Best Insulation Types for Bungalows

Do you own a bungalow house? Then the likeliness is that it has minimal insulation. Still, did you know that you can cut down costs on your energy bill when you insulate the roof? In addition, you will find after insulation, your bungalow roof functions better in winter to remain warm for you and our guests. But what types of insulation will work on a dormer-type rooftop, and what is the best option to choose? Well, stay a bit longer as we go through the available options to decide what will work best for you.

1. Using a Rigid Insulation

The insulation method is thick 150mm insulation between the roof rafters with an air gap of 50mm to prevent cold bridging. If the existing space is insufficient, the insulation professionals fix a batten to the rafter on the underside to enhance depth. The thermal conductivity is between 0.020 and 0.023 W/m K to keep the room warm.

2. Spray Foam Insulation

Spray foam insulation has been around for a while in many Canadian homes for over 30 years. The advantage of using this insulation method is that you can use it over other types of insulation. Another benefit is placing it in hard-to-reach spots to allow enough ventilation and breathe the construction.

You need no air gaps, and it can be applied to areas where traditional methods do not work. In addition, the fabric provides a superior seal to eliminate leaks and provides a thermal conductivity of 0.032 and 0.037 W/m K.

3. Using Mineral Wool

The insulation technique provides thermal conductivity of 0.040-0.044 W/m K and works with up to 350mm insulation between rafters. For the desired thickness, insulation pros need to build it up in 100mm to 150mm layers.

What Insulation Should You Choose?

These are the three main types for insulating your bungalow home. But we recommend using a reliable company when doing the insulation. As an insulation provider, we at Ottawa Insulation recommend using spray foam insulation for many reasons.

Using spray foam can reach places in the roof other methods cannot achieve.
The technique is simple as all the technician needs to do is spray the foam, and it expands by itself to achieve excellent results.
You do not need air gaps and can cover tiny holes to prevent pests from entering your living space to start nesting.
Further, spray foam insulation is resistant to mold buildup leading to no adverse health concerns.
Lastly, this form of roof insulation works well on ready-constructed buildings with a bungalow roof not insulated when built. The chance is that the structure does not have the space for installing the other methods.

Final Thoughts

Insulating your bungalow home is worthwhile but needs preparing well. You can contact Ottawa Insulation to provide you with an open-celled variety of spray foaming insulation as it is better for this type of installation. Transform your bungalow roof into a comfortable space today.

5 Reasons to Insulate Your Home Before Winter

Winter is just around the corner now, and we all know what that means; cold weather is coming. Now you may be thinking that you got everything you need to stay warm this season, but does your home? Yes, with the days getting colder, we all know it’s that time of year when we need to add that extra layer to keep warm, but you don’t want to have to wear those thick winter socks and jackets on in your own home now, do you? This is why having the proper insulation for your home is essential to staying warm on those cold winter days and nights. Here are some key reasons why you should make sure that your home is well insulated before winter comes knocking on your front door.

1. It’s a Huge Money Saver!

Insulation has one job to do, and that’s to keep warm air from escaping out of your house. An excellent insulated home keeps its temperature to whatever degree you set it to. Air can’t escape, which lets you have a cozy home without cranking up the heaters. The less your heaters have to work to heat your home; the more money stays in your pocket in the long run.

2. It Reduces the Noise Levels in Your Home

If you live on a busy street or have people living in your home that can be pretty loud, it can be tricky getting some peace and quiet for yourself. But a well-insulated home can help with these issues and potentially even solve them. Insulation has been known to be a great sound barrier to reduce the noise levels in your home. So whether it’s from the snowplows going by in the early morning hours or someone’s being a tad bit loud, having a well-insulated home can bring you peace of mind in more ways than one.

3. No Need for Those Extra Layers

As mentioned previously, when the cold season comes, you want to stay warm and cozy in your home with whatever desired temperature level you have on. Insulation helps with that by preventing any outdoor air from penetrating through the walls of your home. It also helps prevent drafts from occurring near the windows. When winter comes keeping warm is the main priority.

