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Here we have another rim joist in need of insulation. This home is in Waverly, NY.
After removing the fiberglass that was put in, 2 inches of closed cell foam was sprayed to the rim joist. This will help reduce drafts and contribute to making the home more comfortable.
This homeowner did not have a very comfortable home. She constantly had to use blankets in the winter when she wanted to relax. We explained to her that her home could be much more comfortable than that. We found that she had a very leaky home that was not properly air sealed or even insulated. We proposed many solutions to her problem and part of the project that she decided to go ahead with was insulating her small attic. The attic was a major source to a lot of her problems. We proposed to insulate the attic from the outside because it was so small and had limited access from the inside of the home. We cut a small access panel out from underneath the siding, open blowed TruSoft Insulation throughout the entire attic and then sealed the access panel and reattached the siding. The customer was very happy with the results of our work and is already much more comfortable and she can't wait to see how this summer goes.
The attic of this home in Sayre, PA was short on insulation.
After air sealing, we did an open blow of 15 inches of cellulose insulation. The attic is now well insulated which will make the rooms below more comfortable and energy efficient.
This homeowner in Van Etten, NY was facing chilly winters and unbearably hot summers. Our energy assessment showed the homeowner that a lot of the heat and cool air was escaping through the attic due to a lack of insulation and proper sealing. We proposed to remove the inadequate fiberglass batts first, then air seal the attic before open blowing 12 inches of our TruSoft Cellulose.
Since attics are vented, we should think of them thermally as outside in the winter. Because of the suns radiant heat in the summer, they are much worse than outside, reaching 140 degrees on the summer days. Clearly, we need to keep an absolute boundary between our living space and the attic so inside air doesn't move to the attic in the heating season, and heat doesn't pass up through our ceilings in winter, and down from our ceilings in the hot summer. To reduce overall air leakage, the attic is the first priority because warm air rises to the top of the house and finds any and all holes to leak out into the cold vented attic and is lost. Holes, gaps and joints include between drywall and framing at the top of walls, around pipes, wires, chimneys, electric boxes, fixtures, ducts, ceiling grilles and joints in framing. The reason cold air leaks in from the outside into the lower levels of the house is that warm air (the air you pay to heat in the winter) leaked out of the top and created a suction at the bottom. Attics are dramatically under-insulated compared to today's standards.
Adding insulation in an attic without sealing all air leaks first should never be done, because you are burying air leaks and making them impossible to seal later - and fiberglass insulation DOES NOT STOP air leaks. That's why Foam It Insulation first carefully air seals the many various points where air from your home leaks up into your attic and is lost. We use expanding foam, boards, caulk, and metal flashing and fire caulk around your masonry or metal chimney as appropriate. If necessary, baffles are installed in each rafter bay to keep soffit vents clear and prepare for insulation. Finally, our premium TruSoft cellulose insulation is blown to the optimum R-value. TruSoft will not burn, get moldy, or attract pests. Blown insulation fills all gaps and odd shaped voids, and by filling over framing members, thermal bridging is avoided.