Spring has begun and summer will be here right before we know it. And with Arkansas summers, comes sweltering heat and humidity. Properly installed insulation keeps those blazing hot summer days from entering your home and making your family uncomfortable. Unfortunately, not all insulation can last forever. Whether it has degraded over many years of wear and tear from pests burrowing in the walls, or water damage, there comes a time when replacing your old insulation is a must. This process is not a difficult task (if you know what you are doing) but it can be a time consuming one. The experts at Reeve’s Insulation can get you taken care of and replace your old insulation.

What Insulation To Choose?

There are many choices whenever it comes to insulation for your home. The Department of Energy recommends cellulose or spray foam insulation because they can be installed without removing the sheetrock on your walls. We have the best of the best spray foam insulation and are experts in installing it as well. Another option that is a more affordable solution is to use fiberglass insulation that can come in batts or rolls. This can be installed by anyone by watching a YouTube video explaining the proper way to install it. It can get very messy with having to replace sheetrock, however.

What is R Value?

Purchasing insulation with the proper R-Value when replacing your old insulation is incredibly important. 

To find the right R-Value you need to consider the following:

• the climate your building is located in
• what part of the building you are insulating,
• how much you are wanting to spend on insulation,
• and the type of insulation you think will work best for you.

The “R” in R-Value stands for resistance. It’s a measurement of the insulation’s thermal resistance. Insulation is designed to trap the heat coming into, or traveling out of your home through conduction. As it traps the air, it prevents the temperature of your home from equalizing with the outdoors. The more thermal resistance your insulation provides, the more efficient it is at slowing down this process.

Cellulose and fiberglass insulation tend to have similar R-values, while spray foam insulation may be slightly different.

Check here to see what R-value is recommended for your home.

Time to Remove Old Insulation 

When it comes time to replace your old insulation, you have to first remove the insulation that is benign replaced. Even if you think you can just use spray foam or loose fill and want to add it on top of the old insulation, you cannot. This takes away value from the R-value of your new insulation. If you are using fiberglass insulation, you will need to remove the sheet rock on your walls and remove the old insulation. Be cognizant of any wiring, or pipes that may be behind your walls when you start scraping out old insulation. If one of these is damaged, you may end up with a much larger and more expensive project than you started out with. To remove old insulation, you can do so by vacuuming or even pulling the insulation from the inside of the wall. Be sure to protect your eyes with safety glasses and use a face mask so that you do not breathe in any of the fibers from the insulation. We recommend using gloves and longer sleeves as well to keep from harming your skin. 

Time to Install New Insulation 

Now that you have removed your old insulation, it is time to install the new insulation. If you are placing loose fill insulation into the walls, it will only have to be installed in the lower part of the wall. With fiberglass insulation, you will need to cut the batts or rolls to fit the length and width of the sections in the wall. You can staple this to your wall studs and replace the sheet rock, on top of your new insulation.

Before you are finished installing your new insulation, you want to be sure that you have laid out a vapor barrier as well to help male your insulation last. Condensation can build up during these warmer months whenever your air conditioning is running at high speeds. This condensation can cause water damage and force you to replace your insulation all over again.

Installing insulation can be a very messy project that requires experience. Reeve’s Insulation has been installing and replacing insulation for many years in the Central Arkansas area and would be happy to come out to your home and give you a custom quote for replacing your insulation.