Guide to Insulating Your New Pre-Owned Home

Insulation is important for reducing utility bills and ensuring comfort in the home. Insulation requirements have changed a lot over the years, so many new homes are much better insulated than homes of the past. Buyers who purchase pre-owned homes must be aware that their older home may be leaking warm or cold air at different times of the year. Improving insulation can prevent problems like frozen pipes, ice dams and unnecessarily high utility bills. Here's what homeowners need to know about improving insulation in their older homes.

Signs Your Home Needs More Insulation

Rooms inside the home should be a relatively even temperature. When one room is cold and another is too warm, this is an indication of poor insulation. Sometimes homes that have poor insulation will get very hot in the heat of the day when sun shines on the roof and on the walls of the house. At times of the year when the weather is cold, the house may feel drafty.

Over time, poor insulation will cause utility bills to rise. Heating and cooling prices may go up annually, and the house will be uncomfortable at times of the year when temperatures are extreme.

Get An Energy Audit

Another excellent way to tell if the home needs more insulation is by getting an energy audit. Energy auditors inspect homes looking for air leaks and places where energy efficiency could be improved. During the inspection, the auditor will look for points of weakness where more insulation could be added. At the end of the energy audit, the homeowner will have a long list of potential ways to improve energy efficiency in the house and reduce their utility bills.

Weatherstripping Can Help

Weatherstripping is one simple way to improve insulation in the home. By closing gaps in doors and windows, weatherstripping helps keep climate-controlled air in and unpleasantly cold air out. Many homeowners will weatherstrip when the temperature drops outside, but weatherstripping is smart at all times of year.

How to Install Better Insulation

The attic is usually the easiest place to install insulation. Insulation should come up over the joists so that they aren't visible. If the joists are visible through the insulation, more insulation should be installed. To do this, homeowners can fill the attic with loose-fill insulation. This type of insulation can be dragged up to the attic in bags or can be spread around by a blower.

Batt fiberglass insulation is an alternative to loose-fill insulation. Batts are unrolled to fit in between and over the joists. When installing insulation in the attic, Burbank CA homeowners must wear proper protective equipment and should take care to avoid installing insulation in locations that would block air flow. It's important to get help from an expert to ensure it's done right.

Problems to Avoid When Insulating

Most older homes need to breathe. If they aren't allowed to breathe properly, the end result could be an accumulation of moisture in the house that leads to mold and wood rot. Poorly or improperly installed insulation can block vents that promote air flow.

Work With an Expert

Whether you're insulating your attic or the walls of your home, work with an experienced contractor. A good contractor can help you install better insulation without closing off vents or preventing air flow in the home, while also identifying more areas of the home where insulation is needed.