Insulation and Ductwork-Insulation

Man, I hate insulation!!! But, you've got to have it. General insulation and ductwork-insulation is a real good way to keep saving money over the years.

I will only talk about rolled fiberglass insulation because it's the only kind I know about. It's also the most cost efficient.

Rolled insulation comes in sizes that fit perfectly between floor joists, walls, and trusses. If you build your floor joists on 16-inch centers, then you get the 15-inch wide rolls. If you've spaced the joists on 24-inch centers, then the 23-inch wide will be perfect.

You will have different thickness options. Some are pretty much standard for instance, if you build your walls with 2X4's then you'll only be able to use R-11 or R-13. That is the thickness of a 2X4.

If you build walls with 2X6's, then you'll be able to use R-19, which is the thickness of a 2X6. Most modern homes are built with 2X6 walls, not so much for strength, but more for energy efficiency.





fiberglass insulation



It's a good idea to insulate floors. The insulation can be quite thick in floors. That's always a good thing. It may seem like you're spending a lot of money at the time, but it's worth it. The importance of floor insulation and ductwork-insulation is almost always underestimated.

floor insulation



You should try to make energy efficient walls by putting in R-19 if possible.



Box Header For 2x6 Wall Construction



Make sure you get insulation everywhere. Be sure to put it behind outlet boxes and inside headers. Sometimes these are left out and they loose heat.


energy efficient
wall insulation

One of the biggest heat losses is in ductwork-insulation. With the new ductwork-insulation wraps available, you can can save a bunch of money on heating and cooling.

duct wrap


The ductwrap just wraps around the airducts and some people even wrap water heaters. Water heaters are already insulated pretty good, but if it's in a drafty location then definately wrap it up.

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