4. Improves the Air Quality in Your Home

Good quality insulation is often waterproof, which helps lower condensation levels in your home. This, in turn, means you can avoid any mold growth behind those walls. Because of this, you can feel safe knowing that the air quality in your home stays at a high level.

5. What Roof Damage?

Having proper insulation in your attic can prevent significant problems in the long run. If your attic isn’t properly insulated, heat will rise and leak through your roof. This then melts the snow, and because of that happens, it will accumulate and damage your roof, leading to you having a leaky roof. Get proper insulation in your attic, and you’ll never have to worry about leaky, damaged roofs ever.

With winter around the corner, you don’t want to wait for another second to make sure you have good insulation throughout your home. Make your warmth and comfort a priority; visit our website here for a free estimation and reserve your spot today!

What Is the Most Eco-Friendly Type of Insulation?

When installing insulation, there are many factors to consider. Durability and efficiency are two very important considerations, but it is also important to think about whether the insulation is eco-friendly. Properly insulated homes use less energy, meaning all insulation is eco-friendly to some degree. But, there are four types of insulation that are especially eco-friendly.

Wool Insulation

Wool insulation is an affordable, natural, and eco-friendly insulation. This type of insulation can be used in your attic, walls, and floors. Wool insulation purifies the air, reduces thermal conductivity, regulates humidity, and provides your home with sound insulation. An added benefit is that wool self extinguishes, meaning that it does not burn up.

Wool is a one-hundred percent natural source of insulation. There is an abundance of the material and it requires very little preparation. In fact, the only step necessary to prepare wood as insulation is cleaning.

Denim Insulation

Denim, or cotton, insulation is composed mostly of reused scraps of denim and boric-acid-treated plastic. The boric acid provides the plastic with a flame-resistant component. The chemical used to make the insulation flame retardant also prevents the growth of fungus and bacteria. Denim insulation also prevents pests and insects from entering your home.

The low density and natural air gaps of this insulation increase the insulation’s thermal resistance. Denim insulation is widely considered the most eco-friendly type of insulation because it is made of recycled materials and the insulation can be recycled again after removal.

Cellulose Insulation

Similar to denim insulation, cellulose insulation is composed of mostly organic materials with some boric acid. Cellulose insulation is composed mostly of plant fibers and recycled materials. It is estimated that seventy percent of cellulose insulation contains recycled newspaper.

Blown-in insulation is both easy to install and cost-effective. This type of insulation is also a loose fit. This insulation provides homeowners with a variety of benefits. Not only is cellulose insulation effective, but the boric acid deters rodents and insects. This type of insulation also improves your home’s sound barrier.

Spray Foam Insulation

Another form of insulation that is widely considered to be one of the most eco-friendly kinds of insulation is spray foam. Spray foam insulation is created by combining polyol resin and a type of isocyanate. The main advantage of this type of insulation is that it expands to fill whatever space it is placed. This creates an air-tight seal around cracks and crevices.

Spray foam insulation is very effective and greatly decreases your home’s energy usage. This quality minimizes the homeowner’s carbon footprint.

Consult the Professionals

Professional Ottawa Insulation installers can help you find the insulation that best fits you and your home’s needs. A wide range of insulation types is available ranging in effectiveness, costs, and degree of eco-friendliness.

Can Insulation be Reused and Recycled?

As time passes, we seem to become more focused on preserving the Earth. The size of our carbon footprint and the eco-friendliness of the items we use matter. We’ve found a way to recycle almost everything, from plastic bottles to construction materials. Before tossing things out, we find ourselves asking whether the object can be reused or recycled. This is true of insulation as well. Can insulation be reused and recycled?

Made From Recycled Materials

One eco-friendly bonus of insulation is that the materials used to create it come from recycled materials. Denim insulation is primarily made from old denim jeans. Cellulose insulation is made of plant fibers and recycled materials. Wool insulation is made entirely from a renewable resource. Although these forms of insulation are created from recycled materials, they are often difficult to recycle after use.

