D.I.Y Insulation: 5 Things You Need to Know

By Grace Henry on March 4th, 2022

Insulation isn’t esthetically pleasing. Choosing countertops, flooring, wall colors, and window treatments – that’s the fun part of building or remodeling a home. Those are the things that will make your home pretty and impress your visitors. Insulation? While not visible to you or your guests, insulation is important to the overall function and thermal efficiency of your home.

1. There’s more to it than you think

Insulation products can – and should – do more than help maintain comfortable home temperatures and help control your energy bills. Thanks to some recent advances in building science, today’s insulation products can go much further in helping you:

• Achieve a truly comfortable environment with reduced noise levels, and ensure an air-tight home.
• Guard your family’s health by improving indoor air quality. 
• Protect the investment you’ve made in your home.

2. Your climate matters

Insulation comes in a range of R-values that measure its ability to block cold air movement. The colder your climate, the higher the R-value you’ll need to stay comfortable – and energy-efficient.

3. What you’re insulating matters

We hope you don’t think it’s only your exterior walls that need insulation. It’s crucial to insulate attics, basements, and crawl spaces as well. Insulating the walls between rooms can make a big difference in helping to reduce room-to-room noise. The tricky part is knowing which kind of insulation is right for each area.

4. The type – and even the brand­ ­– of insulation products matter

Fiberglass batts, blown-in fiberglass, vapor retarder. What type will you use and in which areas of your home? While you can get different insulation products from various manufacturers, you must understand that even standard fiberglass batts are not all created equal. Some are certified by independent organizations like GREENGUARD. Others aren’t. Some help with moisture management. Others don’t. InsulPure™ is engineered not to settle or accumulate moisture. Its long-lasting thermal performance also improves your home’s acoustics. Insulation should be installed with a vapor retarder and MemBrain™ Continuous Air Barrier and Smart Vapor Retarder will combat unavoidable moisture so you can install with confidence.

5. You need to get it right the first time

Don’t like the color of your walls? Easy enough to repaint. Don’t like that rug as much as you thought you would? Simple: get a new one. With many of the decisions you’ll make when building or remodeling your home, it’s not the end of the world if you find your choice was not quite right. But if you discover mold, noise, draftiness, or temperature problems after your walls are closed up, fixing them is going to be trouble. Big, expensive trouble.

We hope these tips have given you some food for thought. With just a little bit of knowledge, you’ll be able to make informed insulation choices that will create the comfort, efficiency, and protection your family deserves.

Learn more! View our insulation webpage containing all of our products!