Challenge
The homeowner explained that he noticed his Fireplace Den in the house that is also adjacent to the garage was always cold during the winter months and warm during the summer. He also explained that he would like to make improvements with making his home more energy efficient with current tax breaks. The symptoms of the problem were that the Fireplace Den was 5-10 degrees colder/warmer than the rest of the house depending on the season. The problem was caused by not having the exterior top plates air sealed, previous blown fiberglass was not blown all the way to the eave and the vertical wall inside the garage that was adjacent to the attic of the Fireplace Den was insulated with a loose fill of fiberglass that had settled. The homeowner chose to have the problem fixed because his office is in the Fireplace Den and he is always uncomfortable staying in there for long periods of time as he would either get cold during the winter or hot during the summer. The homeowner's biggest concern with the problem is that he is having knee surgery and will be spending lots of time in the Den working from home and does not want to be uncomfortable while trying to work and needing to get up constantly. He also has a attic above the bedrooms on his top floor that he wanted to improve to an energy star rating with current utility costs.
Solution
The homeowner chose our company because we were able to show him where and why all the problems he was experiencing existed and how we would be able to fix them that made sense to him. With the tour for two he was able to come to the conclusion that improving the insulation in his attics would not only save him money in the long run but would also make his family more comfortable year round. Our solution for the Fireplace Den attic was to remove the blown fiberglass and the fiberglass batt from the attic floor and remove the loose fiberglass that was installed in front of the vertical wall adjacent to the garage attic. We then air sealed the exterior top plates and filled the attic floor to an R49 R-value to achieve an energy star rating. We then installed a 4" SilverGlo foam board with a radiant barrier on either side that has an R20 R-value across the entire front of the vertical wall. For the upper level attic we removed the fiberglass batt insulation and loose fiberglass insulation, covered and air sealed the drop soffit over the shower and linen closet and then air sealed and insulated the attic floor to an R60 R-value. One of the challenges that we faced was the attic floor above the Fireplace Den was a vaulted ceiling with a steep pitch that made it difficult to get to the eaves. We used a combination of products to achieve our solution. We used ZypFoam, 4" SilverGlo, Rockwool EZ Roll sleeve, Fire Caulk, TruSoft Venting Baffles, Weather-stripping and TruSoft Cellulose. The homeowner now has a more comfortable living space and his attic floors have now been insulated to an Energy Star Rating R49 above the Fireplace Den and R60 above the bedrooms on the upper level.
