TCI Remediation Case Studies: Cellulose Insulation in Livonia, MI
Challenge
The homeowner explained that in his tri-level home, the upstairs was always hot in the summer and cold in the winter. He bought a laser surface temperature gun and noticed that the ceiling temperature in certain areas were inconsistent and figured that's why he was having uncomfortable rooms upstairs. The symptoms of the problems were inconsistent temperatures on the upstairs ceiling, rooms were uncomfortable in the winter and summer months and his energy bills were always high. The problem was caused by a lack of insulation on the ceiling floor. The attic floor only contained an average of around 4" blown fiberglass insulation or an R11 value. The insulation was mostly in the middle run of the attic and was as low as 1" around the eaves of the house. The homeowner chose to have the problem fixed because he was tired of the bedrooms upstairs and his office being cold during the winter and hot during the summer. The homeowners biggest concern was that he was spending too much on his energy bills and that his family was uncomfortable in their home.
Solution
The homeowner chose our company because we were referred to him by a friend of his and he was very impressed with everything that we found that was causing the true root of his problems in his home and how we would be able to correct them. Our solution was to remove the old blown-in fiberglass insulation, air seal his attic floor and the drop down staircase opening, install duel wide baffles to his soffit vents, air seal and insulate his hatch cover and then install R49 insulation on his attic floor. The biggest challenge to move through the attic as it was only around 3 1/2' tall. We used SilverGlo, ZypFoam, Weather-stripping, DuroVent duel wide Baffles and TruSoft Cellulose. The homeowner now has a more comfortable upstairs and can feel a noticeable difference in temperature stability. He now has energy star rated insulation on his floor and is saving money on his utility bills.
