Ant Removal and Control

Archive for the ‘Home Improvement’ Category

Radiant barrier insulation for your home
Radiant barrier technology has matured over the years to where you can keep your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter and save money to boot. When your roof gets hot during the summer the air in the attic gets a good deal of that heat, and you can handle it one of two ways: radiant barrier insulation, or conventional insulation. A house becomes hot in the summer months when you only have traditional insulation to block the heat from your attic. The reflective side of the radiant barrier sends 97% of the heat back to the roof, so you can turn off your air conditioner. In the winter months the heat inside your home rises to the attic, where the radiant barrier will save on your home heating bills by reflecting the heat back into the rooms. A thin covering of aluminum is applied to one or both sides of a support material, normally cardboard, plastic, kraft paper or plywood sheathing. If you need extra strength look for radiant barrier strengthened with fiber, which also makes the stuff easier to handle. One type of insulation you want to always avoid employs a bubble material inserted between metal plates, but the metal plates will touch after the bubbles lose the air.

Do-it-yourself home heating
Most households would be better off hiring a professional contractor because the task of replacing a home heating system is normally difficult. There are two things you must have possession of in order to DIY a furnace, boiler or other home heating system: special skills and the correct hand and power tools. If you’re swapping out a heating system or older furnace first make sure the new system will fit or you will need alterations to the floors, ceilings and walls. Among the skills you will need when replacing a gas or oil furnace is plumbing experience, because there are a lot of things that can go wrong during the installation. There aren’t many things more hazardous to the well-being of your family than a poorly installed home heating system. It is much simpler to learn how to maintain the system once it is installed than learn how to install one yourself. Regardless of what kind of heating system you are installing you should have an expert available to inspect your efforts or, even better, help you through it.

Spray foam insulation
Insulating your home is an valuable operation in this day and age as a result of the high cost of energy as well as the desire to preserve our country’s resources as much as possible. Spending less money and eliminating insects, dirt, and dust is why utilizing spray foam insulation is the best deal, and as an additional bonus with the energy savings, foam will eventually pay for itself. Dust is not merely an annoying mess but also brings in pollen, and in addition to insects can come into a house by way of small cracks surrounding conduits, water pipes, cables, beams, base plates, door jambs and window frames. Exterior noise is also reduced, although most noise comes through the windows and is best stopped by installing double or triple-pane glass, or better yet, soundproof windows.

The most popular styles of insulation are fiberglass, rock wool, cellulose, and foam (such as polyurethane and polystyrene). Fiberglass has the benefits of being less expensive as well as simpler to install, however there are additional advantages to employing spray foam insulation as an alternative. One of the biggest advantages of foam insulation is the capability to close up tiny openings and gaps that may be too small to see with the naked eye, something that can not be said of both fiberglass and cellulose insulation. This will help block insects and dust from entering the house. The total seal formed with foam nearly eliminates almost all air movement into or out of a home.

Another great advantage of foam insulation is its higher R-value, which is the measurement used to categorize insulation, and the higher the R-value the more effective the product. The R-value is the rating which shows how successfully insulation prevents heat transfer between the inside and outside of the home. It helps stop air flow for the reason that homes which are poorly insulated are likely to be drafty and have cold and hot areas. You could obtain a more consistent temperature in any climate condition with foam insulation that removes these drafts. Bear in mind that good insulation can also keep your residence cooler in the summer time as well as warmer in the winter due to less air movement out or in.

To give you an idea of certain common R-values, bare cement usually is about an R-1 whereas the insulation in the attic of a lot of newer houses is regularly about R-44. While thicker insulation generally possesses a higher R-value, this can fluctuate depending on the kind of material used. Materials which contain enclosed air pockets usually have higher R-values. You will see how this happens when looking at the assorted R-values of the different insulating materials. Fiberglass has an R-value per inch of 2.2 to 2.7, rock wool is 3.0 to 3.3 per inch, while cellulose is 3.2 to 3.8 per inch. Foam, however, has R values that go from 4.0 to 8.0. This additional R-value per inch allows home builders to use two-by-fours for the outer walls instead of the usual 2×6 construction which is required for other insulation types. Employing this smaller framing has the advantage of giving the homeowner additional living space, up to 35 sq.ft. inside a 1,500 sq.ft. house. This is like realizing an extra linen closet! Other advantages of foam insulation include the fact that it is both fire and insect repellent, helps to control condensation of moisture, and it will not shrink or settle.

However the prime advantage is cutting energy costs given that as much as 70% of your residence’s usage is the result of cooling and heating, therefore it is smart to preclude air gaps. Fiberglass insulation, which can be very successful for certain areas, permits openings next to vents, pipes, window frames and door jambs. Foam insulation blocks all these gaps and produces a more complete seal all through the home than fiberglass will. The final result is foam insulation will save money on your energy expenses while contributing to the value of your residence.

How will foam insulation succeed? Polyurethane foam, which has been employed by appliance manufacturers for many years to insulate water heaters, refrigerators and freezers, is the material used for spray-on insulation. The expanding foam is applied to the surface of your attic or inside the walls to create an continuous solid mass of insulation. This foam is created with liquid polyurethane, which is put in employing special pressurized spray nozzles.

But, as with most chemical products, there are drawbacks to employing foam. Among the major disadvantages of foam insulation is that it should be applied by a certified contractor. This is definitely not a task for the average do-it-yourselfer. Foam insulation functions best during the building phase since it can be very messy to apply. There can also be delays while working with plumbing or electrical companies which aren’t familiar with working around the product when it is already in the wall.

If you find the above topics useful, you will also discover more recommendations relating to heating and air conditioning on these listed Internet sites. Need further assistance finding the best gas furnace? If that’s the case, then The Best Gas Furnaces might be the place to begin looking. One might also follow this link to find out about electric wall heaters.