Cellulose Insulation and Air Sealing in Grayslake

PROBLEM

The customer called us out originally because he couldn't regulate temperature on his upper level. After strategic questions by our experienced insulation professional, it was also determined that the customer was getting ice dams, and his energy bills were extremely high. Not only did the customer not have sufficient insulation (loose fiberglass), but he was also dealing with a very leaky attic. All of the conditioned air that he pays so much money for was leaking into the attic through holes, voids gaps etc, causing the ice dams, and of course, the high energy bills. Luckily, Dr Energy Saver runs into these issues every day and knows exactly how to fix it.

Even though there were 3 different issues at hand, the attic system that Dr Energy Saver installs on a daily basis is able to solve each of those problems. And while those 3 issues may seem completely separate, they are actually all related.

Temperature on his upper level: The attic had original loose fiberglass insulation from almost 30 years ago. Not only did the customer not have enough insulation, the fiberglass insulation was matted, dirty and not doing its job of blocking the heat and cold from penetrating into the living areas from the attic.

Ice Dams: The customer's house was sucking all their heated air straight up into the attic through can lights, light fixtures, fans, vents, holes, gaps, voids etc. Once the heated air got into the attic, it easily surpassed the lack of insulation and hit the roof deck which melted the snow on the roof. The melted snow, turned water, then slid down the roof and refrozen at the coldest part of the roof which is the gutter. As more water froze at the gutter line, the ice dam got larger causing further issues for the homeowner

Excessive Energy Bills: The more conditioned air that got sucked up into the attic to escape through gable vents, roof vents ridge vents etc., the more outside air that got sucked back into the house from the bottom. This is called stack effect. It's a never-ending cycle until the customer fixes it. Once more outside air gets sucked into the house, the customer now has to condition it (heat or cool it), which costs money. Once the customer fixes this issue, their heating and cooling system won't be on overdrive which, in turn, will ultimately save the customer money.

THE SOLUTION

The first step in solving each of the customer's 3 issues is removing all of the dirty, contaminated, insufficient fiberglass insulation from the attic. Once every ounce of insulation is removed, the entire floor of the attic will be exposed showing all the areas where air can be leaking into the attic from the living spaces. There could be hundreds of gaps, voids and holes where this is happening.

The next step is air sealing all of these leaky areas with expanding foam (kind of like caulking a window). Where there are can lights, can light covers will be installed and air sealed. By air sealing all of these areas, we are keeping the conditioned air within the house instead of letting it escape into the attic (This is the energy savings part and the ice damming fix).

The third part is installing baffles at the outer edge of the roof deck directly above the soffit vents. Baffles ensure that the air that enters the attic through the soffit vents has a pathway to get into the attic and provide proper ventilation throughout. This is essential to eliminate the risk of mold.

Finally, a blanket of Trusoft Cellulose insulation is blown in throughout the attic creating a proper blockade from letting heat or cold get to the living spaces (This is the temperature regulation part). 

By installing this system, each part works in harmony not only solving one of the issues, but all of them. 

THE RESULT

What was an appointment to solve a temperature issue, turned into a plan to make the customers house more comfortable, eliminate their ice damming issues and save them lots of money. Not only all of this, but now their attic is clean and properly functioning.

We know that attic work isn't the first thing people think about when updating their home, but what they don't know is that it has the potential of making the biggest impact on both a homeowners comfort and their checkbook

Another happy customer from Grayslake in the books