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Home » Blog » How to Choose Insulation for Your House

How to Choose Insulation for Your House

How to Choose Insulation for Your House

Having a well-insulated house is a great way to live comfortably and save money on cooling and heating bills. Increasing the energy efficiency of insulation in your attic is a daunting task.

People living in the hottest and coldest regions must consider replacing their home insulation to keep their properties cool in summer and warm in winter months. However, the financial payoff of replacing your insulation can be substantial in the long run. It is worth paying close attention to what's happening up there.

Every year, new insulation materials are introduced in the building industry. In the past, people used crumpled-up newspapers and old clothes for attic insulation. However, now things have changed significantly. Fiberglass and spray foam have become the most common insulation materials.

With so many different insulation materials, choosing the best attic insulation has become a challenging process for homeowners. Discover with our insulation experts from Critter Stop what are the types of insulation that can suit best for your house!

Why Is Home Insulation Important?

Insulating your home with suitable material provides several benefits beyond comfort. Some of the major reasons why proper home insulation is worth the investment are:

Lower Energy Bills

When we have provided our insluation services, we have found that by insulating your house, you will be able to keep your house warm in the coldest months and cold in the hottest months of the year, which substantially reduces your heating and cooling costs.

Sound Control

Who does not like quieter and more peaceful homes? Insulation absorbs sounds, reducing unwanted noise from appliances and audio equipment. So, if you also want to make your house quieter, consider insulating your interior walls for sound-control.

Even if you only insulate rooms subjected to party events and large family gatherings, you will feel a huge difference.

Moisture Control

Many people may not realize that daily routine activities such as cooking, washing, and bathing can add a huge amount of moisture to the air in their houses in the form of water vapors.

However, vapors, if trapped inside the walls, can result in mold and mildew growth. Mold and mildew can cause a huge amount of damage to your house's interior structure and become a severe health concern for you and your family members.

So, if you want to control the moisture in your house, home insulation is a great option as it will act as a strong barrier between the water vapors and walls of your house.

One-Time Investment

Insulating your house will be a one-time investment only, and it will not wear out or need maintenance for many decades. Also, it will offer you many benefits such as reduced utility bills, moisture and sound control, and much more.

If the right insulation is installed in the right way, it will work well for more than 50 years unless your attic becomes severely infested by rodents. If rats or squirrels get in your attic, they can make the insulation unsanitary and less effective, necessitating replacement. For this reason, if you hear noises in your ceiling or walls, you should call an animal removal company like Critter Stop to come check it out.

So, insulating your house might be a one-time investment, but it is definitely worth the money.

Understanding R-Values

R-value is an insulating material's resistance to heat flow. Generally, R-values lie within a range of 1.5 to 7 per inch, and the higher is the R-value of insulation, the more effective it will be insulating your house.

If you want to choose the best attic insulation for your house, it is necessary to check what R-value is recommended for your home based on your location. You can easily find your house's R-value from the U.S. Department of Energy. For customers in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, the U.S. Department of Energy recommends R-38.

Up R-value

It is a measure of the insulation's resistance to heat flow out of a house. Another term used is winter R-value because up R-value is usually desirable in the coldest months of a year to keep precious heat in your home.

Down R-value

It is a measure of the insulation's resistance to heat flow inside the house. Another term used is summer R-value because down R-value is usually desirable in the hottest months of a year to keep the heat out of your home.

Total R-value

Total R-value is a total of both up and down R-values, so whenever you hear the term R-value, it combines up and down R-values to give you the total R-value of your house.

Tips on How to Choose the Right Insulation For Your House

Selecting the best attic insulation for your house can seem confusing as different materials are designed for different applications. Some insulation materials are specifically designed to perform well in damp conditions, while others might be unsuitable.

So, to help you choose the best insulation for your house, some of the major tips that are worth paying close attention to are:

Choosing the Right Material

Nowadays, there are many types of insulation available in the market. So, if you want to replace your old insulation, you should know about the different kinds of options available. Here are the common types of insulation materials:

  • Batt and blanket insulation - perfect for unfinished walls, ceilings, and floors
  • Blown-in and loose-fill insulation - best for attics, sloped ceilings, or roofs
  • Rigid board insulation - great for roofs, walls, and foundations
  • Spray foam insulation - best suited for attic and wall insulation

Each type of insulating material has different R-values per inch of thickness.

Consider the Space

Once you know about the options available, you will have to decide the area or areas of your home that needs insulation. While exterior walls and floors can be insulated, attics offer homeowners the biggest bang for their insulation buck, by far. Once you have decided on your areas for insulation, it will be easy for you to choose the insulating material.

