Help, my home is cold in winter and scorching in summer, and I need insulation. But how much do I need? There are several factors you need to consider when installing the right amount of insulation. First, you need to ask yourself where you live before installing any insulation. Here are some tips to understand how much insulation your house needs.
Determine Which Area of the Home you Want to Insulate
The insulation amount depends on where you want to install the insulation. Common locations for insulation in the walls, floors, basement, or attic. You use insulation to prevent updrafts to draw cool air in for the attic. You will need more than insulating the floors for roof or attic insulation.
You can consider blown-in insulation for wall insulation or existing batting if you have an older house. Again, you will need more material than placed under the floor but less than in the attic. But if there are gaps in the flooring with cold air trapped insulation can keep moisture away.
Suppose you are unsure how much insulation you need. In that case, the best is to contact a professional insulation installer to fill small gaps using spray foam.
Talk to a Building Contractor To Find Out the Minimum R-value
The R-value describes the material capacity to insulate. But to understand what it means, the best is to talk to the pros to advise you on the needed specs in your region. For example, you live in the southern parts of the country, the R-value for the attic is around R-30 compared to someone living in the northern parts needing R-38 insulation. The reason is that winters are colder in the north, and a professional insulation contractor can help.
Insulating the Walls
To determine how much insulation you need in the walls, you need to measure the width and height multiplied and subtract the window and door areas. Hence, you need to measure each wall in width and height and the same for windows and doors. Once multiplying the wall measurements, you subtract the measurements for the windows and doors. Discuss your insulation needs with the recommendation of a pro insulator today.
Do You Live In an Older Home?
You will need more insulation than living in newer buildings if you do. We recommend using blown-in insulation throughout the holes for these types of insulation to optimize the living space comfort. As with walls, the same applies to floors, and you need to measure the width and length of the area. Doing this allows you to know how many rolls of insulation you need. You will likely need more insulation for all the floors than the attic and interior walls.
Also, Look at Your Existing Insulation
If there is insulation in the home, you will not need much starting from scratch. However, while the insulation might meet the energy guidelines, it still needs sprucing up if it is cold indoors in winter and scorching in summer. Furthermore, it depends on where you plan to add the insulation and spray foam insulation in certain areas.
Final Thoughts
The amount of insulation you need can depend on the insulation you use and already have previously installed insulation. You can find vast selections of insulation available. So, suppose you want to make sure about how much you need. In that case, we recommend talking to a professional insulation provider for the best recommendations and advice.
