I’m building a new house and I need some advice on insulation. I know about the “standard” fiberglass stuff, but I’ve been hearing more about cellulose. I’ve heard it insulates better than fiberglass (meaning lower energy bills), it’s fire retardant and so on. Another item of interest is formaldehyde-free insulation. The wife is prone to allergies and I’d like to eliminate as many potential problems as possible. I’d appreciate your thoughts!
Replies
If you want to save time on this subject and minimize confusion, give a description of your location, climate variations, type of house, wall construction as well as the roof construction.
Gabe
The house is a 1 1/2 story (huge attic w/ in-law suite) w/ 4" stud walls, Hardi plank siding and brick accents on the front. The main floor has 10' ceilings throughout w/the exception of a 12' ceiling in the family room) The home is located North of Atlanta where summer temps reach upper 90's and winters can be in the teens and twenties. Some snowfall annually but not much. The house will be in full sun for about 5 hours during the day so w/ the in-law suite upstairs, we're going w/ Tech-Shield for the roof sheathing.
Edited 8/25/2002 11:58:00 AM ET by Tejanohombre
Lots of heat and a little cold.
FG, celulose, open cel foam, closed cel foam, SM, foil backed semi ridget, etc all work in some application or another. If there was such a thing as the perfect insulation, they'd only be one on the market. And that's certainly not the case.
Ventilation in your area would maybe add a couple of years to your roof shingles. I emphasize maybe.
Sealing your home with one of the foams would likely lower your energy bills enough so that any early replacements wouldn't mean much.
A lot of time, the cost effectiveness of any insulation is controlled by the local installers. In other words, some areas have different rates than others. The same is true of masonry for example. You will find areas where the cost of masonry foundations is much less than concrete and vise versa in other areas. Same product, different market.
Regardless of which type of insulation you end up getting, sealing is half the battle. If you can control the air escaping from your home you can lessen the cost to heat or cool it dramatically.
Gabe
Get prices from as many types of products and installers as you can. This is a serious decision you have to make that will either pay back in a number of years or be a total waste or time and money if not done right.