Looking for the best Attic Insulation in Chatham Ontario? Eco Insulation proudly serves the beautiful area of Chatham-Kent Ontario, and would absolutely love to help you with your attic insulation needs. We love finding ways of bringing information to our clients, and as the old phrase goes, “knowledge is power”, so knowing as much as you can before investing in attic insulation upgrades or replacement is definitely a smart idea.
We’re often asked “why bother insulating a home?”, it may seem a valid question, after all, some people have incredibly efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in their homes, but of course it takes a lot of energy to run these, and that costs a lot of money. If you properly insulate your attic for the climate you live in, you’ll notice an immediate reduction in the cost of keeping your home comfortable. It’s also no secret that the cost of energy is rising, fossil fuel sources are depleting and this has a huge impact on the cost of domestic electricity. Insulating your attic is not only important for saving money, but it’s also helping you to play your part in reducing the strain on the grid, reducing the overall nationwide consumption of fossil fuels, and reducing your carbon footprint; what’s there to lose?
Eco Insulation Chatham offers a phenomenal free service to everyone that calls, a no obligation attic insulation consultation. When you call us for this service, one of our expert insulation contractors in Chatham will attend your home to help you identify what kind of thermal protection you’re getting from your existing insulation, they will help to identify any potential air leaks (the biggest single source of heat loss), and they’ll help you to identify what type of new material would work best in order to improve your insulation situation. They will also provide suggestions on how to turn your home in to a money-saving machine; for example, if you have a finished floor in your attic, but don’t really store much up there, you could look into removing the flooring and applying extra insulation, this will be immediately noticeable on your HVAC bills. If you’re able to sacrifice the space, ask your Eco Insulation contractor how you can insulate your attic floor for dramatic effects.
“The workers showed up on time and were very thorough and efficient. Great experience…would highly recommend.” – Review By: Nadine Valotaire
At some point, once you’ve been armed with the information about the different insulation types we deal with, you’ll have to make a decision on which one you want. Each offers its own advantages and disadvantages. Some are cheaper but require periodic replacement, some are more expensive, but will probably outlive the structure they’re installed in.
The types of attic insulation that Eco Insulation of Chatham Ontario work with are:
Batt Sheets and Rolls
This type of insulation arrives in sheets or rolls and is typically made from fiberglass strands, although other materials such as denim and cellulose are available on the market. This is probably the most commonly used type. It’s easy to install and relatively inexpensive. Some types will come with a foil vapor barrier on one side, and others arrive bare on both sides. This type of insulation is stacked in layers to reach the desired R-Value. Batts insulation is a good choice for homes with:
- Even joist spacing in the attic
- No, or not too many penetrations like junction boxes and pipes
- Roofs that don’t have chronic leak issues
Blown Fiber or Loose Fill
This popular attic insulation option makes use of smaller pieces of insulation materials that are packed in bags (think packing peanuts, or a bean bag), and blown into the attic using special blower equipment. There are a few different types of insulating material that can be installed in this way, including fiberglass, cellulose and rock wool. Fiberglass is typically the cheapest option of the three, but it has the lowest R-Value, can cause skin and airway irritation, and due to its lightweight, settles very quickly and loses some of its insulating effectiveness. Cellulose is a natural fiber frequently made from recycled newspaper. It’s treated with boric acid for fire resistance, but if it becomes damp it can quickly become moldy, and not only will it lose effectiveness, it will also smell terrible. Rock wool is actually made from rock fibers recovered from furnaces, it has a good R-Value, is inherently fire retardant, but is the most expensive option of the blown fiber insulators.
Blown fiber insulation is most effective in attics with
- Uneven joist spacing in the attic
- Multiple pipes, junction boxes, and other impediments
- Pre-existing blown fiber insulation (this type can simply be added on top of old materials providing the old product isn’t compromised by mold, compression etc.)
Spray Foam Insulation
Spray foam insulation is widely considered to be the gold standard of attic insulation material. Here at Eco Insulation Chatham, we think extremely highly of it as a product and due to its almost universally possible applications, we are able to recommend this product to nearly all of our customers. It is made of a 2 component polyurethane that is blended in a mixing chamber and ejected through a nozzle. Once it contacts the intended surface, it immediately begins to expand to almost 30 times its liquid volume. It’s the most expensive of the insulation types but offers immense benefits, including an R-Value of close to 3 times the next nearest product, it can add as much as 400% additional racking strength to your home when correctly applied, and unlike any other insulation product, it will, when correctly installed;
- last over 80 years, and potentially the entire lifespan of the structure, all without ever losing insulative qualities;
- provide additional waterproofing;
- provide increased sound dampening;
- provide improved pollen resistance;
- provide insect and pest resistance;
- provide mold resistance, and;
- Provide vastly superior thermal performance when compared to any other insulator.
Adding improved attic insulation can provide even more cost savings than just through reduced energy bills. If you’re looking to add attic insulation in Chatham Ontario, you could very well qualify for one of the awesome rebates available in Ontario.
Union Gas Home Reno Rebate
Union Gas has partnered with the government of Ontario to provide rebates to qualifying homeowners who make at least 2 eligible insulation upgrades to their homes. This rebate is worth up to $5000, so it’s definitely one to get excited about. To qualify, you must:
- Renovate a detached or semi-detached home, a townhome or mobile home
- Renovate a property heated by propane or natural gas, electricity, or wood burning stove
- Renovate a property zoned within the Union Gas Home Reno program boundary
As part of the deal, you’ll have to subject your home to a before and after energy inspection – at Eco, we think this is an amazing deal and recommend you jump on it before it goes away!
If you own a home zoned in the Enbridge Gas boundaries, and you heat with natural gas, there are rebate options available for you too. Enbridge Gas is also offering up to $5000 in rebates until the end of this year (Dec 31, 2019) to those who undertake 2 eligible home renovations. This one has a definite time limitation on it though, so again, act fast and you could offset your insulation upgrades significantly.
Ask your Eco Insulation Chatham Ontario specialist for more information about rebates available to you, during your free in-home insulation inspection and consultation.
We hope this guide to attic insulation in Chatham Ontario has been useful. As we said at the beginning, we strongly believe in giving our clients as much information as possible to keep them as involved in the process as they’d like to be. Your satisfaction is our absolute goal, we understand that your home is one of the most important things in your life, and we always treat homes with the utmost respect. Home renovation can be a stressful time, but with a reliable insulation contractor like Eco Insulation, you’re going to benefit from experienced, licensed and certified installation experts that take care of all elements and reduce your stress levels. We’re happy to share testimonials from happy customers like your neighbors in Chatham Ontario. So, call today, we will get you on a fast track to savings and comfortable, consistent temperatures in your home like you’ve never experienced! We look forward to meeting you soon.