About Attic Insulation Service
The right amount of insulation is absolutely pivotal in maintaining the ideal temperature throughout your Lawrence area home all year long. Insulation works by providing resistance to the elements. A well-insulated attic will help keep your attic cooler in the summer and will retain heat in the winter, which both benefit the rest of your home. Proper insulation levels will also help keep your energy costs down. sfs
Is It Hard To Insulate Attics?
Full attic insulation installation may not be necessary, depending on your circumstance. Oftentimes, a simple “capping” to your insulation will do the trick. Capping your attic refers to the process of adding to your existing level of insulation, rather than starting from scratch. If you need attic repair, we can take care of it before insulating the attic.
How Do I Know if I Should Insulate My Attic?
If you have had an animal visitor in your attic, you will need attic repair. It’s almost certainly necessary to get replacement insulation, if not just in the area where your visitor has been. Before you hire a professional attic restoration company like Critter Control of Kaw Valley, make sure you compare your insulation to the standards set by the U.S. Department of Energy. There’s a good chance that your level of insulation does not meet the current recommendations.
Lawrence County Attic Insulation
With the change between cold and hot days our area experiences throughout the year, Lawrence County attic insulation is designed to keep your home cozy during the winter and cool during the summer. Our experts can advise you on what insulation is best for your attic to keep you and your family comfortable all year round.
What to Know Before Installing Insulation
Before our team of attic insulation specialists begins the process of removing and replacing insulation in your attic, they will start by taking measurements of your current insulation during our patented Animal Entry inspections.
Something important to note before handling insulation materials is the fact that many of them are dangerous and/or difficult to manage. Some insulation even has been known to have asbestos, so please do not handle it if you are not a certified attic insulation contractor. Not to worry, though—Critter Control of Kaw Valley can help insulate your Lawrence area attic! When you're looking for attic insulation companies, we are your one-stop shop.
Attic Repair
Before we start the insulation process, we will implement any attic repair measures or attic restoration that is needed. This may include:
- Making sure any air leaks from your attic to your home are sealed, as the majority of insulation doesn’t 100% stop airflow.
- Exhaust fans should be properly ducted to minimize animal entry points and airflow. Sealing areas around the duct, such as where it exits the box and where it borders the drywall, is important.
- Soffit openings, a popular animal entry point, should be covered with plywood and sealed to the attic side of the ceiling. Other areas with openings, like bulkheads and dropped ceilings, should also be addressed and covered.
- High-temperature furnace cement or caulk is ideal for protecting framing and chimney leaks.
- Interior walls will require long-life caulk to properly seal smaller holes and gaps. We recommend using a rigid foam board or expanding foam insulation for bigger gaps.
- Installing blocking (metal flashing) to maintain fire-safety clearance requirements (usually 3 inches) for heat-producing equipment found in an attic, such as flues, chimneys, exhaust fans, and light housings/fixtures unless the light fixtures are IC (insulation contact) rated. IC-rated lights are airtight and can be covered with insulation.
- Making sure insulation doesn't block soffit vents to allow for attic ventilation.
- Thoroughly investigating the attic ceiling for watermarks or stains. They indicate roof leaks or lack of ventilation. Make any necessary repairs before you insulate. Wet insulation is not only ineffective but can damage your home.
- Ensuring that you insulate and air-seal your attic access if it's located in a conditioned part of the house.
- Properly insulating and air seal any knee walls—vertical walls with attic space directly behind them—in your home as well.
- Finally, if you're constructing a new home or remodeling, make sure any attic decking, which provides additional storage space or a platform for an HVAC unit or hot water tank, is raised above the ceiling joists to ensure proper insulation depth. The decking then should be installed securely to the top of the raised lumber after the insulation has been installed.
For attic insulation in Lawrence, call the professionals!
Attic Restoration, Attic Repair & Chimney Repair Services
Though your wildlife intruders have been removed, the damage they've caused still remains. Nuisance wildlife can be responsible for many problems that homeowners may not even consider, like secondary pests and soiled insulation. Animals like mice, raccoons, and bats, among others, can be hosts to many types of ectoparasites, like fleas, mites, ticks, bed bugs, and more. The animals that lived up there also left droppings which likely left you with soiled insulation. Once the animal has been evicted from your home, the lingering pests will be looking for a new host, which can spell trouble for you and your loved ones.
Our professionals will inspect your attic thoroughly to treat the area for these critters as soon as your problem animal has been removed. Our attic restoration services will get your home back to normal in no time.
Removing Wildlife Droppings
So what about the droppings the wildlife critters have left in your attic, potentially leaving you with soiled insulation? Is this something you want hanging above your head at night when you sleep? Attic restoration is important for the everyone's health. Raccoons are known for using a single spot in your home as a bathroom while using another part of your attic as their living area. This can lead to matted attic insulation and reduced “R” values, which means you continue to lose money as you continue to heat and cool your home. It can also lead to stained ceilings and unnecessary odors.
Let our attic restoration professionals remove that soiled insulation and replace it with your choice of insulation products. Our specialists can prepare insurance bids with most major insurance companies and get your attic back in shape in no time. From gutter protection, attic fan vent guards, roof vent guards, gable vent closures, and soffit vent repairs, our team can do it all. When you're looking for attic insulation companies, our team of attic repair professionals can do it all with one single call.
Many of these nuisance animals cause problems to your chimney as well and require professional chimney repair services. For all of your attic insulation tips, attic repair, attic restoration, and chimney repair needs, contact Critter Control of Kaw Valley!