The Barrie Examiner Tuesday Sept 28 l976l7A How to insulate your home Almost all insulation is lightwei it and easy to handle Few too are needed but care should be taken when youre working with mineral fibre type insulation Small insula tion particles can cause skin ir ritation and itching Its good idea to wear gloves And shower at the end of the day will wash away particles left on the skin When youre ready to start in the attic area pull on pair of running shoes and watch your step Walk only on the ceiling joists Most ceiling surfaces under the joists are plastered too much weight will puncture the ceiling Boards laid across the joists will give you sturdy working latform To cut tt or rigid insulation use sharp penknife or blade Lay the insulation on flat sur face for cutting Any accidental cuts in the vapor barrier should be taped before the insulation is finally applied heavyduty staple gun is essential for applying batt in sulation You should be able to rent one from your insulation supplier or hardware store Measure your walls and floor and attic area carefully Once youve decided on the value you need talk over your re quirements with the dealer Hell help you figure out the right number of bags or bundles of insulation Its bulky so have it delivered Store it in dry place until youre ready to start to work Since warm air naturally rises and tries to escape the ceiling is major source of heat loss Fortunately its the easiest place to add insulation It deserves first priority for reinsulation or retiofitting an existing home or insulating home or insulating new one Good ceiling insulation will return fuel savings of between to and 30 per cent de on house type and exis insula tion Retrofit First find out the condition and depth of insula tion already in your attic Some older homes have none most haveasmallamountazinch or 3inch mineral fibre batt and this may have settled or become water damaged You should have ceiling value of 20 or more which means at least inches of in sulation If you have less than thatsayasinchbattyou should upgrade it in one of two ways Add further inches of batt or blanket insulation You dont need vapor barrier because there should be one already on the ceiling Buy in sulation that comes without the barrier When you lay the in sulation be sure that all areas are covered except of course for the cave vents and other ventilators You can also use bags of loose fill Pour it between the Ceiling joists then use garden rake or pusher made from pieces of and to smooth and settle the insulation into all the corners The fill should at least cover the top of the ceiling joist higher if more thermal resistance is re quired Check the value per inch printed on the bags Again be sure not to block the vents If theres no insulation and no vapor barrier in your attic in stall one before insulating In this case lastic sheetin looped over hoists and itt snugly down to the ceiling board would be best New homes The ceiling in new home or extension should be insulated to at least Rm This means at least inches of batt blanket or loosefill in sulation and an effective vapor barrier on the lower warm side of the insulation The extra cost of good insulation job will more than pay for itself over the life of the house Your walls are the second most important source of heat loss Aim for total wall resistance of R14 or more This means an factor for the in sulation of at least 12 about as much as can be achieved with batts or blankets and 4inch wall studs ATTIOB Keep eave vents clear Protect eave ventilation instaiithick baits to prevent blocking of air at eave vents Retrofit Unfortunately reinsulating walls is more dif ficult and more expensive than ceilings You do have number of options however depending upon the type of wall construc tion existing insulation and moneytospend Wall renovation frame walls If your plans permit ex tensive renovation remove the wallboard or aster and re insulate the as you would new one see instructions below Then replace the wallboard While youre at it you might want to attach or2x2stripstothestudedges to allow for more insulation in thewail cavity inside insulation frame or masonry walla To avoid the trouble of removing the inside surface of wall or when this cant be done as with masonry walls you can apply new in sulation batts blankets or rigid panels to the inside sur face Apply straps to the wall to attach the insulation and cover ing wallboard Remember the styrofoam should be covered by plaster or gypsum board You can use furring strips for thin Styrofoam use at least strips for batts blankets or thicker foam Once your strips are in place apply the insula tion according to the instruc tions below for frame walls Blownin insulation frame walls If you have hollow or almost hollow woodframe walls you can have professional insulation con tractor blow in loosefill insula tion He can do this from the outside if small sections of the exterior can be removed as with clapboard If the exterior is brick aluminum siding or stucco hell have to drill holes in the interior walls and re ir them when hes finished are must be taken that the entire stud space is filled that no proections or crossbraces hin rthe filling process Foamedinplace insula tion The cavity in older wood frame houses and in some masonry walls can be filled with foamedinplace insula tion such as ureafor maldehyde This must be done by professional Check the prices in your area and pick the contractor carefully New walls When youre in sulating new walls the idea is to put in as much insulation as the stud ce will accept For extra insu ating value consider 6inch studs or layer of styrofoam sheeting on the out side under the exterior sur face Follow the instructions below When you start to work on wall that has been framed push blankets into the stud aces so they touch they thing or siding Work from the top down and lace the sta les about 12 ingdownthefiangesso at fit snugly against the top bottom lates if youre using frictionfit batts or blankets without an at Plun Replacement Plan Plan Plan Altmanapply bond baffle to underside of rafters Blown mineral fiber insulation tached vapor barrier first wedge them into place that cover the inside face of the wall with suitable vapor barrier such as polyethylene stapled to top and bottom plates Unroll the sheet across the entire wall area including window and openings You can cut theseout later Be sure to fit insulation behind pipes ducts and elec Total Protection trical boxes Pack space with loose insulation or cut piece to the proper size and fit it into place Stuff pieces of insulation bet ween rough framing and door and window heads jambs and sills Staple vaporbarrier paper or lyethylene to cover tinge areas you have nonstandard width studs or joist spaces cut it Youre looking for warmth and Comfort this winter Peacock Petroleums offer quality Heating Oils Auto delivery and Winter Heating Plans Designed to Meet Your Needs and your Budget Annual Furnace Tuneup 24 Hour Emergency Service Parts Plan Gives You intermediate Coverage including an Annual Fur nace Tuneup and 24 Hour Emergency Service Your furnace will be tuned to operate at Peak Performance An emergency 24 Hour Service is also available through our service people at local hourly rates All parts and labor are extra The Per Gallon Payment Plan offers the same options available through plan but payment would be made on per gallon basis It Gives Us Warm Feeling to Know Were looking After You the insulation and va rier an inch or so wider than the cc to be filled Staple uncut anges as usual Pull the vapor barrier on the cut side to the other stud fitting the insulation behind it and staple thmugi the vapor barrier to the stud SEE MORE PAGE 18 s4095 s27450 s1650 BRUCE PEACOCK PETROLEUMS lID 448 DUNlOP ST IARIIE All $5226 por bars Mm