Non-Commercial Insulation Market – Blow-In Insulation Options For An Older Home
Did you know you can lose as much as 25-40% of your heat through the roof and walls of your house? Of course the natural response is to add insulation but it is very cost prohibitive to add fiberglass panels in an older home. This is why such products like blown-in or sprayed materials are becoming so popular on the non-commercial insulation market.
If you ever wondered if a non-commercial insulation market product like blown-in insulation was right for your home, then you need to read this article and discover how these products work and what the advantages are for each type.
Types Of Blown In Products Available On the Non-Commercial Insulation Market
The concept behind this process is simple. A hole is drilled between the wall studs and a nozzle inserted. The product is then piped in from a hopper sitting outside and blown into the empty spaces in the walls or ceiling. Basically there are three different types of after-market insulation: foam, loose fiberglass or cellulose (recycled paper). Each material has its own unique pros and cons.
Product #1: Loose Fiberglass. Yes, this is the stuff that caused such a bugaboo in the 90s. And yes, if not properly installed, loose fiberglass can pose a cancer risk…for the installers! Yes, the people who were developing problems with these insulation products were folks who either installed it or removed it without proper safeguards.
Blown fiberglass is required by US federal law to be properly covered and sealed off after installation. This means that for the average homeowner and their family, you will very little risk of coming into contact with this product.
Product #2: Cellulose. Basically recycled newspapers, blown in cellulose is treated with various chemicals to act as fire retardants, repel vermin like rodents and insects and retard the growth of mold spores.
The main problem that most homeowners have with this product is the fact that dry paper (fire treated or not) is extremely flammable. As well as the fact that cellulose seems to “settle” or compact faster than fiberglass, which weakens the R-value of the product over time. The solution to this problem is only using cellulose from repeatable companies like Thermguard.
Product #3: Foam. Expanding foam is the newest product on the non-commercial insulation market. Like the other products it is piped into the house and sprayed into the walls.
Then the foam is allowed to expand and fill up all the available space. This polyurethane foam can be either a quick expansion spray or a slow expansion one (to lower the risk of break through in certain homes). Unlike other materials, foam does not depend on gravity flow to fill in spaces, so in some projects provides a more even distribution. Spray foam is in fact such an easy process that there are many diy foam insulation kits available for use by homeowners.
What really matters with choosing the right non-commercial insulation market product, is the area you hope to insulate, the type of radiator or furnace in your home, the cost of materials and labor and the R-values you hope to gain.