It is worth remembering that any insulation is better than no insulation. So, don't focus too much on insulating material just. Also, it is not necessary to insulate the entire house at once, as even insulating a small area in your home will still make a positive difference in saving energy.

Once you have decided the space you want to insulate, do some additional research to help you identify what type of insulation will work best for you based on your location and the characteristics of the area you are insulating.

For example, if you only have 5 inches of space available for insulation, you will need insulating material with high thermal performance, such as plastic fiber or phenolic foam, which will cost you more.

For customers in Dallas-Fort Worth looking to insulate their attic, most DFW insulation professionals recommend fiberglass blow-in insulation for its effectiveness and affordability.

Costs

The insulation cost depends on various factors, such as the type of insulating material and how much of it you will need. For calculating the cost to insulate your house, you will also need to assess the condition of your home. Start by checking the R-value of your old insulation and see if you can improve it somehow. One way you can do this is by a simple “top-off,” adding 5-10 inches of insulation on top of your old insulation materials.

While spray foam offers many benefits, it is often the most expensive option. Alternatively, cellulose is often the most affordable option, but has many drawbacks.

Get An Unbiased Opinion

Before moving forward with your insulation of choice, it is wise to reach out to professional insulation companies to get an unbiased opinion on your insulation needs. They can help you determine what type of insulation will work best for you and also provide an estimate of how much insulation you will need.

Conclusion

Insulating your house will have outstanding comfort and energy-saving impacts for many years to come. In Texas, many homeowners don't realize the importance of a well-insulated home until the dog days of summer, when the best Dallas-Fort Worth insulation companies are booked out many weeks, or even months.

Unless you have ample insulation, you should consider making the investment in replacing your old insulation with more efficient and durable insulating materials. There are many important things to consider when installing insulation, so it is advisable to get an insulation contractor’s expertise on the best path forward. If you are planning to replace your home’s insulation, call us at (214) 234-2616. At Critter Stop, we have a experienced team of insulation experts that will install your insulation the right way. Your well-insulated, more energy-efficient house is one call away!

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Lee Gorman
Lee Gorman
13:50 21 Nov 22
I’d give a 10 star review if I could! We had a great experience with Critter Stop. Everyone I dealt was friendly, professional, and reassuring. Phillip was very helpful and knowledgeable about the work he was doing. He walked me around the entire house to make sure I saw and understood the services he provided. He was also really nice and answered all my questions — he is exactly the type of person that should be interacting with customers.I love the fact that they will come back for up to 1 year after installation if any problems occur — this shows me they stand behind their work.The owner was great too, he personally came to my house and walked me through their offering. I recommend critter stop to anyone and everyone!
Susan Casey
Susan Casey
14:53 15 Nov 22
Critter Stop is a fantastic business! Everyone involved is extremely professional and very easy to communicate with. Chisam, the owner, did a great job of explaining the process to get the squirrels out of my attic during the initial free estimate. The exclusion crew who did all of the initial work was fabulous. The crew consisted of Phillip, Nick and Corey who arrived promptly when they said they would. They are happy, positive employees. Everyone is very polite and patient in explaining their work and answering questions. They came back several times to check the traps and finish it off with the fogging. Lester was very good about following up to schedule each trap check with me, and the office staff who took care of the billing was very efficient. Critter Stop is a well run company with honest, trustworthy employees! Thank you to all of you who worked hard to make my attic critter free and for the peace of mind that you guarantee your work. Great to know I can call them if for some reason a squirrel figures out a way to get back in!
Karen Eckholdt
Karen Eckholdt
14:54 22 Sep 22
Critter Stop has made this project easy and extremely professional from start to finish! They are very detailed and competent from start to finish and know so much about their business. They made a problem easy for us and at a reasonable cost. We would be happy to recommend this company and their owners and staff to anyone.
Aaron Echols
Aaron Echols
13:51 03 Aug 22
The guys at Critter Stop responded quickly, were very friendly, and gave us an honest estimate of what we might need. They explained why some items on other quotes were or were not necessary. They communicated well to get us scheduled, and did the work well and quickly. Great service at a fair and competitive price.
Jacob Scribner
Jacob Scribner
19:23 27 Jul 22
Brandon and his other coworker Gavin came to install insulation in my attic. I am very grateful for the hard work and professionalism. My house feels a lot better with the insulation installed. 5 star review. Cory Leach was also very nice and helpful. He came to my house to do another job and was very attentive and professional. Thank you Corey and thank you Critter Stop for helping me.The owner very polite and helpful, I’m glad I found this company to help me.
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