What is attic insulation?

Insulation helps regulate the temperature of your home. There are different types of insulation and insulation is associated with R-levels which differs from place to place. If you need insulation for your home, the best thing to do is to have an inspection done by a professional insulation company like Summit Environmental Solutions.

How to know what type of insulation you need?

It can be challenging to understand attic insulation and determine what type of insulation is necessary or the best. There are different types of insulation that serve different purposes. When you think about insulation, you might think of the pink batted insulation. Most often at Summit, we use blown in cellulose insulation, but we do use other types like spray foam and batted depending on what needs to be done.

When might you need insulation?

Some situations in which you might need insulation include:

• • • If you currently don’t have insulation or not enough
    • If your insulation is old
    • If the insulation is damaged by pests or wildlife

At Summit we offer free insulation estimates. One of our skilled inspectors will be able to determine why you need insulation and what the best kind is for your attic.

Not enough or no insulation

There are certain standards for insulation and if your insulation isn’t up to code, you might not pass a home inspection if you are trying to sell or refinance your home. If you do not have insulation, you might be experiencing air conditioning and heat loss which can make your energy bill costly.

The insulation is old

Over time, insulation starts to fall and will age and become less effective. If you have an older home, it is important to make sure that new insulation and the right level of insulation is installed to ensure the energy efficiency of your home. Over time insulation will come loose and fall or shift from certain areas.

The insulation is pest or wildlife damaged

Pests such as rats and mice can get into your attic space and cause costly damages. One being attic insulation. They will use the insulation for their nests and urinate and defecate in the insulation which can expose you to a lot of bacteria. Additionally larger animals like squirrels, bats and raccoons can get into the attic space and soil or displace the insulation. If you are smelling strange scents from your attic or hearing noises, it is crucial you have an inspection done for animals in the attic to ensure they are properly removed and then to have the insulation inspected for damage. Pest or wildlife damaged insulation needs to be removed and the attic should be properly disinfected before new insulation is installed. At Summit, we offer something called an attic RCR. RCR stands for remove, clean and restore.

Benefits of insulation

Insulation as mentioned before can help to regulate the temperature of your home, think keeping the home cooler in the summertime and warmer in the winter. Insulation is an investment, it isn’t inexpensive, but it will save you a lot of money in energy bills over the years.

Replacing insulation yourself

Some people might think it is easier or most cost effective to remove or replace the insulation on your own. There are a lot of places that carry insulation and the machine to install it, however it is not always such a straightforward process. Removing insulation is difficult to do on your own, unless it is batted insulation. Blown in insulation has to be removed with a hose that feeds into a bag. Someone will need to hold and monitor the bag to make sure it doesn’t overfill or break. It can be challenging to install the insulation and to know where to place it and which kind to use. Knowing how much insulation you need can also be a problem if you do not take correct measurements. If you are off on your measurements you might buy too much insulation or not enough which can be a costly mistake.

A lot of the time, people think insulation is as simple as nailing it to the floor or ceiling but there are additional steps that will ensure the effectiveness of the attic insulation and keep your home safe. It is important to have professionals install the insulation to make sure it is installed correctly the first time. Some insulation such as spray foam is particularly difficult to install. Insulation installation takes teams of two or more people, and it can be a lengthy process depending on what all needs to be done. If insulation needs to be removed then the job will take longer because batt insulation needs to be hand removed and the cellulose will be removed using a vacuum that feeds into a bag. Once all of the old insulation is removed from the attic, the attic will be swept and disinfected. After the disinfection, new attic insulation will be installed.

We offer a free estimate for attic insulation in Northern Virginia. If you have insulation and aren’t sure if you have enough or you have pest or wildlife damaged insulation, contact your local insulation experts at Summit Environmental Solutions. For wildlife removal services or pest control, contact Summit Wildlife Removal or Summit Pest Control.

We offer free pest control estimates for spiders, ants, fleas, ticks, stinging insects and other pests. Additionally we offer free wildlife estimates. It is important to control pests and wildlife on your property to make sure your new insulation does not get ruined. Summit offers wildlife removal services such as humane live-trapping and exclusion services. Seal out is crucial for making sure animals and pests do not enter the attic the same way before and destroy the insulation again.

The best thing to do if you think you might need insulation is to schedule a free estimate with Summit Environmental Solutions. Summit will send a skilled insulation technician to take measurements and let you know which insulation is best for your attic space. The technician will give you an estimate upon completion of the inspection. Contact Summit Environmental Solutions today to schedule a free estimate for insulation removal and insulation replacement in Northern Virginia.