We can transform older homes that may not have any insulation in the attic or that may be under-insulated in true examples of energy-saving efficiency.
Our offered services include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Air Sealing and Attic Cleaning
Before installing new insulation products that can greatly boost your home’s energy savings, some “prep work” is a virtual necessity. Unless your attic is free from air leaks, the effectiveness of the new insulation will be somewhat diminished, the extent of diminishment varying with the size, number, and location of the air leaks.
Attic cleaning can also be an important first step, if your attic is extremely dusty or has mold or mildew spots or if it is filled with rodent droppings. Plus, we may need to remove badly damaged insulation or vermiculite (asbestos containing) insulation before putting in the new insulation.
Sealing and cleaning are separate services from each other and from insulating, but we can do all of them at the same time too if all are needed at once, for your convenience.
Finding air leakage points will be the first step before sealing. We know exactly where to look, such as under dusty, slumped-in batts insulation or nearby vents, hatches, and chimneys. But we also have tools like fog machines and blower doors that can help us find even relatively small holes and cracks.
Sealing can be done with caulks and other sealant products, with OSB board, poly-iso-cyanurate foil, sheet metal, and by other means. It depends on the size, shape, and location of the air leak. And we will also weatherstrip entry hatches and use metal and heat-resistant caulk to seal around chimneys.
2. Insulating Your Attic and Other Spaces
Once your attic is ready, we can begin the insulation installation process without delay. We can also install new insulation in your ceilings, walls, crawl space, or anywhere it is needed.
The Pure Eco staff is experienced in using a wide array of insulation brands and products. In fact, there is little on the market we have not worked with before, and we know how to select for you the best R-Value and other important insulation product features for the cost.
We always install your new insulation according to manufacturer’s instructions and always pay attention to details to ensure you get the full insulating power out of every piece of insulation we install. It is important there not be any gaps or weak spots that could compromise the effectiveness of the whole insulated area.
BATTS INSULATION
Batts insulation is pre-formed to fit exactly in the spaces between standardly spaced wood studs. It is usually backed with a paper or foil vapor barrier.
The biggest reason why batts is the most popular of all insulation types is probably its very affordable price range. You get an R-Value that is quite sufficient for most situations, it’s easy to install, and you can double up layers (after removing the central vapor barrier to avoid dampening) to double up your insulating power.
Batts won’t fill in spaces compactly like blown (loose) insulation will and it is hard to use it with non-standard stud gaps. But it’s usually a perfectly good choice. It comes in both fiberglass and cotton material, each of which work about as well as the other.
BLOWN INSULATION
Blown (or “loose fill”) insulation is great especially for attic floors, but it can also be used inside of ceilings and walls. Its loose nature means that, properly blown in, it will compactly and evenly fill any space you put it into.
Blown insulation usually comes in fiberglass or cellulose material. Again, both materials work great, having similar R-Values (insulating power.)
Pure Eco has the fleet of blower trucks and equipment to efficiently place your blown insulation anywhere you want it in your building. We can do it quickly, correctly, and without making a mess.
3. Installing Radiant Barriers
Radiant barriers, installed below your roof (attic ceiling) use a highly reflective surface to “bounce back” radiant heat from the sun to keep it from building up in your attic, and filtering into the rest of the house from there.
Radiant heat is wonderful on cool but sunny day or when using a radiant-heat heater that can warm you directly instead of waiting for surrounding air to warm up first. But that principle works against you when it comes to heat radiating into your attic. A radiant barrier is an effective and affordable means of preventing that from happening.
Most radiant barriers will be multi-layered to achieve the most effective results possible, and the reflective surface is often of aluminum. It is important to keep dust off of the surface since dust would lessen the reflectivity of the barrier, but at Pure Eco we know how to install your radiant barrier to minimize dust build-up over the years and keep it working effectively.
We are familiar with a number of different brands and types of radiant barrier on the market today and can help you select the one that’s right for you, and then install it in full accord with manufacturer’s recommendations.
4. Rodent-proofing
Another important service we offer a Pure Eco is rodent proofing of your attic. Around 25% of all rodent infestations begin by mice and rats entering through holes in the roof or attic walls, or by their clawing through weak points to create such holes.
The fact is, a rodent infestation not only “dingies up” your attic with rodent droppings and creates an unpleasant smell but it also often leads to rodents spreading to the lower reaches of your home, where food and water are more plentiful and a more pleasant climate is to be found.
Thus, if you suspect a rodent infestation in your attic or worry there are holes and cracks there that could lead to one, you should act fast to correct the problem.
After finding all possible entry points and sealing them off, sometimes with metal screening, sometimes with plywood or another appropriate material, we can then set traps and bait them to kill off the rodents already resident in your attic.
We can also put vent covers and a chimney cap on, and cut back any branches overhanging your roof that rodents might use to get on top of your house and then into it.