Call Us Today!
508-488-9999
Home Blown-in Insulation & Gutter Solutions
20 May 2014
Spray foam insulation protects from both air infiltration and heat loss better than any other standard insulation. Its immediate and long-term benefits and advantages are based on convenience and efficiency; enough to outweigh the initial cost it requires for installation. Spray foam insulation is preferred more by homeowners and contractors because it is easily be installed in comparison to traditional insulation.
Installing spray foam insulation in your home will lower heating and cooling bills. Air-sealing with spray foam insulation improves your homes energy efficiency. This means you will use your HVAC system less often and more efficiently, resulting in significant heating and cooling savings each month. And, since the system does not deteriorate through time, the spray foam also promises long term savings.
Spray foam insulation in Boston and Worcester homes does not only save energy and cut electricity expenses, it also gives your home a comfortable indoor environment no matter the season. Spray foam insulation provides improved air quality because of the air barrier system it provides.
Another good benefit of the improved air quality and controlled humidity in your home is the elimination of airborne particles, reducing allergens in the air. Additionally, the decreased humidity reduces potential for wood rotting and molds. That is why, installing spray foam insulation is the best insulation because it fills even the smallest cracks, gaps or holes at home.
For more information on insulating a home, check out Custom Insulation.
14 May 2014
Choosing the type of insulation you use at home can make a lot of difference in your expenses. Below shows how can blow-in insulation proves itself as the best choice for home insulation.
Tighter fit
We know that the tighter the fit, the better insulation works. Blown-in insulation makes a tighter fit than traditional insulation, squeezing around all the tight spots that other insulation materials miss. This way, tight corners and chinks are sealed.
Moisture prevention
Any tinge of moisture is bad for insulation. But there's nothing to worry about. Because of its tighter fit, blow-in insulation solves this problem, keeping moisture from seeping into it.
Noise reduction
Another benefit of a tighter fit is that it reduces noise between rooms which is great for varied reasons. This is perfect if you have playful children at home. You won't longer need to tell them to lower down their voices or the volume of their music because you won't hear their noise anyway.
Energy-efficient
Blown-in insulation does not fail in making your home warmer during winter and cooler during summer. This way, you do not anymore need to use your HVAC controlling system more often, thus lowering your e-bill.
Environmentally friendly
Since blown-in insulation is made out of recycled materials, then you serve the environment with two great things – you conserve energy and save natural resources. Plus, it is inert, non-toxic and fireproof. What more could you ask for?
Saves Money
With all those mentioned above, nothing beats blow-in insulation when it comes to saving money. It may not be cheap, but installing one can save you hundreds in the long run. It prevents you from spending for frequent replacements.
So if you're thinking to replace your old insulation, or building a new home in Worcester MA, do not forget to check out Custom Insulation. They can offer you great deals with benefits that are far too great to neglect.
7 May 2014
A fireplace is one of the many options for home enhancements. It helps in heating up your home and reducing home heating expenses. But before you use it, do the following fireplace safety measures first whether you are using a wood, gas, or electric fireplace:
Make necessary repairs
Check up the parts of your fireplace as it may have missing cap or loose bricks. Repair these and all else before you use your fireplace to supplement your main heating system. Also make sure the fireplace mantle and area around the hearth is clear of decorations, especially those combustible materials, and of debris for safe use of your fireplace.
Hire a chimney sweep
Before you enjoy relaxing by a warm fire with your fireplace, hire a chimney sweep to remove soot and debris left by last year's winter. You may also ask a certified chimney specialist to have your chimney its annual check-up. They may also some helpful tips on fireplace safety.
Keep an eye on kids
Keep your kids away from the fireplace when a fire is burning. Consider installing a childproof fireplace gate. You can also use a spark guard to prevent embers from shooting out from the fireplace.
Put out the fire
Before leaving the house or going to bed, make sure you put out the fire first. Remember not to leave a fire unattended. You can also install smoke detectors on every floor of your house and inside your bedrooms for more security. Also, do not overload as too much heat generated by large fire can crack a fireplace's chimney. When disposing ashes from the fireplace, never empty ashes directly into the trash bin. Instead, allow them to cool down first before disposing.
Start right
Never burn trash or any sort to start the fire, neither should you use flammable liquids. Use seasoned hardwood so as not to accelerate creosote buildup in the chimney. Start right by building small fires that burn completely and only produce less smoke.
For more information about fireplace safety and for other home enhancement concerns, contact Custom Insulation.
