Posted March 20, 2020
For optimum insulation results, your home should be insulated from its roof to its concrete foundation. An uninsulated home and its possible drafts can compromise your family’s health over a long period of time.
Many studies have shown that an insulated home is a healthy home. Homes that are fully insulated retain much more heat than non-insulated homes. A well insulated home will keep you toasty in winter, cool in summer, and your wallet will thank you immensely for the power bill savings. An insulated home is particularly important for the young, the elderly, and the immune compromised. Thanks to new laws, all ceilings and underfloors in New Zealand homes have been legally obligated to be insulated by 01 July 2019.
Insulate Ceilings/Roofing
As we all know, hot air rises. This means that a significant amount of your home’s heat can be lost if the ceiling/roofing isn’t insulated – a whopping ⅓ of it to be exact.
It’s recommended you consult with a builder before insulating your ceilings if you intend to do it yourself. However builders are qualified, know what they are doing, and already have the equipment needed. Doing it yourself could be more pain than it’s worth – both to your schedule and your wallet.
Insulate Flooring
Uninsulated flooring, much like ceilings/roofing, can lose ⅓ of your home’s heat if uninsulated. A warm floor can greatly benefit those who struggle with poor circulation, who are inactive for long periods of time, children who are closer to the floor, and the elderly.
A common method for insulating flooring is using an insulating layer such as a fibreboard underlay or polyfoam board beneath the floorboards. However there are other methods such as using a sealant or caulking to fill gaps between your flooring and the skirting boards. If you have a crawlspace beneath your flooring, you have the option to use netting or wooden battens to hold insulation beneath the floorboards. If none of these methods are suitable, you can add a rug. Having a rug won’t do anything toward insulating your flooring, but it will stop some of the drafts between the floor and your bare feet.
Seal Windows
A surprising amount of heat can be lost by the drafts around windows. But there are many ways to seal windows for insulation. If you’re renting and can’t add anything permanent, a common method is to use a draft stopper. Alternatively thick thermal curtains will do a good job to help insulate your home.
Insulate Around Pipes
Any holes in the exterior of your home are a liability and will promote heat loss. You can insulate around pipes with spray foam insulation. The best part is that you can do it yourself! You can find spray foam insulation at any number of warehouses for as low as $12.50.
Choose An Insulated Concrete Slab Foundation
Around 15% of your home’s heat is lost through the slab it sits on if not insulated.Do it once, do it right. You can effectively insulate your home from the ground up by using MAXRaft’s fully insulated concrete slab foundation – the only fully insulated concrete foundation on the market. Energy and thermal efficiency have become an issue, and are at the forefront of new house builds, but many people don’t consider the heat lost from their foundations. Reducing heat loss from the ground up ensures your home is warmer, drier and healthier.
Other benefits of MAXRaft®’s concrete slab foundations include, but are not limited to:
You can find more information on MAXRaft® concrete slab foundations here: https://www.maxraft.co.nz/ or call us on 0800 629 7238
