Feb 16 2018

Tips for Home Insulation in the Winter

At Valley Insulation, LLC, we’re dedicated to providing the best in home insulation and commercial insulation to all of our customers. When it comes to home insulation and keeping your personal space comfortable, having the right kind of insulation isn’t the only factor. There are a few things you can do to help keep your home warm during the chilly winter months. In this blog entry, Valley Insulation, LLC offers some handy tips for helping your home insulation keep you cozy in the cold.

Keeping the Curtains Closed

Even if you have newer double-glazed and insulated windows, you’d be surprised at how much heat you’re losing if they’re not properly covered. Using thick or quilted curtains during the colder seasons is a great way to increase the heat retention of your home, not to mention reducing your utility bill.

Be Aware of Drafts

Some drafts are easy enough to notice, but others will slip in through cracks or gaps you might not be able to see. Colder air breezing in through gaps under doors is obvious enough, but some homes will have unseen gaps or space hidden by cabinets or appliances.

When you’re looking for the source of cold air, be sure to check behind the appliances in your kitchen, along with the areas around cabinets installed in walls and along the floor. The area below your sink is another likely source of cold air, especially if you have a basement. Plumbing vents are common draft sources, along with:

Attic openings
Anywhere wiring connects to the house
Air ducts and vents
Recessed light fixtures.

While this isn’t an exhaustive list, these are a few places you can investigate as the source of cold drafts. Applying insulating materials or even simply covering these areas will help improve your overall home insulation.

Close Those Doors Behind You

Do you have a habit of leaving a trail of open doors behind your all over your house? Whether you, a roommate or family member keeps leaving the door to every room open, it’s a habit that needs to be fixed. You’d be surprised how much of a difference leaving doors open will make to the ambient temperature of your home. Keeping the doors closed from one room to the next will allow heat to build in the room you’re in.

Get the Best in Home Insulation

With these basic tips, you’ll be able to keep yourself warm as we wait for spring to arrive. If you’re still looking for a professional home insulation solution, get in touch with Valley Insulation, LLC today. We have been installing insulation in homes and businesses since 1977, and we aim to bring a unique, friendly, and customized insulation solution to every client.

Feb 12 2018

A Brief History of Home Insulation

History of Home Insulation

Valley Insulation, LLC is a provider of high-quality home insulation and commercial insulation customized to fit the needs of every client. We know our stuff when it comes to different types of insulation, what they can be used for, and how effective they are—but you might not.

To help you understand just how essential home insulation is, we’re going to take a look at its long history. When did the practice of home insulation start? What kinds of materials did people use? Which ones are still in use to this day? Read on to find out more!

How Far Back Does It Really Go?

Depending what you consider real insulation, people have been insulating their homes for as long as they’ve been building them. From using mud to bind logs, ancient brickwork, and stone, to the ancient Greeks using asbestos, people have always understood the importance of some kind of home insulation. While different cultures in ancient history had their own methods of insulating their homes, most were inefficient or unreliable.

Early Industrial Insulation

As with most of the modern conveniences we tend to take for granted, the real advancements in insulation came during the Industrial Revolution. With so many people moving into more populated areas to work in mills and factories, demand for cheap, basic, livable housing skyrocketed.

This meant that the demand for insulation—particularly asbestos—went up with it. Not only that, but factories and industrial operations also needed better insulation for efficiency and safety, which led to further developments in commercial insulation.

After the Industrial Revolution

Following the rapid development of the Industrial Revolution, insulation became a major industry. The 1940s saw the development of fiberglass insulation, and the 1950s on into the 1970s saw the invention and refining of cellulose insulation.

Modern Insulation Innovation

As time has gone on, new methods and materials have been introduced into the insulation industry. As tastes in architecture and innovations in home and commercial construction develop, insulation manufacturers and installation companies work to stay up-to-date.

At Valley Insulation, our goal is to make sure you get the best in modern insulation, with old-fashioned, friendly customer services provided at affordable prices.

Contact Us About Home Insulation

Speaking of history, Valley Insulation, LLC has been providing high-quality home insulation since 1977. In that time, we haven’t just learned the ins and outs of insulation, but also how to provide you with the best in individual customer service. If you’re looking into fiberglass insulation or cellulose insulation, need new insulation for your home or business, or have any other questions about what we do, contact Valley Insulation, LLC today.

Jan 29 2018

Why Crawl Space Insulation is Key to Having Warm Floors

Floor warm enough to walk on from crawl space insulation

If you find yourself shivering and wrapping yourself in a blanket in the middle of your living room, you might wonder if you need a new home insulation job. This could be the case. If you recently had insulation contractors put blow-in insulation in your walls and attic, however, you are probably looking in the wrong direction. Try looking down. Yes, crawl space insulation actually matters quite a bit when it comes to keeping your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Most Crawl Spaces Lead to the Outdoors

Your crawl space probably has an access point allowing you to reach it from the outdoors. This means that any air leaks in your floor will let air out into not only your crawl space but also outside. You might as well have a crack in your door or your windows slightly open. You should try to find and fix any air leaks, yes, but you might want to also consider crawl space insulation. Fixing leaks will only do half the job. The cold air of your crawl space right beneath your floor will still sap more heat than most of us like.

How Does Crawl Space Insulation Work?

Crawl space insulation works much the way all insulation works. You can think of it in two ways. Your crawl space insulation can function the same way as traditional wall insulation or it can function the way your attic does. For best results, you should think of it the same way you would the attic, but here, at Valley Insulation LLC, we want to share with you both options.

