7 Ways To Check Your Fort Collins Home For Outdated Insulation
As a homeowner, you are responsible for knowing what kind of insulation is present in your home. Knowing the condition of your insulation is important since you may need an insulation replacement for old or worn-out insulation. Replacing your insulation allows for optimum indoor temperature regulation, comfort, reduced energy costs, and energy efficiency.
Read on to know how you can identify what kind of insulation you have in your home and how a professional insulation company can help you with your insulation issues.
7 Ways To Check Your Colorado Home For Outdated Insulation
Contents
Below, we discuss some practical ways to check for outdated insulation.
Touch Test
During cold weather, the interior walls, ceilings, and floors in the home should remain dry and warm. Otherwise, your home may be underinsulated or have old insulation that is no longer capable to keep the interior spaces warm. Go outside and touch the exterior walls as well. In colder weather, exterior walls should remain cold if your insulation is doing a good job keeping all the warm air inside the home.
Insulation Color Check
New insulation is often white, yellow, or pink in color and should be intact. If your insulation is discolored, gray, powdery, or torn, your insulation needs to be updated.
Indoor Temperature Checks
If your furnace is on full blast but you still have cold rooms, poor or absent insulation could be the culprit. Heat can escape rooms that are not or poorly insulated. Check for cold rooms, cold floors or walls, and cold drafts.
Inspect Your Pipes
Frozen pipes in winter could mean that your exterior walls are not properly insulated. Crawl spaces are often overlooked when installing insulation which means your crawl spaces may not be insulated or may have outdated insulation that needs to be replaced.
Visual Inspection of Baseboards and Wall Cavities
There are various levels of visual inspections for insulation. The easiest way is to remove the cover of electrical switches and look at the corners to see signs of insulation between the walls. Remove the electrical box if you can and look into the wall cavity. This is a good way to know how thick your existing insulation is.
Recommended insulation thickness is around 270mm thick so use a tape measure to determine the thickness. A visual inspection is one way to determine if there are no gaps where heat can escape. Take measurements in between joists to determine the width of the insulation needed. Other areas you can access for visual inspection are behind the baseboard or by cutting a hole in a part of the wall that is not easily seen like behind a cupboard. However, the best approach is to hire a professional insulation company to assess the condition of your home insulation. Using their trained eye, they can determine if you require more insulation.
Ice Dams
In winter, poor insulation can result in the formation of ice dams. This happens when heat rising from your home melts the bottom layer of snow on the roof, causing water to trickle down to the gutters. If you see large chunks of ice in the gutters in the winter, it is time to check the insulation in your ceilings and lofts.
Professional Insulation Inspection
If you do not have the means to conduct a thorough examination of your home’s insulation, call a reputable insulation company. They can conduct a professional inspection of your existing insulation and recommend ideal insulation options based on your heating and cooling needs.
Factors That Affect The Lifespan of Insulation
Common types of insulation like spray foam, wrap tape, and house wrap can last for 80 years. Cellulose, rock wool, foamboard, and loose-fill insulation can last up to 100 years. However, your home’s insulation can be compromised if it encounters water damage, mold, or any mechanical damage because of a fire, storm, and the like. It is a good idea to replace insulation when it begins to wear out or when damage is so extensive that the insulation no longer works.
Why You Need to Upgrade Your Home’s Insulation
Old, thinned out, or damaged home insulation can directly cause your heating or cooling bills to rise. If your home is damaged or moldy, failing to upgrade to new insulation can pose health and safety risks to anyone living in your home. It is important to note that outdated insulation can contain asbestos which has been found to be carcinogenic and should be professionally removed.
Apart from safety concerns, updated insulation naturally results in a more comfortable indoor temperature, whether it’s summer or winter. Homes with updated insulation have better thermoregulation so you don’t need to overwork your furnace or your cooling systems. Updated insulation can also prevent noise pollution. If you live in an area where there is considerable outdoor noise day or night, the proper insulation can help reduce noise levels.
When you update your insulation you are also preventing condensation and mold growth inside the home. Balanced temperature regulation reduces drastic changes in humidity that encourage mold growth. This is good not only for overall health but also for maintaining the structural integrity of your walls.
Unless you are living in a newly-constructed house, there’s a chance that your insulation may be outdated and should be replaced. Even if your insulation is intact, older types of insulation are not as energy efficient as their newer counterparts which makes an update reasonable especially if energy savings is a priority for you.
Get in touch with your insulation professionals today to know more about how you can update the insulation in your home.
Insulation Replacement Fort Collins CO
When it concerns insulation, consulting with a professional insulation company is the best option. There are a lot of factors to consider when determining the condition of your insulation. Ascend Construction specializes in insulation removal and installation, energy conservation, energy audits, whole house fan installations, and more in Fort Collins, Colorado, and the neighboring areas.
Contact Ascend Construction for a free consultation today. We can provide you with practical solutions to address the problem areas in your Fort Collins home. All of our services are affordable and our work is guaranteed. Click here to contact us or click the button below to give Ascend Construction a call. We offer free, no-obligation, in-home consultations.