Recycling Old Insulation

Recycling old insulation can be a difficult and time-consuming practice. This is because recycled materials are often mixed with materials containing acids or plexiglass. These non-recyclable materials would need to be separated before recycling. The process of separating the recyclable materials from the non-recyclable materials can be very difficult.

Reusing Old Insulation

In the race to be more eco-friendly, our first instinct is to recycle, so we sometimes forget that many items can simply be reused. Insulation is one of those things that are easy to reuse. Insulation has a specified range in lifespan that depends on many factors. Many of these factors may only degrade the usefulness of a small area of insulation.

Next time you replace your old insulation consider keeping the old insulation that is still in good shape and ridding your home of the wet, moldy, or mildewed pieces. Doing this allows you to install less insulation and reuse the insulation that does not need to be thrown out yet.

Removal Challenges

While it may be very difficult to recycle your installation, there are many other challenges to removal. To start, insulation is typically held in hard-to-reach areas such as walls and attics. Another challenge related to the removal of insulation is that mold, water, dirt, and dust build-up on the surface of insulation over time. The removal process is often a dirty one.

Consult A Professional

Professional Ottawa Insulation experts could help you determine what to do with the old insulation. They may offer to recycle the insulation for you or they may encourage you to leave the insulation and apply new insulation over the top of it. Provided that the old insulation is not dirty or damaged, it does not necessarily have to be removed. Let a professional deal with the disposal and clean-up associated with the removal of insulation.

When Should I Remove Insulation?

The useful life of insulation typically ranges between seventy and one hundred years. The incredibly long lifespan of the construction material leaves many homeowners confused as to how often the insulation needs to be replaced and whether it even needs to be removed. In general, insulation does not need to be removed unless the damage incurred will damage the new insulation as well.

Useful Life of Insulation

The useful life of undamaged insulation is between seventy and one hundred years. The useful life of the product is diminished when the product is damaged or gets wet. A leaking roof, gaping crevice, or open window can all cause water damage to your attic insulation. It is important to keep insulation dry, once it is exposed to water, it can grow mold or mildew. Water damage can spread from old insulation to new insulation if placed next to each other.

Home Energy Audits and Inspections

It may be a good idea to have a home energy audit or insulation inspection once every ten to fifteen years. These methods monitor the condition of your insulation as well as your home’s ability to regulate temperature and energy usage. These audits and inspections can provide you with an early indication of insulation damage, allowing you to save the undamaged insulation.

Signs to Replace Insulation

A home energy audit or inspection would provide you with an indication of whether you need to replace your installation, but there are many other signs as well. Temperature fluctuations throughout your home are a sign that insulation needs replaced. If you would designate your bedroom as the coldest room in the house, or there’s a closet that is excessively warm, these are signs that your insulation is not even.

Your energy bills provide another indication of whether your home’s insulation needs to be replaced. Most regions have an average energy cost per square foot. If your home’s energy cost varies significantly from that cost, you may need to replace your installation. Moisture and humidity are two more symptoms of ineffective insulation. Humidity and attic moisture indicate that the insulation is wet and at risk of mold or mildew. Wet insulation should be removed and replaced immediately as it can cause further damage to your home.

When to Remove Insulation

While replacing your home’s insulation it is not necessary to remove the old. Most professionals would recommend that you leave old insulation in place as it further benefits your home and increases its ability to regulate temperature. The only instance where it is absolutely necessary to remove insulation is when water damage has occurred. In these cases, it is not only recommended but necessary to remove the damaged insulation. Once wet, the insulation can spread mold and mildew to new insulation and cause the underlying wood to rot.

How To Qualify For The Greener Homes Grant

Many homeowners have a lengthy “To Do” list of upgrades and repairs that they want to make to their homes. Maybe you’ve been dreaming of some new windows, or switching to a renewable energy source by installing solar panels? Perhaps a new water heater is in order or a new thermostat to help better regulate the heating and cooling in your home? All of these things cost money. If you have been saving your money in an effort to make some upgrades to your home, the Canada Greener Homes Grant just may be the ticket. If you qualify, the Canadian Government could pay you up to $5000 to retrofit your house. So, just what is the Greener Homes grant and how do you qualify? Continue reading to learn more about this helpful initiative that entices Canadians to have more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly homes.

