The Scientific Principles Behind Attic Ventilation

You may think that having your attic completely sealed is the smartest choice and for some, if done properly, this can be accomplished. However, an attic without a vent, traps moisture and heat inside the house. Warm, moist air can cause a lot of damage, both in the summer and the winter. It is a safe harbor for mold spores to propagate as well as an avenue for wood rot to occur. These can damage the structure of your home which, if left unattended, can lead to a major project to resolve.

A ridge vent helps to bring dry, cool air into the attic via the soffit. You may have noticed the small openings, usually covered by screen or metal vent covers, that line the soffit around your home. These soffit vents allow air to enter your attic space from a dry and cool area of your home. If however, there is no space for this air to escape once in your attic, it will sit stagnant and collect moisture. A properly installed ridge vent will create a nice, steady flow of air from the soffit to the ridge. This in-turn, keeps the air in your attic dry and the chance for mold and wood rot to a minimum.

So, What Should Homeowners Do?

If you want to avoid heat buildup in your home, you should invest in ventilation for your attic. Doing so can prevent a lot of damage caused by excess heat during the summer and moisture buildup in the winter.

Creating consistent airflow in your attic is the best way to prevent damage to your roof structure and home. You should make sure the air has adequate intake and exhaust. This is accomplished by placing approximately one square foot of ridge vent for every 150 square feet of attic space. A professional from M&M Home Remodeling can give you the ideal setup for your home.

The Benefits of Proper Attic Ventilation.

There are a lot of benefits to proper ventilation of the attic. Firstly, it improves the flow of air through the attic, promoting a dry, cool space. Secondly, it minimizes moisture, preventing it from damaging shingles and structural wood or getting trapped in your insulation. Thirdly, by keeping your roof surface at a more constant temperature, it lessens the amount of damage snow and ice can cause to your roof. And lastly, it provides consistent ventilation, leading to less unnecessary energy consumption.

What If You Already Have a Finished Attic?

If you want to reap the benefits of attic ventilation, you may think you have to renovate your roof. However, there is a simpler way to achieve attic ventilation. You can install insulation baffles or rafter vents on your roof. These vents create narrow passageways that let out hot, damp air. The fresh air from outside can still come in through the soffit vents on the edges of the roof. Rafter vents are a quick and easy way to obtain the benefits of proper attic ventilation without affecting the look of the attic.

Do You Want to Learn More About Ridge Vents?

If you want to learn more about vent installation for attics, contact us now. We’ll take you through our installation process and help you decide on a vent that’s best for you. The longer you wait, the more your home suffers for it.

The post The Anatomy of a Healthy Roof: Ridge Vent appeared first on M&M Home Remodeling Services.

Proper ventilation working on conjunction with the adequate insulation is a key factor to prevention. Our roofing systems should intake ventilation through the soffits and exhaust ventilation through the roof.

What Can Cause Ice Dams?

Here are the three main causes of ice dams:

• Cold air accumulating at the lower part of the roof (the eave)
• Warm air rising to the top of the roof
• Snow accumulating on the roof and forming a heavy cover

When the three co-occur, ice dams can form rather quickly. The warm air at the top of the roof causes the snow cover to slowly melt. The excess water from the melted snow then flows to the eave of the roof. Since the air at the eave is colder, the water freezes once more, and an ice dam forms.

Why Are Ice Dams a Big Problem?

Apart from being potentially dangerous to any people passing near the roof, ice dams can also cause a lot of damage to your roof and home. They can damage your gutters and fascia, as well as cause water to accumulate in the shingles.

The water from the ice dams can damage your walls, drywall, and paint. Additionally, it can cause mold and mildew to form, which can escalate into a big problem down the line. Extreme cases of ice dams can even cause your home’s ceiling to fully collapse.

How Can You Prevent Ice Dams?

There is a simple solution to the problem of ice dams: proper attic ventilation. During the summer months, ventilation will prevent heat from accumulating in the attic and transferring to the living area. That will, in turn, keep your attic nice and cool.

During the winter, good ventilation can prevent the heat from the living areas from accumulating in the attic. There will be no moisture, and the attic will stay dry. Thus, ventilation will prevent ice dams or mold from forming altogether.

So, What Should You Do?

Firstly, install proper attic ventilation in your home. The most effective ventilation systems have evenly distributed ridge vents.

Secondly, make sure your attic has good insulation. Good insulation will prevent heat loss from the living areas and help you save money on energy.

Finally, it is best to use waterproofing shingle underlayment above the interior wall line (at least 2 inches above it). That will ensure you are fully safe if ice dams form anyway.

How Can You Remove Ice Dams?

When removing ice dams, safety comes first. Do not remove ice dams with an ice pick or an axe, as that could lead to serious injuries. The best thing to do is to prevent ice dams from forming in the first place.

