The attic is one of the weakest points in your home's energy envelope for three reasons. First, heat rises, so during the winter, heated air rises out of your home and cold air sinks in. Second, most attics have little ventilation, so during the summer, heat builds up inside your attic from the sun beating down on your roof, and this heat radiates down into your home. Third, most home builders leave the attic poorly insulated both to add storage space and to cut their construction costs.
If you're looking for a home improvement project that will slash your heating and cooling costs, blown in attic insulation will probably give you the best return on your money. The insulation works just like its name suggests — a layer of insulation is literally blown throughout your attic and into every nook and cranny. When the insulation settles, instead of having a thin layer of ceiling between your home and hostile attic temperatures, you have several inches of high quality insulation preventing heat loss. Most homes can be insulated for under $2,000, and if you can permanently slash your energy bills by 10 percent or more, the investment will very quickly pay for itself.
In addition to the financial benefits, blown in installation is also one of the easiest home improvement projects. Insulation is delivered in a truck that's almost like a fire truck but with an insulation hose instead of a water hose. The hose is run up into your attic and the insulation is directly applied to it's existing surfaces. There's no need to tear up your walls or ceilings, and there's no clean up afterwards.
You also don't have to worry about losing any existing utility from your attic. If you use it for storage, you'll just need to temporarily remove your belongings. Once the insulation is added, new floorboards can be installed over the insulation to give you the same storage space and crawl space access to your heating and cooling ducts.
To get a quote for attic blown insulation for your home, contact Mike Sikora's Dayton Home Improvement today.