What Is the Greener Homes Grant

Approximately 18% of all greenhouse emissions in Canada come from buildings, including residential homes. In an effort to reduce Canada’s overall carbon footprint, the government has introduced the Greener Homes Grant. This grant could entitle you to receive up to $5000 in reimbursements for retrofitting your home insulation, windows, air sealing, and more. In addition to reducing your home’s carbon footprint, these retrofits can help you save on monthly utility costs, make your home more comfortable, and become more energy efficient.

How To Qualify

In order to qualify for the grant, you must be a Canadian homeowner. Only one homeowner per home may qualify for the grant. Additionally, you must provide proof of ownership and demonstrate that the home is your primary residence.

The first step to qualify for the grant is to conduct a pre-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation. This evaluation will make recommendations of qualifying retrofits to your home. Once you have completed at least one of the recommended and qualifying retrofits, you can then conduct your post-retrofit evaluation. At this point, you will be reimbursed for both evaluations, upto $600, as well as any qualifying retrofits recommended by your energy advisor. The biggest thing to understand is that this is a reimbursement process. You will not receive any grant money without the pre and post-retrofit evaluations. In addition you must have completed at least one of the recommended retrofits. Basically, If you decide to have the pre-retrofit evaluation and do not follow through with any of the recommendations, you will not receive a reimbursement. Finally, by submitting the required paperwork online, you will be reimbursed for any recommended and qualifying retrofits completed after December 1, 2020.

When it comes to taking care of your home, it can sometimes feel like a battle to decide which upgrades and changes take priority and which ones can take the backseat. With the Canadian Greener Homes Grant, you don’t need to prioritize. As long as you qualify, the Canadian Government will help you make all of the energy-efficient upgrades your home needs. For further information, you can visit their website or contact your local energy advisor to start your pre-retrofit evaluation today.

Why Do Ice Dams Happen On Roofs

Have you ever woken up and seen those dangling icicles hanging from the roof? Well, those are called ice dams, and they’re not something you should celebrate having anywhere near your home. While they’ve been romanticized in movies and television as a result of the winter season and snow, they’re actually far more preventable than you’ve been led to believe. But what actually causes ice dams?

We’re going to break down some of the reasons why you might be experiencing ice dams.

Air Leaks

When air leaks through areas of your home like the ceiling, the issues come in that as the air rises, it warms your attic and melts the snow leading to ice dams.

Ventilation Equipment

This isn’t as common as it once was because we rarely see things like furnaces, air conditioners, or ductwork in attics these days. However, if you’ve read all three of those things and have even one of them, then they’re likely contributing to the problem of ice dams.

On another note, if you do have one of these ventilation systems in your attic, then you’re adding a likely 25% to your energy bill. Again, this is because you’re keeping them running in a room that is regularly the hottest or coldest room in your home.

Pot Lights

This isn’t likely the biggest culprit of ice dams because they generate heat themselves; however, they’re difficult to seal. The worst part isn’t even the difficult sealing process, but more than the cold air passes through the bulbs. The heat of the bulbs can have an intensified effect on forming ice dams.

Thermal Bridging

Inadequate insulation is often the biggest culprit when it comes to ice dams. Older homes especially lack sufficient insulation requirements to prevent ice dams from forming. Low sloped roofs with a short overhang suffer the most because when the heat rises and is transferred through the frame, with warms the roof deck. This, in turn, melts the snow. As a result, the water runs down slowly and freezes again quickly as it falls down the sides.

Snow/Sun/Wind

When there’s a considerable amount of snow on your roof, it places a giant blanket over your attic and insulates it. As the attic warms up, so does the snow before it gets to a melting point. This is made worse with the sun and wind, where they have a similar effect on the snow by melting and moving it to form the ice dams you’re seeing every morning.

Regardless of how it happens, however, ice dams are not something you want anywhere near your home. It’s essential to solve the problem before it damages your home.

Final Thoughts

Want to stop ice dams in their tracks? Want to protect your home from the damaging effects of these frozen daggers? In that case, you should probably give Ottawa Insulations a call.

When it comes to insulation, when it comes to local insulation companies Ottawa, we’re the best around town.

Top Areas of the Home That Need Insulation

The statistics for how many homes in certain countries are actually insulated properly might shock you. They’re not good, and they’re not getting better any time soon. So don’t be a part of the negative statistics when it comes to protecting your home and saving money in the long run.

We’re going to tell you the five top areas of your home that need insulation, like yesterday!

Basement

Have you ever gone into your basement and thought, ‘why is it so cold in here?’ Well, the likely answer is that your basement just isn’t insulated, and if it is, it’s probably not done right. When you properly insulate your basement, it doesn’t just add warmth to the area, but it also helps prevent pests and mold, which can affect your entire home.

Properly insulating your basement means your heating and cooling systems don’t have to overwork themselves to keep your home temperature regulated.

Attic

When your attic isn’t insulated, heat escapes your home through the roof and is replaced with the cold/cool air from outside. For these reasons, you need to prioritize your attic when it comes to insulating your home, especially in preparation for the winter season.

Properly insulating your attic will keep your home both Winter and Summer ready by keeping it warm and cool when necessary.

Walls

Insulating your walls is a big aid to comfort as it can prevent air from escaping through the walls. In addition, when you insulate your walls, you’re preventing the drafts from ever occurring by creating a barrier between the outside and the inside of your home through interior/exterior wall insulation.

A big plus to insulating your walls is that they help dampen sound so you can get a touch more privacy in your home, from room to room.

Floors

Floors in rooms like the garage, crawl spaces, etc., should be insulated because when they aren’t, you allow conditioned air and heat to get lost. When you insulate your floors, you’re reducing the risk of moisture, preventing drafts, and most importantly, retaining cooled and heated air.

Ceilings

The biggie is always the ceiling. Winter can be a difficult time for your home to keep up and retain the necessary heat to keep you and your family warm. As the heat rises, an inadequate (or non-existent) insulation job can leave your home, giving away heat, and in the Summer, it can make the heat far worse.

Insulating your ceiling means you’re not going to get drastic shifts in temperature because your home will be able to keep up with the varying temperatures of the seasons. Furthermore, you’re preventing a host of potential problems that you could face, like condensation, mold, and other threats to your home.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking to make some capital improvements to your property and want to consider insulating your home, you should probably give Ottawa Insulations a call.

We’ve been doing this a while, and we’re some of the best insulation contractors Ottawa has to offer! Because when it comes to insulation, we’re the best local insulation company Ottawa has with a wide range of services to meet your needs.

The Benefits of Insulating Your Basement

There are so many benefits to insulating your entire home, but if you’re looking for a place to start, the basement is where you should look. Ignore the cons of insulating your basement, such as the cost or the reduced airflow, because the benefits far outweigh the negatives.

Here are some of the benefits that come with insulating your basement.

Improved Temperature Management

When your insulation is not up to par or is non-existent, then cold and damp air that emanates in the basement works against the efforts of your HVAC. While it tries desperately to keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer, your basement is acting as the thorn in its side.

Since heat rises, you’re going to lose a vast amount of heated or cooled air in the rooms above your basement if your basement isn’t insulated correctly.

Energy Bills Will See A Decline

This is more felt when you insulate your entire home, but that doesn’t mean you won’t notice a slight improvement in your energy bill if you stick to the basement only. The main reason behind this is because of the improved temperature management. You’re helping your heating and cooling system work less hard to achieve the same results. By eliminating gaps for warm or cooled air to escape, the HVAC systems aren’t working overtime to replace lost cooled/heated air.

