You’re building a new home, you say? So of course you have a check list: a general contractor, a sub-contractor, an architect, a banker, a lot picked out… but wait! You are overlooking something very crucial. Has your soon-to-be home passed the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code? I am sure some people would automatically assume a new home would pass but it is not guaranteed.
Passing the 2012 IECC Code
Freezing pipes are a major concern for many homeowners. Depending on the location, some of the pipes in your home may be more prone to freezing than others. Pipes that are exposed, pipes in unheated areas, pipes on exterior walls, or any plumbing on the exterior of the home may be more likely to freeze than other pipes in your home. While different precautions may be taken to protect outdoor plumbing and pipework, one way to prevent the interior pipes in your home from freezing during the cold winter months is to invest in spray foam pipe insulation from KC Spray Foam. We are proud to serve the Kansas City, KS area with quality spray foam insulation services for all areas of your home, including your pipes.
Any time that the pipes in your home are located in unheated or exposed areas and the temperature drops to below freezing, the water inside the pipes may freeze, causing the pipe to become blocked, and possibly even to burst. This is especially common in pipes that are located in the attic, crawlspace, and exterior walls. The cold Kansas City winters can cause these pipes to freeze and fail. KC Spray Foam can help to prevent freezing pipes with spray foam insulation to protect the pipes and insulate your home against the cold weather outside. Spray foam insulation can help protect your pipes in the following ways:
Winters in Kansas City are known to be cold and harsh. Lately, the temperatures in Kansas City and around the country have been frighteningly low. In times like these, it is important for you to make sure that your home is properly insulated and prepared for the cold winter months. Nowadays, spray foam insulation is becoming more and more popular for homeowners and business owners alike. Many people wonder if spray foam insulation is effective at keeping out cold air during the winter season. Spray foam insulation is actually better at insulating your home than many of the traditional insulation methods.
Many homes built in the past few decades have fiberglass insulation in the walls. However, spray foam insulation is gaining ground, as it is generally more convenient and more effective than fiberglass. Spray foam is also very versatile, and can be used in a variety of applications:
HVAC Sizing: What is This All About?
Heating, Ventilation, and Air Condition (HVAC) is an extremely complicated process. It is not sexy, but it is a very important part of building a new home. So let’s start with what it is and how it is done: HVAC sizing, or load calculations, determines the size or amount of BTU’s that a furnace needs to produce to work properly. It works the same way as air conditioning with tonnage.
The Best Bang for Your Buck: Value and Insulation
As the Polar Vortex blasted in this week, many of you may be thinking about adding or replacing insulation in your homes. This will benefit you by keeping your homes warmer and lowering utility costs. Don’t let this be you:
Contractor Licensing: It’s a Great Idea
Recently, we here at KC Spray Foam & Coatings asked our supplier Demilec USA to teach a Continuing Education Unit class. This took place at the Fall Johnson County Licensing Program at the Overland Park Center.
The Basics of Energy Audits
Energy Audits can consist of many things -- and at many levels -- depending on the depth of the audit. A basic audit can consist of an auditor simply walking through the home and inspecting for some basic areas that could potentially be robbing you of energy.
Attic Fans: The Downside of Sucking Hot Air
In theory, attic fans are installed to reduce cooling costs and to lower attic temperatures. However, in practice they lower attic temperatures but cause a plethora of other problems. But what exactly are attic fans? Attic fans are installed in the attic and used to expel hot air (you can learn morehere). Attic fans can be installed in the roof deck, gable ends, or in the ceiling deck of the building. For this particular blog we are going to emphasize two different applications: attic fans and whole house fans. Attic fans differ from whole house fans because they are installed in the roof deck or gable ends, while whole house fans are installed in the ceiling deck.
Radiant Barriers: Don’t Become a Baked Potato!
Radiant barriers are everywhere now. You can’t walk through a home and garden show without witnessing multiple companies selling different kinds of barriers. You can even find them in your local big box lumberyard. If you do a quick search on YouTube you can find a plethora of marketing videos. But do these barriers actually work, or are they “snake oil” marketing?
Insulating Tanks with Spray Foam Insulation
Spray foam insulation is a great way to insulate tanks of all types. This includes petroleum and oil field tanks, Frac tanks, water tanks, chemical tanks, agricultural and ethanol tanks, propane tanks, anhydrous tanks, and wine tanks just to name a few. There are even more industrial applications that are not listed here.
A poorly insulated home makes heating and cooling a home even costlier. Older home are especially likely to be insulated with outdated, under-performing insulation. With the properinsulation, you can save hundred of dollars in energy costs.
Spray foam insulation has an ability than other types of insulation lacks - the ability to seal out air. Foam insulation has the highest R-value that all of the common insulation types on the market today. The R-value of a product refers to its ability to reduce heat transfer. The more efficient the insulation, the higher the R-value. Some of the other advantages of spray foam are:
If you’re reading this blog, chances are you have some familiarity with spray foam insulation. But what about other insulation options that might be available to you, like wet blown cellulose? For those of you who don’t know about this product, it is ground up, recycled newspaper that has a dry adhesive that is activated with water when it is blown into place. While it is very different from spray foam insulation, some builders will use it as an alternative to spray in foam insulation.
