10 Types of Insulation All Homeowners Should Know

Table Of Content

• What is the cheapest way to insulate an old house?
• So, You Want to… Insulate the Attic
• Fiberglass Insulation Cost
• Pole Barn Insulation Cost
• 6 Types of Safes All Security-Minded Homeowners Should Know
• The 1-Hour Home Energy Audit That Can Save You Money Every Month
• DIY vs. Professional Installation
• The 20 Best Lawn Care Products for a Lush and Healthy Lawn

Typically used as sheets of plastic, vapor barriers can be coatings like paint or membranes made from metal, rubber, and other materials. While a vapor barrier won’t do much to prevent heat transfer, it can be effective at reducing vapor and air movement through the wall. And, since vapor barriers are usually just plastic sheets, many DIYers can easily handle the installation on their own. Blown-in insulation is applied using a machine that blows a paper-like material into the space to be insulated. Batt and loose-fill insulation are the most user-friendly types of insulation for DIYers, as long as basic safety procedures are followed (see SAFETY ALERT, below).

What is the cheapest way to insulate an old house?

For large insulating jobs, professionals spray this insulation into place with special equipment. The most common types of materials used for loose-fill insulation include cellulose, fiberglass, and mineral (rock or slag) wool. Mineral wool is usually produced from 75% post-industrial recycled content. ICF systems consist of interconnected foam boards or interlocking, hollow-core foam insulation blocks. Along with the foam boards, steel rods (rebar) can be added for reinforcement before the concrete is poured.

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So, You Want to… Insulate the Attic

Others cost more and some must be installed by professional contractors which will also result in a higher bill. Bear in mind that the overall cost will also depend on your home’s existing insulation as well as how it was built. The R-value of an insulation product measures its resistance to heat transfer, and it’s usually measured per inch. The R-value for cellulose is roughly 3.5 per inch, so you’ll need four inches of material to achieve a total R-value of 14.

Fiberglass Insulation Cost

Home insulation labor costs can be estimated to add anywhere between $0.25 and $2.50 per square foot. Wood fiber insulation is used to make rigid boards that insulate ceilings or interior walls. The wood fiber is formed into large, heavy boards and can only be installed on flat surfaces. Wood fiber insulation is commonly used as a supplementary layer of insulation and not as the primary insulator in a space. The median cost of wood fiber insulation ranges from $4.25 to $6.75 per square foot. Rock wool or mineral wool insulation is made of recycled furnace slag and spun into fibers.

Pole Barn Insulation Cost

The most common types of materials used in making foam board include polystyrene, polyisocyanurate (polyiso), and polyurethane. Insulation materials run the gamut from bulky fiber materials such as fiberglass, rockwool, cellulose, and natural fibers to rigid foam boards to sleek foils. Rigid foam boards trap air or another gas in their cells to resist conductive heat flow. Highly reflective foils in radiant barriers and reflective insulation systems reflect radiant heat away from living spaces, making them particularly useful in cooling climates. Other less common materials such as cementitious and phenolic foams and perlite are also available.

For Realhomes.com, Sarah reviews coffee machines and vacuum cleaners, taking them through their paces at home to give us an honest, real life review and comparison of every model. Ducts in an unconditioned space should be sealed and insulated, according to the Department of Energy. The typical cost of installing attic insulation is between $1,500 and $3,500, according to online home services company HomeAdvisor. Window insulation and doors can be improved with caulk and weatherstripping. Unless your home is very new, you will almost certainly lose some heat through air leakage around doors and windows, gaps in the flooring, or through the chimney. ‘The cost of insulation is between $1,500 and $6,500 depending on the choice of the materials,’ says Lionel Scharly, strategic construction advisor at Real Estate Bees.

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Batt/roll insulation is commonly made with fiberglass which is a lung and skin irritant and should be handled with care and using the proper protective clothing and equipment. Other materials such as cotton, mineral wool and even plastic are available. The average cost of batt/roll insulation is between $0.65 and $2.00 per square foot. Loose fill and blown-in insulationThis is usually less expensive to install than batt insulation and gives better coverage if properly installed, according to the US Department of Energy. You can also call in a professional contractor to insulate the attic this way. Some types of home insulation are relatively inexpensive in themselves plus they can be fitted on a DIY basis, reducing the cost to insulate a house still further.

Sprayed against the underside of the roof deck, it seals against air movement, eliminating the need for a vapor barrier or ventilation. Termites can tunnel undetected through exterior slab insulation to gain access to the wood framing in a home's walls. As a result, some insurance companies won't guarantee homes with slab insulation against termites.

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When working with a larger area, homeowners can use a pressure sprayed (foamed-in-place) foam insulation. Each of these insulation products works by trapping air, or at least making it more difficult for air to pass through the material. Also, some products are more suitable for certain scenarios than others, such as certain products being useful in horizontal applications but useless in vertical walls. Choosing the right type of insulation is really a case-by-case situation.

While these products can be more expensive, the lowered impact on the environment may well be worth the cost. If you’ve noticed that some rooms in your home are typically warmer or cooler than others, it’s likely a consequence of how the heat flows through your home. However, if one room is consistently colder or warmer than another, it could indicate gaps in the insulation and heat is escaping or entering through those gaps. Bear in mind, however, that ducts in unconditioned spaces should be sealed and insulated by professionals, says the Department of Energy.

The location in your home that needs insulation can also greatly affect the overall cost. To be as energy-efficient as possible, a house should be insulated from top to bottom in areas such as the garage, basement, attic, roof and the walls. The advantage to blown-in insulation is that it can conform and fit to nearly any location and it is especially helpful for adding insulation to existing areas of your home or hard-to-reach spaces. While DIY-ers can rent an insulation blowing machine, we recommend hiring a professional for this service. The average cost of blown-in insulation is between $1.65 and $3.80 per square foot.

These materials literally have insulation built in, and houses built using these products often have superior insulating qualities and minimal thermal bridging. Radiant barriers are more effective in hot climates, especially when cooling air ducts are located in the attic. Some studies show that radiant barriers can lower cooling costs 5% to 10% when used in a warm, sunny climate. The reduced heat gain may even allow for a smaller air conditioning system. In cool climates, however, it's usually more cost-effective to install more thermal insulation. Typically installed in attics, loose-fill insulation is also sometimes used to backfill wall cavities.