22 April 2014
New home construction is increasing all over Massachusetts. One of the biggest considerations when building a new home is keeping your energy costs down once you move in. To do this, you need to install the right amount of insulation in the all the right places.
In Boston and Worcester, you will save money and energy when you build a new home or addition if you install a combination of cavity insulation and insulative sheathing. Reduce exterior wall leaks by taping the joints of exterior sheathing and caulking and sealing exterior walls. Cavity insulation can be installed at levels up to R-15 in a 2 inch x 4 inch wall and up to R-21 in a 2 inch x 6 inch wall.
These help to reduce the energy that would otherwise be lost through the wood frame. In Massachusetts, which is zone 5, you should install R38 to R60 in the attic, R30 to R38 in the Cathedral Ceiling, R13 to R15 in the Cavity, R2.5 to R6 Insulation Sheathing, and R25 - R30 in the floor.
You should consider attic or roof radiant barriers (in hot climates), reflective insulation, and foundation insulation for new home construction. Check with Custom Insulation for more information about these options.
Insulation Tips
For more information, contact Custom Insulation.
Energy.gov
14 April 2014
The weather is getting warmer. While we are finally getting a break from our heating bills,the cooling season is fast approaching. You can save money on cooling your home by adding blown-in insulation to your attic. Prevent your attic from acting like a sieve and save heating and cooling dollars all at once, by re-insulating your home. With today's rising energy costs, it's no wonder homeowners are taking interest in buttoning up their attic. Making the attic more air tight by adding additional insulation is a job worth doing.
The easiest way to increase your home’s efficiency is to contact an insulation contractor to blow insulation into your open attic area with 12-inch deep coverage. Blown-in insulation has proven energy savings and increase the value of your existing home.
Blown in insulation is really about the only way to insulate existing, closed-up walls. The only other option is to start pulling off siding or rip out interior drywall. Blown-in insulation will fill every crack and crevice much better than batt insulation. The two biggest advantages of blown-in insulation are its performance and the speed in which it can be installed.
Blown-in insulation has optimal performance because it securely fills in everywhere and surrounds every piece of conduit and obstacle, which makes for a much more effective barrier than rolled insulation.
For more information, contact Custom Insulation.
9 April 2014
A home’s curb appeal is crucial because it can be the first thing buyers notice about a home. That’s why exterior projects have been rated among the most valuable home improvement projects in the most recent Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report. So, curb appeal is important. If you need a new gutter system for your home, choose one that is functional and beautiful: copper gutters.
Regardless of if you want to stay in your home, or sell it soon, you need to consider your home’s resale value when you are beginning home improvement projects. Curb appeal has been found to increase home value and to sell homes faster.
Copper gutters may be more expensive initially than aluminum or pvc gutters, but they will cost less during the life of your home. Copper gutters are maintenance free because copper stops the growth of algea and fungus, which are two major problems for gutters. Copper gutters also last for over 100 years. That means once you add a copper gutter system to your home, you won’t ever add gutters again.
Best of all, copper gutters are beautiful. They won’t just add value to your home; they won’t just add a lifelong, maintenance free gutter system; they will add curb appeal which is what you is what you are looking for whether you want to stay in your home for years or sell in the short term.
Copper gutters protect homes from water damage, but look great doing it. There are many sizes available, from a standard 5 inch to much larger commercial grade 8 inch. All copper gutters consist of 16oz. per foot and are made from the highest quality copper available.
For more information on copper gutters, contact Custom Insulation.
31 March 2014
If you want to choose a renovation project that will benefit you long term, you might want to look beyond the façade of your home. Renovations like updated plumbing, electricity, and insulation could be beneficial and cost-effective in the long run.
Replacing old insulation or adding insulation where there was none before can be a highly cost effective and energy efficient decision. As energy prices go up, homeowners are continue to pay more and more money each month for both heating and cooling. That's where better insulation can help. It doesn't matter whether it is hot or cold, insulation will come in handy keeping you cooler during the summer and warmer during the winter.
Don't leave insulation decisions up to your contractor. Hire an insulation specialist and do your research online, to find out what the best insulation for your budget might be.
Spray foam insulation is a modern insulation solution. Spray foam insulation combats against air leakage and works well in all type of homes, regardless of the climate. Spray foam insulation both air seals and insulates to keep allergens and irritants at bay and eliminates air leakage to keep the conditioned air inside without the HVAC system working overtime to compensate.
