Man Insulating an Attic

Insulating Your Attic for the Winter

How to Ensure Your Home is Heated Effectively and Efficiently in a Few Easy Steps

With the winter months on their way, many of us are taking steps to ensure our homes stay warm and toasty when the oncoming cold weather finally hits. But while you’re stocking up on blankets, adding layers to your wardrobe, and ensuring that your heater is working perfectly, there’s one home heating essential you may be neglecting – your attic. If your attic isn’t properly insulated, your home could lose a significant amount of the heat produces by your heater, leaving you and your loved ones shivering. Use these simple steps to prepare your attic for the winter chill ad safeguard your family’s comfort.

Replace Your Old Insulation

Ideally, your attic insulation should form a protective layer within your walls to stop heat from escaping your home, giving your heater less work to do and your family more protection against the chill. Your attic may have been insulated when you moved in, but has that old insulation held up over the years? Over time, insulation can degrade or clump together at the bottom of your walls, thus failing to form a protective barrier against heat loss.

Check to make sure that your attic insulation is still capable of doing its job by taking a quick look across the span of your attic. If you can see that your insulation is just level with or below your floor joists, you should call a professional to get it replaced.

Do Some Cleaning

This may seem like an unnecessary chore but cleaning your attic can help your ventilation do its job. Aside from ensuring that air can move more freely through your attic, getting rid of clutter can expose flaws and damages in your attic that could be affecting your comfort, like cracks, gaps, and air leaks that allow heat to escape. Cleaning your attic can also make it less appealing to pests who like to invade your walls and destroy your insulation.

Seal Any Leaks in Your Roof

Unlike the other rooms in your home, there’s nothing standing between your attic and your roof, so any flaws in your roofing will directly affect it. It’s important to get your roof inspected and maintained by licensed roofers on a regular basis to check for and prevent any leaks. No matter how well-insulated your attic is, if there are cracks in your roof, heat can still escape. Find out if any roofing issues need your attention before winter sets in to avoid major problems during the coldest part of the year that could put your family at risk.

How an Insulated Attic a Well-Maintained Roof Can Help You Save

Attic insulation and the roof maintenance that comes with it won’t just make your home more comfortable, it will also cut down on your energy costs. Because your home will be losing less heat, you’ll find yourself adjusting your thermostat less. That means that less energy will be used up by your heater to keep you comfortable, as it won’t have to keep running as long or as often. That not only means your utility bills will go down, but that your heater will accumulate less usage-related damage, possibly preventing any expensive repairs or replacements that may have otherwise been in your future.

Need help checking or maintaining your roof in your quest for ideal attic insulation? Contact Lyons Roofing for reliable service from licensed roofing professionals!