Archives: Insulation

Closed Cell Spray Foam

By Todd Fratzel on Insulation

Using Spray Foam To Insulate Homes Very few materials have dropped in price with regard to new home construction over the last few years. One huge exception to that rule though (at least here regionally) is the price for Spray Foam Insulation. Once considered the “Cadillac” of insulation only used on the most expensive projects…

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Cold Roof

By Todd Fratzel on Insulation, Roofing

Ventilated Cold Roof Ventilated roofs are nothing new, however ventilated cold roof are used on SIP roofs in order to prevent ice dams, damage from trapped moisture and a second layer of defense for roof leaks. In this article I’ll show you how we use ventilated cold roofs on timber framed homes that have SIP’s…

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Frozen Pipes – How To Prevent and Repair

By Todd Fratzel on Insulation, Plumbing

Frozen Water Pipes With temperatures dropping below zero here in the Northeast I thought it was fitting to write about Frozen Pipes. Each year thousands of homes are damaged by frozen water pipes. As ice expands inside of a water pipe it acts like an incredibly strong jack that causes most water pipes to burst…

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Insulated Door & Window Headers

By Todd Fratzel on Framing, Insulation

Energy Efficient Door & Window Headers With a continued focus on energy efficient construction (Green Construction) we are always looking for ways to improve upon residential construction techniques. Insulated door and window headers are one way to improve on standard framing methods. Old School Headers Years ago we used to build door and window headers…

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Ice Dam Problems

By Todd Fratzel on Insulation

Last year we saw some incredible ice dam damage in this part of the Country. With winter bearing down on us now is the time to take corrective action. This article should help you understand the issues of ice dams and how they are formed. Last year we ended up doing hugely expensive repairs for…

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Basement Vapor Barrier For Basement Insulation

By Todd Fratzel on Basements, Insulation

Basement Vapor Barrier and Insulation We’ve written several articles about basement insulation and a cost effective approach to basement insulation using foam board and fiberglass insulation. Since writing those articles we’ve received quite a few questions about when to use a basement vapor barrier and when not to. So we thought it might be a…

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Basement Insulation Guide

By Todd Fratzel on Basements, Insulation

Guide To Insulating Basements Properly Over the last few years I’ve written many articles about different basement insulation topics. Readers have left hundreds of comments and questions about specific basement insulating topics. In an effort to streamline all of that information I decided it was time to create a comprehensive basement insulation guide. This guide…

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Rockwool Insulation

By Todd Fratzel on Insulation

Stone Wool Insulation Commonly Known as Rock Wool Quite a few readers have been asking questions about rock wool type insulation so I thought it was a topic worth discussing. If you’re not familiar with the term rock wool insulation, sometimes called mineral/stone wool insulation is fire resistant insulation product. In addition most stone wool…

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