Why You May Need to Redo the Insulation in Your Aging Home

Older homes often have poor Indoor Air Quality. Aging materials and outdated construction practices offer little to pest control, air sealing, moisture control, and other important air quality measures.

Air leaks, unwanted moisture, and even pests can enter your home through the attic, crawl spaces, or unsatisfactorily seals in your home. It is possible to redo the insulation in your home to improve the air, temperature, and overall efficiency of your home–no matter the age.

Create a Sealed Thermal Envelope in the Attic

During Minnesota winters, heated air escapes through the attic and pulls cold air into living spaces. This results in cool upper floors and high heating costs. This is why it is important to create a sealed thermal envelope in your home. This is a protective barrier that prevents heat from escaping during the winter and improves your home’s indoor air quality.

Additionally, it is important to have airflow through your attic. During the summer it prevents stagnant air form circulating and makes your air conditioner work harder. Winter air restrictions heat your roof, causing ice dams and possible damage. Retrogreen has different seal solutions depending on the style of your home­.

Sealing and Insulating Crawl Spaces

Now an outdated home feature, vented crawl spaces under a home used to be a quick fix to prevent flooding and ground moisture. Now, these outdated features are an insulation nightmare for homeowners. Not properly insulated, these spaces promote mold growth and high humidity levels, causing damage to your home’s building materials as well as your furniture and belongings.

We recommend reinforcing and sealing the crawl space under your home. This will block added moisture, create a barrier for airflow, and improve your indoor air quality. To do this, we install a reinforced plastic vapor barrier across the entire surface and partway up each wall, then add spray foam insulation around the walls to lock the vapor barrier in place.

Doors, Windows, and Outlets

Unless you have noticeable drafts, you may not think about the gaps and insulation around your doors, windows, and outlets. Any feature that breaks the barrier of your home to the outdoors can reduce your home’s efficiency. Especially in older homes, the insulation around doors and windows can settle, resulting in leaks.

Do you have poor insulation in your aging home? Spray foam insulation can make major impacts on comfort and indoor air quality. It will block air, moisture, and small pests that otherwise have free access to your home. Best of all, it easily fills spaces by molding itself around obstacles and blocking up even the smallest of holes–something older insulation cannot do.

Contact RetroGreen Energy to learn more about how new insulation can drastically improve the quality of your home.