Renovating? A Guide to Insulating Your Home

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Heather Jones
Heather Jones
I'm Heather, an author passionate about home improvements. My writing is your guide to making homes better. Let's explore easy ways to enhance your living spaces, from small fixes to exciting projects. Join me on a journey of making your house a cozy and stylish haven.

If you’re renovating your home, it’s the perfect time to make sure you’ve got great insulation. As we all know, quality insulation can drastically improve the comfort levels of your home, giving you better temperature control and sound absorption. Here’s some tips on how to maximise your renovation with insulation.

 

Choosing the Right Insulation

The right insulation is easy when you know what to look for. There are some key qualities all good insulation should have:

  • Soft and easy to install
  • Built for high thermal performance
  • Give superior sound absorption
  • Be made with non-combustible materials for fire safety
  • A good warranty
  • Eco-friendly

The other important aspect is the ‘R’ rating. This measures your insulation’s resistance to heat loss, and it’s important to find insulation that suits the application.

Ceiling Insulation

A lot of air can escape and enter through your roof cavity, so the right ceiling insulation goes a long way towards making your home comfortable. Roof insulation can have an ‘R’ rating between 2.5 – 6.0, depending on the ceiling. Higher ‘R’ ratings mean thicker insulation, so you’ll be guided by the space you’ve got to work with.

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Wall Insulation

In your walls, look for an ‘R’ rating between 1.5 – 2.7. Renovations are a great opportunity to fix your wall insulation, especially if you’ve got wall cavities exposed. If not, you can consider blow-in insulation which is less invasive.

Floor Insulation

Good underfloor insulation will not only help with temperature control, but sound absorption too. A lot of ‘walking noise’ in a home can also be eliminated by insulating underfoot. It’s also quite thin, with an ‘R’ rating of 1.7, so it’s important look for products that provide good sound proof insulation.

Other Inexpensive Insulation Tips

When you’re renovating, it’s an opportunity to address some of the smaller areas that may not be so great for insulation in older homes. You know, those fiddly things like seals around windows that degrade over time and we always put off fixing? Well, when you’re renovating, you’ve got a chance to get everything right and you won’t have to worry about them again for years. You might even consider insulating other objects on your property, as a lot of people are insulating pole barns to help them save more energy and improve their budget in the long run.

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Weatherstripping

Weatherstripping is cheap, available at all hardware stores, and also easy to install. You don’t even need to be renovating for this one. You can line all of the doors and windows in your home with weatherstripping for extra protection against air transfer.

Floor Plans for Comfort

If you’re changing the layout of living areas during insulation, also consider how to keep spaces comfortable. It could be as simple as installing a door between your main living spaces and the bedrooms. People love open-plan living, but by being able to section off your house, you can just heat the rooms you need.

Draft-proof your doors

A lot of air can also escape under doors, and for a few dollars you can attach some draft stoppers to fix the problem.

Choosing the right insulation goes a long way towards ensuring a happy, comfortable home. So, follow these tips and add serious value to your renovation. You’ll be glad you did, all year round!

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