Signs Your Home Needs More Insulation
These days, most homes are insulated. However, many of them do not contain quite as much insulation as they could stand to have. How do you know if your home could use more insulation than it currently has? Here are a few key signs your insulation is lacking.
You get ice dams on your roof.
In the winter, do you get big sheets or clumps of ice on the edge of your roof? You may also get icicles that are really long and thick. These ice formations are known as ice dams. They are typically a sign that your roof is not staying cool enough. Snow near the top of the roof is melting and then refreezing after having run down to the cooler roof edges. More insulation will reduce the amount of heat that escapes from the roof, keeping it cooler and preventing ice dams. This is better for your roof in the long run.
You hear a lot of noise from outside.
Insulation does not just block heat transfer. It also absorbs sound and helps keep your home quieter. If you still hear a lot of outside noise when all of your doors and windows are closed, this can indicate that your home is under-insulated. Having more insulation added to the walls can help block sound transfer so the space stays quieter. Imagine hearing less road traffic, fewer conversations among neighbors, and so forth.
Your walls feel cold in the winter.
In the winter, try placing your hand on your walls in a few different places. If the wall feels cold, that typically means that part of the wall is not that well insulated and is allowing the cold in from outside. If more than a few parts of your walls feel chilly, then you may want to have more insulation added to your home. You can try the same thing in the summer, except you'll be feeling the walls to see whether they feel hot or warm. You may have to do this on a particularly hot day to notice anything different.
The signs above all indicate that your home could use more insulation. Talk to an insulation contractor in your area and make plans to have them come out. They can examine your home, decide what type of insulation is needed, and then give you a quote for the work. With more insulation, your home can be more comfortable and your energy bills can be lower.