9 Existing Home Insulation Problems That Rear Their Ugly Face In The Colorado Winter
With winter rolling in, many homeowners notice their homes feeling a lot colder and much less comfortable overall.
The cold season could bring several issues that are turning your living environment into a dreary, frosty space that you no longer enjoy being in. But what is the source of this issue? Your home heating system appears to be working as it should – so why are certain parts of your house so chilly? The answer is poor or insufficient winter home insulation.
9 Home Insulation Issues That Make Themselves Known During the Winter Months
Contents
- 9 Home Insulation Issues That Make Themselves Known During the Winter Months
- Signs Of Home Insulation Issues
- Your Floors Are Cold & Some Rooms Never Get Warm at All
- Excessively High Heating Bills & A Furnace That Runs All of the Time
- Cold Drafts & Cold Walls
- Blankets & Layered Clothing Are Essential
- Your Roof Has Ice Dams
- You Struggle With Frozen Pipes
- Your Windows Have Frost on Them
- There’s Condensation on Your Interior Walls
- The Dishes in Your Cabinets Are Cold
- Take Care of Your Home’s Insulation Issues Now
- Winter Home Insulation Fort Collins CO
This article will share several sure signs that your home is in desperate need of more or better insulation to protect you and your loved ones during the cold season.
Insufficient Home Insulation
Insufficient insulation is a common problem that often develops over time as existing insulation, whether it’s cellulose or fiberglass, starts to settle, shift, or sag. It may even allow air to move through it. There are also many homes that were either never insulated or never properly insulated to start with.
Signs Of Home Insulation Issues
These are all of the issues that you might be experiencing during winter if your home doesn’t have adequate insulation.
Your Floors Are Cold & Some Rooms Never Get Warm at All
If your home doesn’t have enough insulation, then all of the cold outdoor air is able to come in.
Air movement makes it all but impossible for your home to maintain an event, comfortable, and constant temperature. This air movement can also make all of the floors throughout your home intolerably cold.
The surest way to resolve this problem is by using insulation to create an air seal that prevents air leaks from both coming and going. Creating a tight home envelope will keep cold outdoor outside, which is where it actually belongs.
Excessively High Heating Bills & A Furnace That Runs All of the Time
If your home is always cold, your furnace will have to work nearly all of the time just to maintain a comfortable and constant temperature.
This constant operation will cost you a veritable fortune over time as your home energy bills rise – and it will also put a strain on your furnace and accelerate its wear. This is because cold outdoor air is constantly coming in and offsetting the heat gains from your furnace.
The heated air that your furnace is producing is also leaking outside.
Creating a tight home envelope or an air seal by installing the proper insulation will lower your energy costs and give your furnace the break that it needs.
Cold Drafts & Cold Walls
If you don’t have enough insulation in your home, or if you don’t have any insulation at all, cold air will enter the building in every way that it can.
The light switches, windows, and outlets throughout your home are common entry points for cold drafts. If you have air leaks, your walls are likely freezing to the touch as well.
Putting more insulation in at the exterior walls will limit cold drafts and keep them from coming inside.
Blankets & Layered Clothing Are Essential
If the cold air in your home is extreme, you’re probably layering up your socks and clothing and wrapping up in thick blankets just to stay comfortable.
These aren’t normal things to do at home, and they’re a major sign that you don’t have enough quality insulation. Adding more insulation in and choosing insulation that won’t let air move through it will give you greater control over your living environment and your indoor comfort.
Your Roof Has Ice Dams
Ice dams on the roof are a bad sign.
These build-ups of ice form when heat from the inside of the building escapes through the attic as the result of having no insulation or insufficient insulation.
Heat loss that occurs through the attic causes snow at the mid-portion of the roof to melt. This pools at the roof’s edge and refreezes to create an ice dam. In addition to causing roof damage, ice dams can also result in major attic leaks.
Using insulation to block hot air from escaping via the attic and roof will keep ice dams from forming.
You Struggle With Frozen Pipes
Frozen pipes can be a real pain, and if they burst, they can cost a lot to replace.
Frozen pipes become an issue when homes lack adequate insulation in areas where pipes are located and when cold air can get into these areas.
If your pipes burst, you’ll likely have to pay a small fortune to resolve the issue.
Putting air barrier insulation in all areas that have pipes will prevent cold air from entering these spaces.
Your Windows Have Frost on Them
If the windows in your home are older, then it’s likely that they don’t have insulation.
At times, even new windows will develop frost if installers haven’t put insulation around them.
In both cases, it’s vital to make sure that the areas around windows are insulated to prevent both air drafts and the formation of frost.
There’s Condensation on Your Interior Walls
Having condensation form on the interior walls is a matter of science – cold outdoor air is coming in contact with the warm indoor air and the warmer surface of the wall to create condensation.
This is much like a can of soda during the summer. If cold air is able to pass through your insulation, then your walls can develop condensation, which can cause a host of problems like mold and mildew formation.
Having foam insulation put in your home’s walls won’t contribute to the formation of mold or mildew. In fact, this type of insulation actually prevents hot and cold temperatures from converging within the walls to keep these growths from forming.
The Dishes in Your Cabinets Are Cold
You won’t be able to enjoy a truly hot cup of coffee if your coffee mugs are always ice cold.
Putting an air barrier of insulation in your exterior walls will help keep your dishes at a relatively warm temperature.
Take Care of Your Home’s Insulation Issues Now
These problems all have a single, simple solution: replace the insulation in your home or update it.
It’s your choice as to whether you want to add more cellulose or fiberglass to the building or go another direction entirely and add foam insulation instead.
Winter Home Insulation Fort Collins CO
When creating an airtight seal to improve the thermal envelope of your home, working with a professional insulation company is a great strategy. They can consider all of the necessary factors that will improve efficiency, comfort, and more. Ascend Construction specializes in insulation removal and installation, energy conservation, energy audits, whole house fan installations, and more in Fort Collins, Colorado, and the neighboring areas.
Contact Ascend Construction for a free consultation today. We can provide you with practical solutions to address the problem areas in your Fort Collins home. All of our services are affordable, and our work is guaranteed. Click here to contact us, or click the button below to give Ascend Construction a call. We offer free, no-obligation, in-home consultations.