Why is Insulating your Kansas City Home and Business so Important?

We spend a good deal of time talking about building science. And for good reason. At KC Spray Foam we understand the significant role our Kansas City insulation plays in the function of your home or building. The standalone product itself is important, but equally or more important is how it works with the other systems to optimize performance.

If you’re a home or building owner evaluating your current systems, or making decisions about systems as you build, you might have some experience with duct leakage testing. A duct leakage tester is a diagnostic tool used to measure the airtightness of forced air heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) ductwork. This is useful knowledge when trying to increase energy conservation.

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.

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving with our families, we would like to take this opportunity to express our thanks to you, our friends, followers and customers. As we approach our one-year anniversary in Kansas City this spring, we are thankful for the presence we have grown in the area and look forward to celebrating even more success with you!

Located in south Olathe, we have been welcomed into our community and invited to participate in many industry events. We have enjoyed these opportunities to get to know others and grow our KC Spray Foam business. We would also like to thank our colleagues at our sister company, Iowa Spray Foam Insulators, LLC. Part of our success is attributed to the experience and resources we share.

Meet our Experienced Staff at KC Spray Foam

This year marks the one year anniversary of KC Spray Foam - and what a year it's been! Over the past year, we have established a presence in the Kansas City market, and a lot of our success can be attributed to Daryn Britton, who handles sales for this location.

Daryn has been with the company since our first month of business. Daryn holds a Business Management degree from Kansas State University, and previously worked in sales/sales management roles throughout the construction industry. His construction background, in particular, has served him well in his role at KC Spray Foam.

If you’re weighing the cost benefit of spray foam insulation for your home or business, it’s important to consider the quality of products being used, as well as the experience of your contractor and the capabilities of the equipment. We have talked about the investments we make in our employees and products; at KC Spray Foam we also take our equipment investment seriously to ensure proper home insulation KC. In fact, it’s safe to say there are not many spray foam contractors in the county that could parallel our rig.

You can think of ours as a mobile factory. It’s totally self-contained, with a generator and air compressor on board. Produced by Rogers, Minn.-based EnDiSys, a company that engineers every aspect of its spray rigs, the trailer and truck boxes are built to the company’s specifications. The generator/compressor systems are built in-house from start to finish. “This allows us to lower lead times, increase quality control and provide better technical support,” explained Mike Flander with EnDiSys technical services. “Each system we produce is designed with input from the customer. Right now, we have a fully portable cart system in-house that includes a compressor, built on a skid, that will fit through a 36” door – a very unique application that required significant engineering and experience to get a design that would fit the customers’ needs and allow them to significantly reduce costs on a job that might otherwise not been possible.”

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.

Don’t Leave the Windows Open in New Construction

We’ve learned a lot in the last decade about building new structures to new levels of efficiency. However, windows have not kept up to the level that many other building materials have when it comes to thermal resistance (aka R Factor). Most available windows on the market today are coming in with a U-Factor of around .3. So, we know that we can convert U-Factor to R Factor easily (done so here).

What really matters is that most windows on the market equate to around an R-3 in insulating value. Why is this important? Because the 2012 IECC Energy Code is requiring in Zone 4 that walls must have an R-20 or R-13+5 to meet code. So in this R-20 wall we are going to cut a big hole into this wall and install a window that is only going to perform to an R-3 level. Makes a lot of sense doesn’t it?

Keep the Heat out in the Summer with Spray Foam Insulation

Those summer months can be downright unbearable if you can't escape the heat. While it is common knowledge that insulation helps keep your home warm in the winter, did you know that it also keeps your house cool in the summer? Insulation stabilizes temperature in your home, so when you turn on the air conditioning, your house stays cool. It prevents the cool air from escaping the home, which helps energy efficiency, as well. Having high quality insulation is the best way to stay cool and lower your energy bills. That is where KC Spray Foam can help you.

Our attic spray foam insulation is a great option when it comes to insulation. With other forms of insulation, such as fiberglass, you have to have tons of material to have sufficient insulation. But with our spray foam insulation, all you will need is about an inch of spray foam and you will see and feel results. Spray foam also reaches those small nooks and crannies where traditional fiberglass can not; you will receive better coverage with spray foam insulation. It also repels mold, pests, and water, keeping the home's environment and air safe for your family.

You can use Spray Foam all over your Iowa Home

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:

• Attic insulation
• Basement insulation
• Ceiling insulation
• Crawlspace insulation
• Garage insulation
• Pipe insulation
• Whole home insulation

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.

Spray Foam Insulation has Big Benefits for Homeowners

When you’re building a home there are many, many decisions to make. The impact of some choices is obvious. You love the look of Carrera Marble; chances are you will be pleased with the kitchen design you chose that incorporates it. Other choices, like insulation, aren’t so obvious. At decision-making time it’s tempting to go for the less expensive option when it comes to items like these that you don’t “see.” Unfortunately, this can cost you in the long-run.

The Home Energy Rating System (HERS) provides a number rating that makes it easy for consumers to see how same-size homes compare in energy use. The lower the number, the less energy used. According to GreenBuilder, “The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reports that a typical resale home scores 130 on the HERS Index, while a typical new home might rate 100.” Knowing that heating and cooling expenses make up a significant portion of homeownership costs, the lower the number, the better.

Different Types of Roof Coatings: A Guide

Not all roof coatings are the same. In fact, there are many different features and drawbacks for most (if not all) types of coatings. So I thought I would highlight some of the differences in these coatings to clear the air for the average consumer. Let’s begin with the different types:

Acrylics:

Roof Coating Warranties Explained

Having been in the roof coating business for many years, we often get asked about what kind of warranty we offer. I thought I would explain a few things about warranties. There are a few different types of warranties available for roof coating systems. The two most common types include a material warranty and a labor warranty.

Spray Foam Education

After being in the spray foam insulation business for almost 10 years (completing thousands of projects in multiple states and under different code versions), I have come to learn that most of our customers we come in contact with have no idea regarding spray foam insulation. I’m not talking about spray foam just exists, but rather how it is installed, used correctly, and its benefits.

After answering more questions that I care to remember, I started speaking publicly about spray foam insulation and building science soon after I began in this business. Anytime a group, organization, or seminar would allow me to make a presentation I would. Now of course this was originally designed to further our marketing approach, but I quickly realized how little people knew about spray foam insulation. Many people had misconceptions about how spray foam would play into building science. Many people in the industry simply just didn’t (and still don’t) know their stuff and were constantly providing misinformation to clients.

Spray Foam Kansas City

Are you building a new home or planning a remodel? This is the time to think about how you are going to insulate your home. Spray foam in Kansas City is just the answer to your needs. The highly trained members of KC Spray Foam can answer all your questions on whether you need open cell spray foam or closed cell spray foam. When adding spray foam to your home, it is going to make a difference in how comfortable you will be living.

When adding spray foam insulation to your home, you are going to have some wonderful benefits. First, it will help stop air and moisture from creeping into your home. No more drafts around electrical sockets and window and door frames. Keeping the moisture out will help control any mold growth that could affect the quality of the air your family breathes. After the initial installation cost of the spray foam, you will be saving on energy costs because you will not be spending as much money heating and cooling your home. Spray foam of Kansas City will add strength to your structure. It is a permanent solution for insulation and never sags.

Should I Insulate My Crawlspace?

Your crawlspace is probably not an area of your home that you pay much attention to. You may only even venture down there once a year to retrieve your Christmas decorations. So the question is, why would you insulate such an unused and seemingly unimportant part of your home?

Simply put, the answer is yes, you definitely should insulate your crawlspace. The main reason is that your crawlspace loses a tremendous amount of heat which in turn costs you a tremendous amount of money. Since heat energy moves from higher to lower temperatures, (and increasingly faster at greater temperature differences), the heat from your living area will likely move down into the crawlspace and then quickly move through your concrete or brick foundation into the colder air outside. If your crawlspace is contained by a concrete foundation, you're in even worse shape since concrete has almost no insulation capacity. Another concern you should have for your crawlspace is moisture. There are many things that can contribute to a wet crawlspace, including: poor exterior drainage, plumbing leaks, and expansive soil. If you have a dirt floor in your crawlspace, it can evaporate a ton of water into your home, causing high humidity and potential water damage. Not only will water damage ruin your personal belongings, but it can cause mold and mildew to grow, and damage the load bearing structures of your home.An uninsulated crawlspace can become so cold that condensation can arise, causing even more moisture problems. Also, your water pipes, furnaces, and duct work can be easily affected by cold weather, and these are definitely things that you don't want to damage.

Spray Foam Insulation Costs

“What’s the spray foam cost per square foot?” This is the top question we get asked, and we normally try to answer through another question or two. You see, the answer goes beyond square footage for us. In order to provide our potential customers with an accurate cost estimate we need more details, like what kind of spray foam insulation will work best for the application, what needs to be sprayed, what’s the size of the job, and what’s the level of technical difficulty – will we be working from the ground or will scaffolding need to be built, like in this image? These factors can make a big difference in expense.

With that said, it’s important to remember that you get what you pay for. Sprayed insulation is more expensive than traditional methods, but it’s also an investment that pays off for years to come. When compared against other building materials, you will see sprayed insulation is actually a lower cost material than many others. This is when you need to consider:  “What’s the return on investment or value of spray foam insulation compared to other products on the jobsite?” As you can see, all of the materials in this example cost more, but will they give you a better ROI or value?

What can Spray Foam Insulation do for my Kansas City Home?

Kansas and Missouri are known for their extreme temperatures. It's very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. This simply means that having a well-insulated house should be a high priority for most home owners. There are a variety of benefits to having a well-insulated home, and little to no disadvantages. Those benefits are increased even more if you choose to use a polyurethane spray foam to insulate your home. KC Spray Foam can help you there. We have an experienced team of professionals who will help you insulate your home. Call us today to learn more about our company.

When it comes to spray foam insulation and insulation in general there are a ton of benefits, both short and long term. Some of these benefits include:

Spray Foam Kits Kansas City

Spray on insulation Kansas City may seem like a simple task - it simply involves spraying foam onto the surface in your home that is in need of insulation. But it is really much more complicated than it first appears. Properly installing spray foam is a subtle and complex process that is best left to the professionals. It requires both professional experience and equipment. If not done correctly, spray on insulation could lead to more trouble than profit. Because it is such a tough, efficient substance, spray foam is quite a hassle when it is not applied properly. KC Spray Foam has the experience necessary to make sure your home is adequately insulated.

Spray On Insulation Kansas City is a Job for the Professionals

Some spray foam kits Kansas City suggest that spray on insulation can be done by anyone. The truth is, installing spray foam insulation is an intensive procedure. Because the spray foam is very sticky, you need to wear full body protection; coveralls with a hood, a facemask, gloves and eye protection. It also takes lots of practice to apply the spray foam evenly. The job also must be done without interruption, since any pause longer than 30 seconds will most likely clog the nozzle and require a new one to be put on when using do-it-yourself kits.

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.

Do you ever wonder why your energy bill is so high? You could be wasting thousands of dollars every year because of improper insulation. KC Spray Foam can insulate your home for optimal energy efficiency. We feature open and closed cell spray foams and polyurea roof coatings. At KC Spray Foam, we don't just insulate attics. We cover the entire house from top to bottom. We can also be your garage insulation Kansas City team. Our trained employees and quality products make us the best insulation team in your service area.

Crawl Space Insulation Kansas City

Is your crawl space ventilated? If your crawl space is unventilated, call KC Spray Foam to seal and insulate your crawl space. Insulating the walls, instead of the floors, can protect the pipes from freezing. Code and modern building science prefers this method. The crawl space must also have a air barrier. Let our professionals inspect your space. We can be your crawl space insulation Kansas City service team.