Before we go on, watch the short video below to get an idea of how wet blown cellulose is installed:
When it comes to home insulation, spray foam insulation is definitely the best choice. Spray foam seals out air and moisture, keeping your home well insulated in both the cold months and the warmer months. Spray foam insulation will also help strengthen your home and prevent mold growth, which can cause serious health issues for you and your family. Spray foam insulation, however, is a job that is best left to the professionals. If you are in need of spray foam insulation in your home, do not try to handle it yourself; contact one of the professional insulation installers from KC Spray Foam as soon as possible.
Although there are several DIY spray foam kits available today, it is still best to have a professional spray foam expert install your spray foam insulation. First, spray foam can be very demanding to apply; if the instructions on the DIY kit are not followed exactly, the spray foam may not work properly. While applying spray foam, you cannot take long pauses, as any interruption longer than about 30 seconds will cause the spray foam to clog the spray nozzle, requiring a new one to be put on.
During the building process, there are many ways to try to cut costs. And while some of these make good sense, one that generally does not is using a flash and batt wall system for your insulation. Flash and batt uses closed cell spray foam insulation as an air barrier, and then a fiberglass batt or blown in fiberglass or cellulose insulation is installed over the top of the spray foam insulation. If you’re making insulation decisions, particularly related to insulation foam spray Kansas City, read on to learn more about this option as it very well may come up during your build.
While we have seen this wall system used many times, it is not one we recommend. In fact, a quick Google search will turn up horror stories of this system failing. Here’s just one example where a hybrid system was initially installed and then ultimately corrected after the immediate appearance of moisture issues. In cold climates, flash and batt is particularly problematic. In cold climates, vapor drive comes from the interior of the home, driving outward through the fiberglass insulation, creating condensation on the cold surface of the spray in foam insulation. The key for this to work is that the spray foam insulation has to be applied at a sufficient thickness so the surface of the spray foam will not be cold, depending on your climate.
The prep work ahead of a sprayed insulation job is an important step. It’s how we protect the job site from overspray. It’s also how we ensure we leave the site better than when we started a job. When you contract with KC Spray Foam for your spray on insulation needs, this step is included in our price quote. We come in and cover all windows, doors, showers, tubs and other surfaces that need to be protected with plastic sheeting. With experience we have learned certain ways to cover efficiently. Leaving this work to us also helps avoid any questions that could arise. If the customer does the prep work and overspray gets on a window, it’s more complicated to determine who is responsible.
Our policy is, if you don’t want overspray on it, it must be covered or removed from the space. Keep in mind, our sales people consider all of this during the bidding process. If there is anything you can remove from the building in advance of the project, it can save you money. This also guarantees your things are moved and stored just the way you want. Building components that cannot be removed, such as prefinished floors, can increase the installation cost because they must be protected.
We often get the question, “Won’t spray foam make my house too tight?” Our answer for this is to remember the saying, “Build them tight, ventilate them right.” In fact, most houses are not too tight – windows and doors leak plenty of air. Yes, urethane spray foam insulation will make your house tight, but that’s a good thing. We do recommend installing air-to-air exchangers (ERV or HRV) to allow stale air to be exchanged efficiently.
Even if you are using standard fiberglass insulation, it may be a good idea to add mechanical ventilation to your home for mold prevention. Controlled mechanical ventilation can improve indoor air quality.
Many people wonder where it is possible to use spray foam, and the answer is simple. Spray foam can be used in a variety of different situations and places. These places include:
These are all processes that can be used around the home or business. KC Spray Foam offers both residential and commercial services. For all your spray foam insulation needs, whether it be residential or commercial, make sure to call KC Spray Foam. But why would a home or business need these processes? Well, insulation is obviously important to a home or business, and good insulation can save you lots of money in the long run.
Investing in insulation from KC Spray Foam will pay off for years to come. In fact, you might be surprised at just how much it will pay back. To give you an idea of how an investment in spray on insulation may return, let’s run some numbers together via our Savings Calculator to determine the real spray foam cost.
First, we need to enter the Annual Cost for Energy with Fiberglass Insulation. This should be an easy answer, but the fact is most people have no idea what they spend on energy cost for a new home. While many people could tell you what it cost to fill their car with gas yesterday, there’s a good chance they couldn’t tell you their last heating bill cost. For this example, let’s use an average from a budgeting article on Mint.com, and figure $264/month or $3,168/year.
When you think about home insulation, your first thoughts are probably the insulation between your walls, ceiling and attic space. However, if you live in a home with a crawl space, this should be at the top of your list for insulation consideration! When crawl space insulation is properly applied, it will improve the comfort of your home and save you money on energy costs.
Improvements to Indoor Air Quality
Do you notice a spike in your utility bills? You may need to invest in spray foam insulation by KC Spray Foam. We use the latest insulation products, such as spray polyurethane foam, to enhance your home. Whether it is for new construction or renovation, our spray foam is a great investment because it lowers utility costs by sealing leaks. We can insulate different parts of your Kansas City area home to make your home more energy efficient. Its high R-value seals gaps and holes, making your home comfortable during hot and cold seasons. For high quality spray foam insulation, contact KC Spray Foam. We'll cover the whole areas of your home to protect your investment in Kansas City.
Your walls and attic aren't the only places to add spray foam insulation. Our team of professionals can apply it to many areas of your home, including:
