IF YOU DON'T DO IT YOURSELF If you prefer to hire an insulation contractor, you can find one by (1) asking your gas or electric utility company for suggestions, (2) consulting friends and neighbors, (3) looking in the phone book "yellow pages" under "Insulation Contractors-Cold & Heat." The next step is to call in two or three contractors to quote your job. You should judge quality as well as price. Here are some suggestions: 1. Check a contractor's reliability with the local Better Business Bureau (also listed in the phone book). Or ask your bank to check his credit rating. 2. Ask a contractor for references, including other home owners for whom he has done work. Check them out. 3. Give all the contractors exactly the same outline of the job. For example, say, "I want to add R-19 to my attic floor," then stay with that specification and that way of saying it. Don't be satisfied if a contractor says, "Ok, I'll add 6 inches." 4. Why not automatically be satisfied with 6 inches? Because not all brands of insulation have the same heat-retarding ability-6 inches of one brand 18 might not be the same as 6 inches of another. Stick with R-numbers. If a contractor won't deal with you in R-number language, don't you deal with him. 5. If a contractor is going to use blowing wool, how can you tell if you're getting R-19 performance, or R-22, or R-11-whatever thermal resistance rating you decide you want? It's easy if you look at the bag label. A federal government specification, HH-I-1030A, requires that each bag of loose fill mineral wool insulation be labeled as shown below. If a contractor uses insulation packed in bags that aren't labeled, don't hire him; the quality of his material will be unknown. The thicknesses and coverages shown on the bag label may be different for different manufacturers. The coverage figure gives you a means of knowing how many bags of wool the contractor should blow into your attic floor to achieve a particular R value. Multiply the overall square-foot area of your attic floor by .90 or .94 (see Page 11 of this booklet), then divide that number by the "Maximum net coverage" listed on the label for the R-number you want. When you talk to a contractor's salesman, ask him to show you the bag label for his brand of insulation and explain it to you. (When the job is being done, stay home and count the number of bags actually used.) 6. Ask a contractor how he pays his installers-by the square footage they cover or by the hour. If he pays them by square footage, they might do a hasty job on your house just so they can get on to the next one. 7. Ask a contractor about the insurance he carries. Does he have insurance to protect his own men if they are injured? Are you covered if one of his men damages your house-say, he steps through the ceiling? WHAT TO DO ABOUT Windows and doors can be big energy-wasters. There are three reasons: (1) Glass itself is a highly heatconductive material. (2) Doors and windows that open (all except "fixed sash" or picture windows) necessarily have cracks all around them. (3) Air can pass through the joints around window and door frames if they aren't tightly sealed. Here's what to do: Storm windows and doors Storm windows and storm doors cut heat loss (or heat gain) at these points about in half. Insulating glass (two panes of glass sealed together at the edges) has approximately the same effect. Triple glazing (insulating glass plus a storm window) is even more effective and often is used in extremely cold climates. According to the National Bureau of Standards, an investment in storm windows will pay for itself in a decade, including interest costs at 6 per cent, and thereafter return an annual dividend of 13 per cent, where the average winter temperature is similar to that of Washington, D. C. In regions of the country where snow lies on the ground all winter, payback will occur in less than seven years, the NBS says. Storm windows and doors can be installed by a contractor or a skilled home handyman. Using prehung doors, which are already assembled to frames, makes the job easier. при Plastic sheeting, available in hardware stores, makes effective storm sash. It should be taped to the inside of windows and glass portions of doors. An inexpensive material, it is often used by people who rent their homes. Other types of plastic storm windows also are made for do-it-yourself installation. Weatherstripping Weatherstripping can be installed by a person of average do-it-yourself capability. Many different types are available-felt strips, foam rubber, flexible vinyl, spring bronze, and others. The advice of a knowledgeable hardware store salesman will help in making a choice. Instruction sheets generally are included in the package. Window sash and doors should be weatherstripped on all sides and tops and bottoms. Don't overlook the meeting rail where the top and bottom sash of doublehung windows come together. Entrance doors should be weatherstripped, of course, and so should attic doors and inside and outside basement doors-any door between a heated space and an unheated one. this sido 21 Savings from weatherstripping can be substantial. For example, in a house with an indoor-outdoor temperature difference of 35 degrees (68 inside and 33 outside), a 1⁄4-inch crack under a 3-ft.-wide attic door costs $4.50 per winter in wasted fuel, according to the NBS. Caulking Caulking also can be a do-it-yourself job. Caulking guns and caulking materials are inexpensive. They're available at hardware stores. Application consists of moving the tip of the gun along a crack as you squeeze out a thin bead of caulking compound. Cordtype caulking also can be used; it is pressed into place with the fingers. Deep cracks should be stuffed with mineral wool before the caulking is applied. |