When you’re in the colder months, it’s easy to appreciate the value of a well-insulated home.

Having the proper architecture and insulating process for your house not only ensures that you stay warm, it also drastically reduces your utility expenditures. A properly insulation job can cut your heating bill in half when compared to a poorly insulated house.

Hiring a builder for your own custom house who is experienced in creating a quality structure that won’t leak heat is clearly a crucial. Here’s a starter guide to insulation methods to your home warm all winter long.


Wall Insulation

This is the obvious starting point: wall insulation, installed between the structural frame and your drywall. The two major categories of wall insulation are spray, loose fill and batts (blankets). 

Insulation in batts is essentially sheets of a material in rolls that you can simply unroll and fasten inside your wall, like hanging blankets. These batts can be made from fiberglass, rockwool or cotton.

Each of these different materials has pros and cons that a professional can unpack for you. The shared benefit to each type of blanket insulation is that it’s quick and easy to install.

Loose fill insulations are particles and fibers that are blown into a space, making it more efficient in general than blanket insulation since it can easily get into crevices and corners. Fiberglass and cellulose are the two most common materials used for this kind of insulating.

The most efficient type of insulation tends to be spray insulation, which requires a professional to spray a plasticine insulation directly into a space. The material expands as it dries, filling out cracks, and leaving room for any excess to be trimmed away for neat edges.

Spray insulation has become increasingly popular in modern structures due to its neatness and efficiency. 

Because different spaces tend to lend themselves to different kinds of insulating based on how much room you need to fill, how much weight the area can bear, and how much room you have to install, contractors often use a combination of insulation types to maximize a home’s potential. It’s always ideal to insulate well on the front end of building a new home, as opening up drywall to insulate later is significantly more difficult.


Sealing Air Ducts

Another crucial part of keeping a home well-insulated is sealing any air ducts. Making sure ducts are sealed prevents precious heat from leaking into the ceiling or walls instead of being channeled into your rooms. Major ducts can even be fully sheathed in insulation to ensure that they aren’t spilling air. 

A big part of making sure that your ducts are effective and properly insulated will depend on where you install them. A good architect, like the ones we have on our team at Walgrove, can ensure that there is room for your duct system in ceilings and corners of the rooms.


Doors and Windows

Another major source of heat loss is improperly sealed doors and windows. Fortunately, this problem is a little bit easier to solve. Ensuring that each door sits neatly in its frame from day one is something that your custom home builder will be able to do for you, but even if your house settles over the years, weatherstripping can be installed to fill any narrow gaps. 

Caulking is another crucial part of keeping windows and doors airtight. Waterproof caulking applied around window and door frames keeps moisture out and heat in, protecting your structure (and your warmth).

The most crucial part of making sure that your newly built house will be energy-efficient and the right temperature year rounds is having a team of experienced professionals on hand to make that a reality.

Walgrove’s team of expert home builders are here to help!