Community Corner
Igloo Insulation: Frozen heat, and murky warmth
Even with the whiff of spring in our minds, we still have the chance of more snow in the next few weeks. As much as we hope winter will be over soon, it doesn't look like we can keep the warmer temperatures yet.
My sons spent one of the last storms outside, building this behemoth of an igloo. It was so impressive that one of our employees didn't realize it was an igloo and jumped up and down on its roof without collapsing the inside! The boys were pleased the igloo survived, and he was pleased to avoid a fall!
While packed in snow can isolate well, we've already discussed the ways its weight can leak through the roof and even cause structural damage. Earlier this winter, we discussed the ways to eliminate ice damns to keep the inside of our roofs dry and secure during snow storms.
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Now, we'll talk a bit more about insulation: what the inside of your roof can do to prevent leaks, dams, and escaping energy.
The best way to ensure isolation is to make sure the product you choose has a high resistance to heat, or R value. The higher the value, the more energy the isolation will preserve within your house.
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Sealing air leaks is also one of the best ways to make sure that heat remains inside, and does not melt the snow on your roof. Air leaks occur most frequently around plumbing stacks, chimneys, attic hatches, and exhaust fan housing.
Since the main cause of ice dams is an overly warm attic, a good start in preventing ice dams is to lower the attic temperature. Installing additional insulation in the attic area is as easy as laying additional layers across the existing ones, or having more insulation blown in. However, there are limits to the usefulness of this procedure (diminishing returns), and a professional roofer or insulation person should be consulted if you have any questions.
If you notice bare sections on your roof while the rest of the roof has snow, it is an indication there may be insufficient insulation under the bare areas and an inspection of the attic area should be made to confirm this – and then to remedy the situation if necessary.
Make sure that the insulation is not covering the vents in the roof, as it would make the attic too hot.
Remember, professionals know best how to operate around insulation, which can contain spores that can be harmful to breathe and in extreme cases to touch.
Check back in the next weeks for even more tips on avoiding winter fires, winter mold, and winter floods when you're not home. Maybe the more we talk about winter, the less time we'll have until spring! (We're not sure it works like that, but we can hope.)
Robin Hoy
PuroClean Restoration Services
Cranford, NJ