You can do so by removing the snow that accumulates on your roof after a snowfall. Use a rake with wheels at the bottom, so you don’t damage your roof. If ice dams have already formed, it is best to call for a professional, as dealing with them yourself could lead to injuries and more damage to your home.

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When it comes to energy savings, proper attic insulation is the first step every homeowner should take, especially if they live in an older house that wasn’t built according to current strict energy codes. 

The amount of money we waste each year on heating and cooling is downright obscene. In fact, about 70% of our energy bills account for making our home comfortable to live in. 

The hard truth is that our energy bills shouldn’t be that high. It isn’t sustainable in the long run, especially since weather conditions are more unpredictable than ever. 

Therefore, to stop wasting energy and keep the warmth or coolness inside our homes, we ought to work on our energy efficiency. The best way to do that is to tackle the highest point through which air will try to escape — the attic.

Attic Insulation 101

For most homeowners, opting for attic insulation is a no-brainer if heating their whole house seems to be taking way too long and costing way too much. When the attic is left bare, i.e., without insulation, the heat can travel to it and leak through. Thus, creating more warmth is practically inevitable but somewhat futile in the end.

In the best-case scenario, insulation can reduce energy loss by up to 30%. However, for it to work its magic, we have to consider the R-value. 

Not all insulation is created equal, with some materials offering low insulating properties and poor heat transfer resistance. The R-value tells us exactly how much insulation we need, as well as which materials to choose. 

In general, an attic’s R-value should be anywhere from R-38 to R-49. 

How It All Works

Once the contractor inspects our attic and determines which insulation would work best, they’ll install it under the roof rafters. That will prevent the air from escaping the attic. Consequently, it will allow our cooling and heating equipment to work more efficiently and remain cost-effective.

On top of that, the insulation will prevent mold, rust, and any other type of damage related to excess moisture getting trapped in the attic. Thus, our roof will stay in good shape for many years to come.

Should You Opt for Attic Insulation?

Since this endeavor is a significant investment, we have to determine whether attic insulation is even necessary for our house. Of course, everyone is looking for extra energy savings. However, without asking a reliable expert to evaluate our attic, we cannot know for sure whether the project would pay off in the long run.

Fortunately, there are some telltale signs that clearly show our attic needs some extra maintenance.

For example, it needs more protection if icicles or ice dams are a common occurrence. Similarly, we ought to deal with hot spots as well. These may be a bit tricky to notice, so we ought to compare our roof with others in the neighborhood. Hot spots are clearly visible when there’s snow, as some parts of the roof won’t be covered at all.

Finally, to verify whether our attic has been leaking out heat, we should compare our current energy bills with previous statements. Sometimes, people don’t even notice they are wasting their money until it’s way too late to do anything about it. Keeping a good track of our expenses is, therefore, the best way to resolve a problem before it becomes a real nuisance.

Our heating or cooling equipment could also point out that something’s amiss in the attic. If we’ve been cranking up the heat more than usual or leaving the A/C running all day long, the devices may not be working at peak efficiency. That doesn’t just waste our money; the equipment will need frequent maintenance checks and repairs if it’s on all the time.

The M&M Team Is Ready to Help You Out

In the end, homeowners can expect serious savings if they invest in attic insulation. They won’t have to rely on their cooling or heating equipment to make up for the loss of energy. At the same time, they won’t have to replace the devices often and will be able to put the money they’d otherwise spend on repairs and maintenance to better use.

We do know that starting a home improvement project can be quite stressful, not to mention expensive. Because of that, we’re ready to give you a reasonable price and ensure that you save money by becoming a genuinely energy-efficient household. Call now to get a free estimate — deal with poor insulation issues head-on!

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On the other hand, exterior home remodeling allows you to recoup up to 97.5% of your investment. Since you’re not doing a full-on renovation but only replacing the existing assets of your home, it saves you both money and time. In this article, we’ll only mention the projects that offer the highest ROI, and list them from lowest to highest percentage. So, without further ado, let’s see which replacements allow you to make the most out of your investment.

Roofing Replacement

Replacing your whole roof seems like a lot of work, and it’s something many homeowners often put off. However, a new roof offers a high ROI and will likely end up paying itself off in the future.

A new metal roof will set you back around $38,600 on average, and increase your home’s resale value by about $23,526, according to remodeling.hw.net. This amounts to an ROI of 60.9%, which is higher than that of an upscale kitchen remodel or bathroom addition.

However, if your material of choice are asphalt shingles, you will be able to get a higher increase. The alteration costs around $22,636, and will increase the resale value of your home by $15,427. With an ROI of 68.2%, this roof replacement surpasses the resale value of a major kitchen or a bathroom remodel.

Window Replacement

Windows play an important role in both the functionality and value of your home. Depending on the type of material you opt for, you could get a return of investment of nearly 74%. 

For example, a wood window replacement will set you back around $20,526, and yield a return of $20,526 on average. With a 70.8% ROI, the quick alteration surpasses the resale value of an upscale master suite addition.

