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Custom Insulation Boston Worcester Blog

Fireplace Inserts Add Value to Your Home

12 October 2012

If you are remodeling or building a home in the Worcester area, add a fireplace insert. Homebuyers love a working fireplace and they also love efficient heating solutions. A fireplace insert is considered a plus to home buyers, thus increasing the value of your home.

Gas or wood burning fireplaces inserts bring many advantages to your home. Wood inserts is considered a renewable energy source and is a very economical way to heat your home.

Gas fireplace inserts are generally easier to use with less mess and effort. But, whichever fuel source you choose to run your fireplace insert, one thing is certain; working fireplaces add atmosphere and ambiance to any home.

New home buyers love the idea of a working hearth and they make your home more enticing. If you are remodeling for your own enjoyment, a room with a burning fire adds a whole new dimension to entertaining. Contact Custom Insulation for more information.

Pellet Stoves a Green Way to Heat Your Home

5 October 2012

Are you looking for different, more efficient or perhaps greener ways to heat your home? Then think about pellet stoves. This type of stove burns pellets made from wood chips, bark, compacted sawdust and other organic materials. Some of the advantages to using wood-pellet stoves are their heating efficiency; they produce very little waste; they can be installed on any outside wall, even if there is no chimney; and they use inexpensive fuel.

Pellet stoves have an average efficiency rating of 80- to 85%. The pellets are burned completely and they hardly give off any smoke, so they only need a small pipe leading outside. Pellet stoves also produce very little waste. A 40-pound bag of pellets produces less than a cup of ashes. People can use a wood pellet stove for several weeks without having to empty the ashes, keeping maintenance to a minimum. Because they have higher combustion and heating efficiency than a wood stove, less air pollution is being produced.

Custom Insulation can help you choose the best pellet stove for your home. Contact us or stop by!

What Kind of Insulation Should You Choose?

25 September 2012

For new construction, foam insulation is an ideal choice, but in existing homes insulating the underside of the roof's decking with blanket insulation can be a better value.

The existing attic insulation should be removed and a heating/cooling duct should be installed to control and condition the attic space if one does not exist already. There is no out-gassing of the expanding foam insulation.

The R-rating is the resistance to thermal transfer, and the higher the R-rating the better, but the insulation should never touch the underside of the roof's decking. A baffle should be installed between the rafters where the roof's decking is close to the attic's floor to provide airflow from the home's soffit vents and to prevent contact between the blown-in insulation and the decking.
 
If you choose foam insulation, there is no need for the baffles because all of the decking would be covered.

Custom Insulation recommends you get a few bids to compare; making sure each contractor is licensed and insured. Before hiring a contractor, contact your local Better Business Bureau for information on the contractor's business -- and always get references from the contractor and contact his customers to see if they were satisfied with the work.

Contact Custom Insulation for a quote on insulating your home.

Mercury News

Air Duct Insulation Improves Home Heating Efficiency

18 September 2012

The cooler weather is here, and in fact some of Massachusetts may have frost before the end of the week. It is almost time to turn on your heat. If you are starting to think about heating your home for the winter - HVAC tune-ups, ordering pellets, stacking wood - you may also want to think about insulating air ducts.
 
Adding insulation makes your home more energy efficient. Energy is usually wasted from your heating systems and as heat escapes from your home out of the attic. Well-maintained heating systems run more efficiently and waste less energy.

Ducts that move air to and from a forced air furnace or heat pump can waste energy. Sealing and insulating these ducts can improve the efficiency of your heating system by as much as 20%. Start with the attic and basement because these are areas where your ducts are often not insulated.

Sealing and insulating air ducts can improve their energy efficiency and keep warm air inside. Insulating your air ducts helps maintain the temperature of the air flowing through them and into your home.

Contact Custom Insulation to improve the air duct insulation in your home.

Pellet Stoves are A Better Way to Heat Your Home

11 September 2012

Cool nights are fast approaching, and heating your home takes energy and reliance on fossil fuels, namely oil and gas.

But there are better and less expensive ways to heat your home. With pellet stoves, you get warmth, comfort and convenience, and all of that is less expensive than traditional heat.  With a pellet stove you can heat your entire home or do zone heating.

To make wood pellets is an economical to process, and pellet stoves are efficient, making pellet stoves a more economical alternative for homeowners. By using wood pellet stoves, we can heat our homes, and become less dependent to fossil fuels and their constantly changing prices.

To heat your home with a pellet stove this winter, contact Custom Insulation.

Heat Your Worcester Home with Pellet Stoves

5 September 2012

We surely cannot expect another mild winter. Before the chilly nights return, add a Winslow or Montage pellet stove to your home.

Not only do the Winslow and Montage pellet stoves give you reliable heat, these pellet stove are attractive and can be customized to fit in with the décor in any home. Additionally, these pellet stoves are easy to use and service.