Another benefit of spray foam is that it lasts as long as the home does without needing replaced or repaired, unless the actual home structure is compromised. Experts report significant reduction to utility bills, as much as 50% when a home goes from absolutely no insulation to complete coverage by spray foam.
For more information on home insulation, contact Custom Insulation.
eetimes.com
24 March 2014
It may not feel like it quite yet, but spring is here. This is the time to start planning those outdoor home improvement projects. ‘Green’ are more attractive to homeowners and home buyers. You need a new gutter system, but how can you make a ‘green’ choice? Home owners with the environment in mind are turning to copper gutters.
But, not only is copper the green choice, it is also the best choice for gutters. Actually, copper is one of only a few materials that is considered to be fully sustainable. Barely any of the copper reserves worldwide have been mined, and that copper that has been mined is still in use today! In fact, more than half of all the copper used for architectural purposes is recycled.
One of the biggest advantages of copper gutters is their lifespan, they can last for more than 100 years. Obviously, this means that for the life of your home you won’t ever have to replace your gutters. A peripheral benefit of this is a decrease in energy and fuel use in producing PVC and aluminum gutters are more homeowners choose copper.
Even better, copper gutters are essentially maintenance free as well. So, for the next hundred years, you don’t have to worry about your home gutter system. Copper is a natural algaecide and fungicide. Moss is one of the biggest causes of clogged gutters and copper automatically inhibits its growth.
Needless to say, copper gutters are far more attractive than any other gutter material. So from an aesthetics perspective, as well as an environmental one, copper gutters are the perfect choice for your home.
For more information on copper gutter systems, contact Custom Insulation.
17 March 2014
Most people don’t get a chance to see a house during construction. If you do get a chance to see the process from the ground up, it’s a good experience. You see how much effort goes into compacting the soil and putting in underground plumbing before the concrete is placed, for example. And, using that example, you quickly see how a small mistake made at one phase can have a dramatic impact on some later phase.
Eventually you get to the point where the walls are insulated. Nowadays a building inspector will spend a lot of time looking for insulation problems and corrections. Foam insulation is required along the connection from the floor and between framing. Caulking or foam is required in all the wiring holes between the walls and the ceilings.
Of course, the walls need to be fully insulated and the ceilings or attics need to be completely insulated too. The requirements keep getting stricter and that’s a good thing in my experience.
Years ago, none of that was required. There was no wall insulation and there wasn’t even ceiling insulation. It was like living in a work shed with drywall on the walls and ceilings.
Insulation is very inexpensive compared to the long-term benefits. An un-insulated house will probably cost several hundred dollars a month to keep warm or cool these days.One often thinks that the added expense and time involved in insulating might not be worth the trouble.
There are still lots of houses with little or no insulation and fixing that problem is pretty easy these days. There are also various funding sources.
The first step is to call an insulation company because they will be more familiar with the latest products, techniques and requirements.
Get options and get the highest insulation value you can reasonably afford. It will pay off later.
Also, have the old insulation completely removed. It’s a good opportunity to get rid of other stuff in your attic and to inspect wiring, plumbing, and air conditioning ducts.
For more information on insulating older homes, contact Custom Insulation.
redlandsdailyfacts
10 March 2014
After this winter, many homeowners are considering replacing their heating or HVAC system. But there are some questions you should ask yourself before you make that big investment.
Have you recently upgraded the thermal envelope of your house? The thermal envelope of your house is everything that separates the living space from the outside, including walls, doors, windows, insulation and the roof. If you’ve been sealing leaks, eliminating drafts, replacing old windows or adding insulation, you’ve been making your home more energy efficient.
With thermal envelope upgrades, the home will lose less heat in the winter and therefore the heating appliance likely won’t need to provide as much energy. Depending on the reduction in energy use, it’s possible that your heating appliance could become oversized and a smaller system may operate more efficiently. Upgrading and updating your home insulation means that your home will stay warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, reducing energy costs year round.
Is your current heating appliance more than 20 years old? Appliances made today are far more efficient than older models. They use less fuel, they are also safer, and they are more efficient. Also, the methods to size a heating system are better and can be tailored to individual homes.
Do you have rooms that are always too hot or too cold? This can be the result of air leaks, inadequate insulation, an improperly sized heating appliance or lack of zoning in your heating system. If you need to add insulation or seal leaks, take care of that before upgrading your heating system so that the heating system will be sized properly for your home.
For more information on updating home insulation, contact Custom Insulation.
newsminer.com