Soundproofing

When you insulate your basement, you’re adding a layer of soundproof to the room that means you can finally break out the old drumkit and go wild. It might not be the biggest selling point, but it is something to celebrate.

Local Building Codes Will Be Adhered To

If you’re not up to date with your local building codes, then maybe contact people who know them inside and out because you might actually be violating them. For example, some areas actually require homes to insulate their basements and other rooms and require homes to meet R-standards, which varies from region to region. To achieve the required R-value means insulating your basement and perhaps other rooms in your home.

Comfort Will Improve

If you use your basement for more than just storage, then insulating it will add to the comfort levels felt in the room. However, regardless of the use of your basement, the truth is that you will feel additional comfort throughout the home, thanks to the proper insulation job. This is because now heat and cooling can be retained, and it can go uninterrupted.

Allergen Prevention

A big deal is that insulating your basement means you’re preventing allergens like mold, mildew, dust, and more from occurring. This means so much to the air quality in your home as you’re allowing it to be cleaner.

Final Thoughts

Suppose you’re looking to make some capital improvements to your property and want to consider insulating your home to gain all the benefits that come with this investment. In that case, you should probably give Ottawa Insulations a call.

We’re some of the best insulation contractors Ottawa has to offer. When it comes to insulation, when it comes to local insulation companies Ottawa, we’re the ones to call first.

Why Do I Have Ice Dams on my Roof?

Have you ever wonder why ice dams always appear on your roof? Maybe you’ve thought about how nice it looks and never really considered what it might mean for your home if they occur.

We’re going to break down what ice dams are, why they occur, and what they might mean for your home!

What are Ice Dams?

Ever wake up in the morning and take your coffee out onto the porch to notice that there are pointy bits of ice hanging from your roof? Well, that’s an ice dam.

Those chunks of ice appear when snow from your roof melts and travels down to cooler points of the building only to freeze again into what is referred to as ice dams.

What Causes Ice Dams to Form?

There are several reasons ice dams form, including;

Inadequate Insulation – Older homes often feature inadequate insulation from way back when the house was built. Low sloped roofs and short overhangs especially suffer due to insufficient insulation at the spots where the wall and roof meet. As heat transfers through framing members, it warms the roof, melts the snow, and freezes again into ice dams at the overhang.
Ventilation Equipment – This isn’t as common as it maybe once was, but ventilation in attics was once a leading cause of ice dams. If you have this equipment in your attic, know you’re wasting money on a space that doesn’t benefit from such measures.
Snow, Sun, and Wind – When snow falls, it insulates your home as it collects on the roof. It warms your attic, causing snow to melt, and as it runs down the roof, eventually forming into ice dams at cooler temperature points. Another issue is that as the wind blows the snow off and the sun heats the top, causing the attic to heat up with it, the snow melts and runs down the roof again, resulting in ice dams.
Pot Lights – Since they generate heat, they aren’t as much of a problem as some of these other reasons. However, due to their inability to be well sealed, and the air leaks, the heated air only intensifies the problem.

What are the Dangers of Ice Dams?

Ice dams can cause extensive damage to your home as it’s able to let water penetrate your interior walls allowing for damage to the wall and roof. Ice dams can have unimaginable consequences if not effectively dealt with, so start making some calls if you see ice dams.

Prevention and Protection from Ice Dams

Some of the reasons for ice dams are unavoidable. You are never going to be able to control the weather. Snow, wind, and sun will always be present in some capacity, contributing to the ice dams. However, a properly insulated home can prevent the snow from melting prematurely.

When the home is insulated, the snow can melt when the overall temperature has returned to an ice melting point. Snow melting when it’s ready is far better than it melting prematurely due to the temperature of your home. In addition, insulation can keep the interior and exterior temperatures separated and save your home from the damaging effects of ice dams.

Are you looking to make a move and get your basement or attic correctly insulated? Then, don’t waste any more time! Instead, contact us and get in touch with us about a free estimate. Ottawa Insulation is ready to chat with you about your basement ambitions.