Posts Tagged ‘home improvement’

5 Reasons To Choose Blow In Insulation

Insulating your home is pure and simple the number one way to save money on energy costs. In the old days floors and walls were lined with just about anything to keep the moisture and cold air out of home. Renovations have revealed that even old newspapers were found packed into wall and floor boards.

Today insulating is a science all its own. There are R-factors assigned to different material and methods of insulating that give homes and buildings an appropriate amount of protection for their geographic region. The higher the R rating, the better insulated the home.

One of the top rated insulations is relatively new to the industry – probably no more than a couple of decades old – and that is blow in insulation.

The Benefits of Blow In Insulation

There are several benefits to blow in insulation over rolls of fibreglass insulation. The benefits include the method of installing it, its energy efficiency and where it can be used. Here are the top 5 reasons to consider using blow in insulation:

1. Blow in insulation is adjustable. Depending on how much material is used, it can create a protection with an R value of 15-38.
2. Only virgin materials are used to create most blow-in varieties of insulation. This means there a reduced chance of allergies.
3. Blowing the material into the crevices allows for a tighter fit and seal. It can be directed around corners, beams, or wiring that may already be in the walls.
4. Installing blow in insulation is fast. A barrier, referred to as a blanket is stapled to all of the 2x4s to keep the material from floating away and adhering where it isn’t wanted. Then a small slit is cut into the blanket. A hose is inserted and measured amounts of the insulation are blown into place.
5. This type of insulation is extremely energy efficient. As it is blown in it expands and adheres to the surrounding surfaces. It fills even the tiniest of cracks as it does this.

The Complete Installation Process

After attaching the blanket to the surrounding boards, the small opening cut into it allows the hose to be pointed in all directions around the wall or ceiling. After the material is in place the blanket’s slit is closed and taped. This blanket does not act as a moisture barrier, it just control the spray. The material itself resists moisture.

Drywall or other wall materials are then installed right over the insulation blanket. In a renovation project this means that an entire wall would not have to be removed in order to insulation. Take an extremely old home for example. There may be no insulation at all. Instead of removing layers of plaster wall, you could simply make a hole, position the hose and fill the walls will energy efficient insulation. Then patch the wall and the job is complete.

The blow in insulation is more expensive than traditional insulation. However, experts estimate that energy savings is so great that within 2 to 4 years those costs are recovered.

Popular Kitchen Designs

If you are looking to install a new kitchen into your home then you will find that there is a bewildering choice of free kitchen design ideas you could choose from to feed your own design plans. Together with the bathroom the kitchen is the most important room in the house to get right in design terms. Aside from the hall the kitchen receives the highest amount of foot traffic in the home.

Most people spend a lot of time in the kitchen, especially families and if something is not right it will bug you every time you look at it. I recommend you spend considerable time looking for free kitchen design ideas before you approach a kitchen design store. That way you will have a much more focused idea of what you are looking for and are more likely to encourage the salesperson to offer you a special deal. They will see you as a serious prospect who has spent time creating a strong vision and knows what they require.

Design ideas can be found in many places such as house and home magazines, kitchen showrooms, diy stores, kitchen web sites and friends’ houses. You should be able to formulate at least two or three design ideas using these methods. In the meantime here is a list of 5 popular kitchen styles that you can investigate to get you started:

Country Style: This style is also called early american or colonial and creates a lovely quaint farm kitchen look. Typically the kitchen will feature open shelves, pot racks and a general feeling of being well lived in, accented by the various color schemes of the cabinetry.

Contemporary: This style has clean and simple lines.  Cabinets are usually futuristic in look with no carvings or particularly ornate features. The emphasis is on style and practical sophistication.

Shaker: This is a simple and utilitarian style that features flat panel doors, wooden countertops and brass hardware.

French Country: These are warm inviting kitchens full of wood and soft colors. Natural materials feature strongly as do large furniture pieces with ornate carvings.

Arts and Crafts: This is becoming a popular style and features glass doors and natural wood tones that are finished in a matte sheen. This style can be very artistic.

Finally, take into account the themes you have used in other rooms to ensure that the kitchen design you finally choose fits well into your overall scheme. I hope that our free kitchen design ideas help you to get a good start in your project.