Lennox pellet stoves are efficient too because they are designed with the ability to allow you to set an ideal room temperature.
 
These pellet stoves have modern design. With large hoppers and beautiful lines, Lennox pellet stoves will efficiently heat your home, cut down on your heating costs, and look great.  Using these stoves is easy, convenient and giving you dependable, low-maintenance heat.

Lennox pellet stoves are powerful, with fully automatic pellet heat, contact Custom Insulation in Worcester for more information.

Gas Fireplaces Have Many Advantages Over Wood

30 August 2012

The temperature is dropping in the evenings here in Worcester, and it is probably time you should start talking about enhancing your fireplace and heating your home this fall and winter.

Gas fireplaces replicate the look and feel of wood fireplaces with a few major advantages.  There are no logs to cut, not logs to stack and haul.  Additionally, gas fireplaces are easy to operate, turn them on with the flick of a wall switch or remote control.
 
Did you know that gas fireplaces produce a cleaner fire with less air pollution? On top of this, they are beautiful and add ambiance and value to your home.  Gas fireplaces have the look of traditional fireplaces. And  The Montebello has a clean-face design that is smooth and elegant, reminiscent of a classic masonry fireplace.
 
For more information on the Lennox gas fireplace, contact Custom Installation.  

No More Clogged Gutters

21 August 2012

Cleaning clogged gutters is messy and dangerous if  you do it yourself or expensive if you have to hire professionals to do it for you. You need tough, effective gutter guards that ensures water flows into your gutters and leaves stay out.

When it comes to gutter guards, your home needs a strong, fast draining, and long lasting solution that works: WaterFall Gutter Guards.
 
Key Features:

  • Innovative "step" design that can handle up to 10 inches of rain per hour
  • Low profile appearance that lasts — no change to the roofline
  • Manufactured from durable vinyl
  • Perfect for 4" and 5" K-style gutters with special adapters for use with 6" K-style gutters too

Unlike other systems which have an ugly profile, WaterFall keeps a low, clean profile that does not change the roofline. Finally, put an end to the time and expense of cleaning those gutters once or twice a year. Contact Custom Insulation for installation of the WaterFall Gutter Guard System in the Worcester area.

Seamless Gutters are the Best Choice in Aluminum Gutters

14 August 2012

While most homeowners probably take them for granted, gutters and downspouts play a critical role home maintenance.

When it's working perfectly, a home's drainage system will hardly be noticeable, but when something goes wrong, homeowners may notice several signs.

When gutters are clogged the water will either overflow or back up between the gutter and the shingles.

In the winter a clogged gutter may freeze and crack. In addition to clogging, the spikes that attach a gutter could also come loose. This can cause the pitch of the gutter to change and interfere with proper drainage.

Over time, leaks can develop in gutters that have seams.

Whenever you have seams in your gutters, there's always the possibility for leaks. The best choice in aluminum gutters are seamless gutters.

Homeowners can also install leaf guards on their gutters which will improve the home's drainage system.

Most problems with a home's drainage system can be prevented by regular gutter cleaning. The frequency of cleaning depends on the number of trees on a property, since leaves will clog gutters.  It is recommended that you do a fall and spring cleaning.

Another major problems homeowners experience with their home's drainage system is clogged downspouts. However, regardless of maintenance, eventually aluminum gutters and downspouts do have to be replaced.

Aluminum gutters last from 15-30 years, depending on how they're maintained and kept up. But, once they get older, the seams will start to bust open.

If a gutter is damaged, it can be patched, but it will still leak again. In most cases, if a gutter has had leaks, it should be replaced with new seamless gutters. Seamless gutters these days last a lot longer.

Also, gutters can now be equipped with heat cables to keep ice from forming in them in the winter.

For information on aluminum seamless gutters, contact Custom Insulation.

Excerpts Reading Eagle

Attic Insulation Protects Your Home and Pays for Itself

10 August 2012

As summer winds down and the fall approaches, we can’t help but start thinking about the upcoming heating bills. As you know, heating and cooling is one of the largest expenses we have in our homes. If you are interested in energy conservation, consider updating, adding or replacing your attic insulation.

Attic insulation and ventilation is a critical part of heat gain and loss in your home; heat gain and loss results in large energy bills. Heat enters your home in the summer and leaves your home in the winter through your attic.

Proper attic insulation allows you heating and cooling system to work less, lowering heating and cooling bills. Making sure you have proper attic insulation is key in the winter to prevent heat loss.

While we are there, we’ll ensure that your attic ventilation is working properly. Through your duct work, it is important to prevent heat and moisture from being trapped. Damaging moisture rots wood and promotes the growth of mildew and molds.

Attic insulation and ventilation is a home improvement project that pays for itself in reduced energy bills and it protects your home at the same time.  Contact Custom Insulation today.

Insulation helps keep your house cool in the summer!