Are you in the process of adding insulation to a new or existing home? If so, it’s very important for you to insulate your home with the right kind of insulation. It can get very warm in Florida, and if you use your air conditioner to keep your home cool on a regular basis, the absolute last thing you want is for your chilled air to escape through substandard insulation.
There are two main types of insulation that you can use to insulate your home. The first is traditional fiberglass insulation – the typical pink roll you may remember from the old Owens-Corning commercials – and the second is the more modern spray foam insulation. Reynolds Home Builders can help you install whichever type of insulation you want, but in general, we recommend spray foam to most of our clients and feel as though you should strongly consider using it in your home to get the most bang for your buck with your insulation. Here are some of the advantages of using spray foam insulation at your home.
Superior Air Leakage Protection
When you use spray foam to insulate the walls of your home, it will expand up to 100 times its original size to fill every single crack and crevice. This means that air won’t be able to work its way through gaping holes in your insulation. Additionally, air will not be able to flow through closed cell spray foam insulation, which cannot be said about fiberglass insulation. Fiberglass insulation is a lot like a wool sweater – it helps you stay warm, but still is somewhat breathable, which you can feel on a cold and windy day. Spray foam, on the other hand, offers an air-tight seal that insulates and prevents air from seeping in or out.
Resistance from Exterior Dust, Allergens and Pollutants
When spray foam expands, it seals out everything, and that includes all of the dust, allergens and other outside pollutants that can otherwise enter your home each and every day. Traditional fiberglass insulation, on the other hand, contains dust of its own and can allow many allergens and pollutants to pass right through it to get inside your home. This means that by choosing the sealed option of spray foam, you’ll also see improved indoor air quality and diminished allergen problems.
Pest Resistance and Prevention
Fiberglass insulation won’t necessarily bring pests to your home, but it also won’t keep them out, either. If pests ever make their way there, fiberglass will offer pests a place to make a home. Mice, ants and other pests will often tear through fiberglass insulation, and in some cases, pests have even been known to use this traditional insulation as a source of nesting. This won’t happen with spray foam insulation since spray foam doesn’t provide food or nesting for pests. Pests that encounter spray foam can’t make use of it and most often it well block pests from even getting inside in the first place.
Environmentally Friendlier than Fiberglass
Spray foams on the market today are free of any harmful chemicals in them that you need to worry about. Companies like Icynene work very hard to produce quality spray foam insulation that is safe for the environment and your family. For instance, did you know that most fiberglass insulation has formaldehyde in it? This means that the insulation can actually cause formaldehyde fumes to vent into your home. You don’t want to end up breathing in those fumes or any other fumes that can result from traditional insulation. With spray foam, you won’t have to – and will receive a superior insulation product.
Lasts Longer than Fiberglass
Fiberglass insulation will typically last you somewhere between 10 and 25 years, depending on how dry you are able to keep it and what brand you decide to go with. That seems like a long time, but not when compared to spray foam. Spray-in insulation can last up to 80 years, according to the comparison site Diffen – and even longer in some cases. While spray foam has a slightly higher installation cost, the superior lifespan and increased insulation efficiency is well the investment, especially when you consider that you won’t ever have to worry about insulating your home again.
If you are currently trying to decide which type of insulation to install, whether in a new home build, an addition or a renovation, let Reynolds Home Builders help you. We can discuss the advantages that spray foam offers and go over how it can help with your construction project. Call us today at 850-508-5076 to speak with us to learn more.