On the other hand, vinyl windows are the most popular choice for homeowners all over the US. They can dramatically reduce the outdoor noise levels, your cooling and heating costs, and recoup a big chunk of your investment. The price of an upscale vinyl window replacement averages about $16,802 and increases the resale value of your home by $12,332. This means you will be able to enjoy the ROI of around 73.4% — a higher percentage than any alteration we have mentioned so far.

Siding Replacement

Faulty, old siding can drive up your energy bills and drastically decrease the value of your home. However, a siding replacement will both protect your home from the outside elements and offer a high return on investment. 

The alteration costs about $16,036 and increases the value of your home by $12,119. With a 75.6% ROI, new siding will recoup more cost than an upscale or a mid-range kitchen remodel.

Door Replacement

Doors are quite important when it comes to making the right first impression. An entry door replacement is by far one of the quickest and cheapest alterations you can make to increase the value of your home. With the average cost of  $1,826 and resale value of $1,368, steel door replacements offer a 74.9% return on investment. However, we have saved the best for last.

Remember that crazy 97.5% return of investment we mentioned at the beginning of this article? Believe it or not, it can be achieved by replacing your garage door. On average, the alteration costs $3,611 and adds $3,520 to the resale value of your home, creating a 97.5% ROI. The quick and painless remodel will help drive in potential buyers to your home and give you the highest ROI possible.

Final Thoughts

Let’s face it, we all judge a book by its cover. The curb appeal of your property is a huge factor when it comes to selling it, and the exterior of your home is a big part of it.

While remodeling the interior of your home might make you feel warm and cozy, it often makes for an unpredictable investment. To conclude, exterior home remodeling offers the highest ROI, making it the best investment you could make.

The post Exterior Home Remodeling Offers High ROI appeared first on M&M Home Remodeling Services.

While improving roofing energy-efficiency can also lead to decreases in energy costs, attic insulation is another important aspect of the home’s overall energy savings. Reliable attic insulation solutions improve the level of comfort in your home by regulating the indoor temperature in your home, keeping it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

At M&M Home Remodeling Services, we’re committed to helping homeowners across Chicago benefit from top-quality home improvement and maintenance standards. In this article, our experts at M&M Home Remodeling Services will focus on discussing blown-in attic insulation and its benefits, so that you can start scheduling your next home improvement project today.

What is Blown-In Attic Insulation?

One of the most common attic insulation solutions in Crown Point, Indiana is blown-in insulation, which involves blowing an insulating product around the attic that is normally available in two compositions—fiberglass and cellulose.

Fiberglass and cellulose materials have comparable R-values or thermal resistance, but the cellulose variant has slightly higher R-value. Moreover, these insulating products are fire resistant and can be used to top-up and reinforce the existing insulation materials already installed.

Benefits of Blow-In Attic Insulation Solutions

No matter what type of insulating product is used, blown-in attic insulation solutions provide the following benefits:

• Fast and Easy Installation: Compared to other attic insulation options, blowing insulation is fast and easy. By hiring a reliable professional for this service, you can be sure that a thermal blanket will be created around your attic, ensuring energy-efficiency, lower costs, and maximum comfort.
• Energy Efficiency: If you want something to supplement your roofing energy efficiency solution, blown-in attic insulation can serve as a comprehensive and effective option. It is particularly useful in filling the cracks and crevices of your attic, thereby preventing heating and air conditioning from leaking.
• Noise Reduction: Aside from dealing with the temperatures, blown-in insulation can also minimize the amount of noise or sound that enters your house. After installing better insulation, you can use your attic space and other adjacent areas to work or relax in peace.
• Contains Recycled Materials: While cellulose insulation is made of recycled newsprint, fiberglass insulation is made of glass fibers which consist mostly of recycled glass.

Most Reliable Provider of Attic Insulation in Crown Point, Indiana

While a DIY approach can work to insulate your attic, nothing beats professionally-installed attic insulation when it comes to saving on energy costs and maintaining a more comfortable home. If you are looking for the most reliable providers of attic insulation solutions in Crown Point, Indiana, contact M&M Home Remodeling Service today.

Since 1976, our company has been offering attic insulation and other home improvement solutions involving roofing, doors, siding, gutters, and windows. Being an A+ accredited company with the Better Business Bureau and receiver of awards such as the GAF “Excellence Award” and Angie’s List “Super Service” award, we are indeed committed to providing the highest level of customer satisfaction.

Some of the benefits of working with M&M Home Remodeling Service include:

• Experienced and trained professionals
• Free design and consultations
• Excellent quality products
• Reasonable rates
• Flexible financing options
• Lifetime warranties

If you want to learn more about our attic insulation services or other home remodeling projects at M&M Home Remodeling Services, give us a call now. You can also fill out this quick online form to schedule a free, in-home estimate for planning your next home improvement project today.

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