Insulation Insulation Insulation

Student question to me: ” how do you know if you are in need of insulation in your attic. I answered ” do you have insulation in your attic? ” Read on for my advice!!!!

Are You Getting Ready?

Ok, I know, its still hot and humid. But, the days are getting shorter and the sunlight coming through our bedroom is no longer waking us up at 5 AM. Well, you know what’s coming…WINTER. Are you ready? Have you started your Winter-Ready home preparations? Well, probably not, that is why I am here to get you going.

As you guys know, I like to observe a house from the outside-in, top to bottom. So here we go.

If you have been listening to me, you should know the importance of keeping rain water from entering your house!!!

How about those gutters, are they cleaned and ready to go?

Even with the screens installed, I have the gutters and leaders checked annually. Guys, I am just too old to get on the ladder!!!!

How about your chimney(s)? Whether for your fireplace, oil or gas burning furnace, your chimneys should be checked and swept. This includes masonry and stainless steel lined chimneys.

On to the inside, can you see sunlight where your exterior doors meet the jambs? Perhaps, you should attend my Zoom Weather Stripping Workshop .

Insulation- contributes to maintaining a warm/comfortable home as efficiently as possible.

Oh, by the way the conversation with my student continues:

Go to the Attic!

If you can safely get into your attic, and can see the insulation, you can assess the attic insulation. Joists, the horizontal framing members that create your ceiling below, may be visible every 16 inches. If the insulation between the joists is not up to or over the joists, you do not have enough attic insulation.  Also, if you have insulation batts, and you see the paper (vapor barrier) the insulation was installed improperly.
If you see great heaping piles of blown in insulation, do not disturb them. Fluffy insulation traps air, and air insulates your home.

Go to the Yard!

After a snowfall, go out to your front or back yard and look at your roof. If you see the snow melting quickly, while your neighbors’ roofs keep their snow, you have poor insulation. The expensively heated air in your living space is conducting up through your ceiling, into your attic, and warming the attic enough to melt snow. Ideally, your attic temperature should be equal to the outside air temperature.

My student, “man oh man, I had a guy from Unified home repairs at my home and he took a quick peek and said we can blow the fiberglass insulation in your home. Only you will know if you need it based upon your energy bill. You were 100 times more helpful than he was.” Thank You

To learn more about proper installation and how a house needs to breathe, click on the events list and come to our next seminar on Insulation.

It’s never too late to insulate those pipes.

Lets see, we have:

• Domestic hot water pipes
• Heating hot water pipes
• Domestic cold water pipes

To learn more about your home’s plumbing system, click on the event list to join us for our seminar on Your Home’s Plumbing System

Now for the big guys, our heating and hot water systems.

Servicing these units is all about clean, clean, clean. Whether it’s the nozzles on the oiled fired burner head or the oil filter at the tank, or the gas burners in the natural gas boiler, they need to be checked, cleaned or changed. When was the last time the hot water tank was drained to clean out mineral deposits on the bottom?

If you have a service contract, please review it, and most importantly, when the Service guy/gal is doing their thing, please be present, asking a million questions. That’s the TLC way of doing it. And of course to learn more, attend our seminar on Your Home’s Heating System, view the events list for dates and times.

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