Similar to Walls

In the simplistic approach, you will insulate the floor beneath your feet across the entire house. This will act as a barrier between the air in your crawl space and the air in your home. This approach keeps the air in your crawl space the same temperature as the outdoors. If you live in cold-climate areas, this might cause your pipes to freeze. The cold could potentially damage some of the mechanisms beneath your home. Neither does this option keep your home as insulated as the other option.

Similar to Attic

If you think of your crawl space insulation the same way you think about insulating your attic, then you can approach the problem in a different way. How do you seal the entire crawl space from the outdoors? The ideal version of this approach will have you insulating your the walls of your crawl space. This way, the entire space beneath your home acts like a large air pocket of insulation against the cold. With your crawl space at room temperature, the coldest part of your home will now be the crawl space walls to the outdoors, not your floorboards.

Get the Insulation You Need

The Valley Insulation LLC team in Cincinnati, Ohio, has the skills and experience to insulate your home in the manner that is best for you and your family. If you want to save money on your heating and a/c bills this upcoming year, don’t hesitate. Contact us today.

Jan 22 2018

Spray Foam Insulation vs Blow-In Insulation

Blow-In Insulation installed in new home

When companies talk about insulation, they typically mean one of three common choices: cellulose blow-in insulation, fiberglass blow-in insulation, and spray foam insulation. Other choices exist out there, but these three choices are the most popular among both do-it-yourselfers and professional insulation companies. In today’s blog, the Valley Insulation LLC team will discuss whether to choose blow-in (cellulose or fiberglass) or spray foam insulation.

Taking a Look at Spray Foam Insulation

If there were such thing as a glamour girl of insulation, spray foam would be it at the moment. Although it is still less popular than the tried and true cellulose and fiberglass used in blow-in insulation, spray foam has recently seen its fair share of proponents. Spray foam, however, has some major downfalls.

Spray foam costs quite a bit more than the two types of insulation. Some estimates put the cost of spray foam at between $3,000 to $4,000 more expensive per home. We know what you are thinking. You probably get what you pay for, right? Well, not exactly. Studies measuring the efficiency of different insulation types continues to bring back negative results: the three popular materials insulate at very similar rates.

Spray foam does have one thing going for it. It is more likely to keep water moisture out of your home. Foam will reduce the likelihood of mold if you live in a wet area, but this one positive is checked by a safety hazard. Foam is the most flammable of all the insulation material types. Unlike cellulose blow-in insulation, it doesn’t slow fire but instead fans the flames.

Blow-In Insulation

Blow-in insulation doesn’t expand like spray foam. Some fans of spray foam insulation say this makes it less efficient. That’s true if you decide to take up insulation as a do-it-yourself project. Professionals, however, know precisely how much to fill between drywall to get the same efficient insulation as foam.

Cellulose insulation is much easier to install in homes already standing. We will not need to tear down your drywall to spray. This saves your time and money. Nu-Wool blow-in insulation offered by Valley Insulation LLC also slows and stifles flames, giving you that extra bit of time to evacuate your family. That time can mean the difference between life and death.

Get Your Home Insulation Today

If you live in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area, then look no further than Valley Insulation LLC for all your insulation needs. Our team has 40 years of experience, and we keep your safety and home efficiency in mind when we install. Contact our team or call 513.353.4100 today.

Jan 17 2018

Why Home Insulation Is Not a DIY Project

Get Free

Many homeowners are tempted to try home insulation on their own. Though it may seem like an easy task, installing insulation properly does take time, training, and expertise. Yes, just about anyone can shove insulation behind their drywall, but they may not fill the space properly. They might not find important air leaks or other areas of concern and address those problems. If you choose to go it alone and opt for insulating your own home, you might end up paying for it in the long run.

Inefficient Insulating

The most common issue when homeowners forego professional help with their home insulation project, inefficient insulating will bring about higher heating and air conditioning bills than anyone wants. Inefficient insulating commonly occurs in DIY projects because most homeowners don’t have the experience to properly judge how much insulation is needed. When the insulation teams at Valley Insulation LLC replace a DIY job, we almost always find spaces left unfilled. Spaces left unfilled or filled to a less than perfect density result in much higher energy bills in the future. You end up paying more month-by-month than you would pay a contractor up front.

Fire Hazard

Improper home insulation installation can result in serious fire hazards. Although cellulose insulation has a slim chance of catching on fire when compared to foam insulation, placing cellulose too close to wiring or light fixtures can be dangerous. Valley Insulation offers Nu-Wool cellulose, which has a UL Class 1 fire rating. If you want the safest insulation option Valley Insulation LLC is the insulation provider for you. We have over 40 years of experience and will know where to place insulation to maximize your efficiency without risking your safety.

Safety During and After The Home Insulation Process

Fiberglass, especially, can be harmful. Professionals know how to properly handle fiberglass insulation. We also know how to properly install both cellulose and fiberglass insulation in such a way that it reduces the likelihood of wetness and mold in your home. Improper home insulation can result in mold cropping up in your home or in hive outbreaks while you try installing it yourself. Be safe. Leave it to the professionals. We have been handling insulation for nearly half a century, and we can install it in your home at an affordable price.

Get the Job Done Right with Valley Insulation LLC

If you want a home insulation job done quickly, efficiently, and safely, trust the best in town. With 40 years of experience serving your local Cincinnati, Ohio, community, Valley Insulation are just the team for your insulation needs. We provide cellulose insulation at competitive prices. Contact our team today to get started on a warmer-in-the-winter, cooler-in-the-summer, and altogether more energy efficient home.

Insulation experts since 1977