Posts Tagged ‘insulation’

Recently we had a customer contact us, expressing their satisfaction for a job well done. Homeworks would like to share this story with you to help give some insight as to what you can expect in your next Homeworks experience.

Garry and Angela Lester were looking for someone who could look after their heating/cooling requirements in the new home they were building and realized that Homeworks’ house-as-a-system approach was a perfect fit. They decided to go with our organization after meeting with our knowledgeable and personable sales staff. In addition, Homeworks “is better quality of service for the price I was paying comparing to other companies” says Garry.

Chris Breadner was the Sales Consultant that guided Garry through his new build installation experience. Chris gave expert ideas as to how all of the products the Lester’s were interested in could best interact and function in their new home. The Lester’s purchased a Bryant 95s multi-stage variable speed 95% efficient furnace to provide back up heat for the Bryant two stage heat pump. Garry and Angela Lester went with ISO board foundation walls that gave them an R-50 rating in the basement walls. This combined with the R-20 in the upper floor walls and R-50 in the attic meant the heat loss/gain was very low. Given these properties, Chris recommended an Eneready HRV system that was much smaller than most equipment for a house this size for continuous ventilation and high efficiency heat filter.

Bryant Two-Stage Heat Pump

HRV in Crawl Space

HVAC System

HRV Ventilation Ducts

Attic Insulation (R-50 Rating)

All in all, this was a successful experience for the Lester’s and even though there were some unexpected issues the Lester’s experienced as there is with any job; Chris’s “level of knowledge reassured me and I was not worried” says Garry Lester.

Garry exclaimed that “Chris’ level of knowledge was superior to most people I have come across and he did an excellent job of coordinating the whole process. He had an understanding of how things fit together and his product knowledge was superb. Chris Breadner truly understood the house as a system approach. He would answer my many phone calls and questions and was extremely good about dealing with other people working on our new build home. The staff at Homeworks are excellent and truly provide a consultative approach. It is definitely an advantage to have a company that deals with all aspects of a home when it comes to planning and implementation.”

We are happy that the Lester’s had such a positive experience with Homeworks and the next time you are looking to complete home upgrades or build a new home you will have an idea of the level of service you can expect from the Homeworks team!

If you are interested in Homeworks house-as-a-system approach, book a free in-home consultation, visit our showrooms or call 604.697.5700.

Getting ready for the winter holidays can be a stressful time. Homeworks’ has put together some energy saving tips that will make it a little easier on your wallets and allow you to save on your energy bill this winter season. Not only, will you be helping yourselves but you will also be making a contribution to saving the environment. Here are 10 tips to reducing your energy bill:

* Stop opening the fridge or freezer-when deciding what to retrieve from the freezer or fridge try to open them scarcely and think about what you are getting before hand. Don’t over-stuff your freezer-it reduces the efficiency. Finally, ensure that your cooling coils on your refrigerator are cleaned regularly to ensure they always perform well.

* Keep the lid on-keep lids on pots while boiling and simmering to save energy. Also, instead of using your electric oven opt for the toaster oven for smaller items. Save on cooking time by thawing food completely and keep the oven door closed as much as you can.

* Fill that dishwasher-make sure your dishwasher is loaded correctly and fully loaded to ensure your dishes are cleaned properly. Wash dishes on the shortest wash cycle and let them air dry afterwords.

* Let a blanket be your best friend-an extra blanket or sweater works just as well as having the heat up really high and it saves money. Make sure doors to the outside are properly closed and use programmable thermostats to regulate heat when you’re not home.

* Let the sun shine in-open your blinds or curtains instead of turning lights on during the day. Switch your light bulbs to CFL’s (compact fluorescent light bulbs) they are more energy efficient and last much longer.

* Cut your showers down- long hot showers and baths are nice but certainly a big contributor to your energy bill. Cut down your shower time and install low-flow shower heads and hot water heater timers. Putting an insulating cover for you water heater and pipes also adds to conservation.

* Insulate your house-an easy way to capture wasted energy is to have proper insulation in the home. Having your floors, wall and crawlspace properly insulated will impact your energy use immensely. Weather-stripping and sealing any gaps or cracks in doors and windows is also beneficial.

* Laundry you like- try to use detergent scarcely and use cold water whenever possible. Dryer sheets can be ripped in half and are still just as effective. Do not overload the dryer and try to let your clothes air dry.

* Computers sleep too- turn off your computer when you are not using it and turn down the brightness of your monitor when it is in use. Remember to turn off any additional equipment such as printers. Set your computers to go to ‘sleep mode’ when they are inactive.

If you are interested in improving the energy efficiency of your home, book a free in-home consultation, visit our showrooms or call 604.697.5700.

When it comes to energy-efficient renovations, an often overlooked home upgrade is insulation. While replacement windows and high-efficiency furnaces receive much of the attention, it’s important to remember that improving the attic, wall and basement insulation of your home can provide a lot of value for your investment!

Recently, we completed a home upgrade in Kelowna, BC, that offered an opportunity to showcase the process of upgrading insulation. Typical of older homes, this property has very little to no insulation. Built in the 1940’s, this bungalow style home with raised crawl space contains a tar paper air barrier, ship lap construction with lath and plaster walls. The only insulation to be found is wood shavings in the walls and ceilings

To start, we upgraded the insulation in the crawl space. Generally homeowners don’t think of their basement or crawl space as a prime source of heat loss, yet basements can account for 20 to 30 per cent of a home’s total.

The steps we’ve taken to insulate the basement are:

1) A moisture barrier (polyethylene 6-ml) is installed on the cold side of your insulation and serves to protect the insulation from water and moisture coming in from the outside wall.

2) Install batt insulation between the studs next to the moisture barrier.

3) A vapour barrier is installed on the warm side of the insulation. It serves to keep moisture in your home from penetrating into the wall cavity.

4) Wall covering such as gyproc or wallboard is used to finish the wall.

Next up, we’re insulating the walls using blown-in insulation. Blown-in insulation should be done by an experienced contractor since it requires the use of special pressurized equipment, which significantly reduces the amount of settling of loose-fill insulation after installation. The contractor must ensure each cavity is filled with insulation. The steps we’ve taken to insulate the walls are:

1) Identifying cross blocking (fire-stops) in the walls, and ensuring that holes are drilled to give access to all spaces in the walls.

2) Filling hollow corner posts, overhangs and other odd spots

3) After final inspection, making sure the drill holes are filled with cork and high-quality exterior caulking.

Finally, we turned our attention to the attic insulation which is typically the easiest and most cost effective way to make your home more efficient. The amount of insulation you can install in your attic is determined by the size of the joists and whether or not your attic has a floor. A settle density of R-32 to R-40 is preferable in most instances, but is not always possible. In the case of the Kelowna residence, we used loose-fill insulation and the steps we’ve taken to complete the attic insulation are:

1) Loose-fill insulation is poured on top of the air barrier and vapor barrier. It’s leveled out to maintain an even depth.

2) Pour the insulation to fill all nooks and crannies.

3) At the eaves, we take care to keep the insulation from blocking the ventilation of from disappearing into the eaves space.

4) We’re careful not to insulate to closely around flue pipes and gas vents

5) We make sure to seal the attic hatch.

In closing, keeping your home heated is difficult, particularly in Canada, where we live in a colder climate. Remember, heating costs account for more than 50 per cent of the energy used in your home, therefore, adding insulation will improve the comfort of your house and give you more value for your energy dollar.

Special thanks to Sunco Insulation who’ve provided contractor services and photos of the work!