Heat rises and therefore is lost through the roof. The
floor of an unfinished attic and the roof above a finished
attic are examples of critical insulating areas. See Attic
Insulation below.
Door weather stripping includes adhesive backed foam,
plastic tubing, foam-edged wood, and V-strips. The V-strip
is probably the most popular for "do-it-yourselfers."
It's a doubled over strip of springy metal and fits between
the door edge and jamb. Some others will attach to the
door frame so it presses against the door when it's closed.
The bottom of the door crack is usually creating the strongest
leakage. Various door bottom seals include plain sweep,
bottom sweep, threshold weather strip, spring-operated
sweep, and garage door strip.
Use caulk, preferably with a caulking gun for larger jobs,
to seal cracks around water faucets, doors, windows, tubs,
sinks, basement walls, glass windowpanes.
ATTIC INSULATION All house insulation is based
on a rating system termed R-Values factor. (R is for Resistance.)
The higher the R-Values, the more insulation quality of
the product.
Before you purchase insulation, know the minimum that
is needed for your regional zone. The colder your area,
the larger the number will be. Check with your closest
Sutherlands Location for your particular area's recommended
R-Values numbers for ceilings below ventilated attics,
crawl spaces, exterior walls, and crawl space walls. A
zoned map with the recommendations are within the Creative
Homeowner booklet #86.
Insulating materials consist of tiny pockets of trapped
air with the most common made of fibers of glass, rock-wool,
blown steam through molten rock, or cellulose or plant
fibers. They are packaged in long rolls (called blankets)
or pre-cut flexible rectangular sections (called batts).
Fibers can also be used as loose-fill insulation that
is poured or blown into attics or into hollow walls.
Sutherlands offers Certainteed or Owens-Corning insulation in blankets and batts as well as loose cellulose
insulation that can be blown into attics or unfinished
wall spaces. Owens-Corning's Pink Fiberglas is America's
most prefered brand of insulation. It's factory engineered
to insure the best thermal and sound control performance
available. The color PINK is a registered trademark of
Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation.
Don't seal your attic space completely. The correct insulation
must be combined with adequate ventilation to be most
effective. Insulation should not block the flow of air
from eaves' vents. For best results, install ventilation
baffles at the inside of the eaves.
Attic condensation is pretty common in cold regions during
the winter. When warm moisture from the living spaces
below the attic rises to the roof and meets the cold outside
air, condensation forms. If it is severe, this moisture
can cause rotting of the sheathing and framing. Wood roofs
are not as susceptible because the moisture escapes easier.
Asphalt roofs don't have the same natural air flow so
moisture can become trapped and become a huge problem.
Attics must be ventilated if they are going to be insulated.
*(You might want to ask for FREE Creative Homeowner Press
How-To Booklet #78 "Venting Attics" at the same
time you ask for #86.
Blankets: Rolls in thickness of one to seven inches
with sixteen to sixty-four feet. The width is made for
a snug fit between standard stud spacings. There are usually
thin marginal strips, (flanges) for stapling and a vapor
barrier of paper or foil. They can be difficult to cut
so it's best for long areas of unobstructed space such
as floor joists or an unfinished attic or roof rafter
spacing.
Batts: Simply short blankets, cut into uniform
lengths for easier handling. Cut ends of batts to fit
snugly around cross bracing. If a second layer is needed
but the cavity is already filled, the additional layer
of unfaced material can be placed at right angles to the
joists.
Floors in Unfinished Attics: Batt, blanket, and
loose-fill insulation can be used between ceiling floor
joists and don't need to be fastened because gravity holds
it in place. The vapor barrier must be beneath the insulation,
facing toward the heated room.
If floor joists are not covered, you should lay a temporary
flooring of plank wood or plywood across the joists. Hang
a temporary work light. Leave the insulation in its wrapper
until you're ready to use it. It's been compressed and
it'll expand a lot once you remove the wrapper.
Lay the blankets (or batts) at the outer edge of the attic
space and work towards the center (this will allow more
headroom in the center of the attic for whatever cutting
and fitting needs to be done). Lay in long runs first
and use any leftovers for shorter spaces. If you're stapling
insulation blankets into place and accidentally tear any
of the insulation covering, cover it with a piece of duct
tape.
Insulation should be installed around wiring, taking care
not to disturb it. Butt insulation tightly at the joints
for a complete barrier to heat flow. Tape the joints with
foil-faced tape.
Insulation must be kept three inches away from (1) recessed
light fixtures, unless the fixture is marked for insulated
ceiling (IC) and (2) a metal flue. Masonry chimney and
wood framing space must also have extra care, using un-faced
fiberglass, a non-combustible material.
If your ceiling is insulated with loose fill, you can
increase the R-Values factor by pouring more of the same
material between the joists, right on top of the old,
existing insulation. If it is insulated with blanket or
batt insulation and has some loose fill on top of it ,
you can either add un-faced insulation or more loose fill
insulation on top of the existing insulation.
With the low roof pitch, extending the insulation to the
back of the eaves may be difficult. Smooth the insulation
out with a broom , being careful not to get the material
centered between the ceiling joists.
SIDE WALLS
Insulation of side walls may be more difficult and perhaps
impractical if the walls are already framed and covered
with a finished material. However, it is possible for
you to do side wall insulation yourself with a rented
machine that can blow loose fill insulation between the
framing, which would make it easier and more practical.
Sutherlands offers free use of rental insulation-blowing
machines with a minimum purchase of loose-fill insulation.
Call or visit the Sutherlands Location nearest you.
(You might want to ask at the store for a FREE Creative
Homeowners Press How-To Booklet #87 "Insulate Side
Walls" at the same time you ask for #86 and/or #78.)
Sutherlands Lumber provides these tips as a service to our visitors. Due to possible variance in conditions, equipment, materials and individual skill levels, Sutherlands assumes no responsibility for losses or injuries incurred during maintenance or repair of your property. Sutherlands assumes no liability
for errors or omissions in the How-To Library section of this website. Please read and follow any safety precautions provided by tool and equipment manufacturers, and consult a building professional in your area if you have any questions about a repair project. Always check your local codes before building, and obtain the required building permits.
