The relatively mild fall and projected winter of 1999 and lower heating costs in some areas, may leave some homeowners in no hurry to do anything about their insulation needs. But even if the cold is expected to be above normal, you still can benefit from adding insulation to your home. Now is the time to take advantage of lower fuel bills to help pay for the cost of insulating services.

Although most of us know the value of adding insulation to a home to save on energy costs, few know what R-value to buy or how much, or whether a vapor barrier is needed and, if so, which one. The choices can be quite intimidating without understanding a few basic construction principals.

R-value is the insulation rating supplied by the material you buy when correctly installed to insulate your home. R-value means resistance value to thermal flow (hot or cold air.) The higher the R-value, the better insulation the material you choose will provide. R-value will be marked on the side of the packaging, and you can determine the effectiveness yourself. A low value would be about an R-11 and high value would be an R-30 or above. Higher rated insulation is more effective, makes the home more comfortable and maximizes energy savings.

R-values are marked or identified on batts and rolls of insulation, as well as on their packages. Charts show the number of bags, thickness and weight need ed per 1,000 square feet to achieve a certain R-value.

To aid do-it-yourselfers and professional contractors in selecting the correct R-value for their area, building products retailers generally post a chart of recommended R-values for five temperature zones across the United States. The R-values represent the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association’s recommendations for optimum thermal performance for average climate zones shown on the map.

Vapor barriers, more accurately called vapor retarders, are also crucial in blocking air filtration through walls, ceilings and floors; although their primary purpose is to control moisture. Typically, a family of four produces about ten pounds of water vapor per day.

Vapor barriers minimize the amount of interior moisture that passes into the walls and attic. Without effective vapor retarders, mold or mildew can occur and structural components of the building can be damaged. Insulation also can be dampened, temporarily reducing its effectiveness.

Vapor retarders are installed on the warm side of walls, ceiling and floors. This means that in ceilings, the vapor retarder faces down, in walls it faces the inside, and in floors over unheated spaces, it faces up. In hot climates, however, where air conditioning is used more than heating, the exterior side of the insulation is often the warm side. In these situations, local construction practices should be followed regarding the use and placement of vapor retarders.

Since 80% of the homes sold in the United States are older homes and a majority of those between 10 and 40 years of age, home owners may wonder where their insulating dollars will serve the most good.

According to the Johns Manville Corporation, a leading manufacturer of insulation and building products, the most effective areas of the home to insulate are attics, walls, floors and crawl spaces with the following recommendations.

Attics/ceilings - Attics and ceilings should include 10 to 18 inches of insulation. If you choose to insulate your attic/ceiling or add more insulations, it is suggested you install insulation batts between the ceiling joists. Keep the insulation away from any heat generating fixtures, exhaust flues and attic ventilators to avoid a fire hazard.

Walls- People who live in older homes with little or no insulation in the walls can often save a lot of money by retrofitting insulation. The most common method is to blow insulation into the home's exterior walls through holes drilled into each stud cavity.

Floors/Crawl Spaces - When insulating under floors, you can install insulation from below or from above if the sub-floor has not yet been installed. To insulate crawl space walls, take long wooden strips and nail over unfaced insulation to the sill.

If you are planning any remodeling, talk to your contractor about insulation. It may be less expensive to install insulation at certain points in the remodeling, more so than at other times. If you are planning to do the work yourself, you won't need any special tools for fiber glass insulation, but you will need a tape measure, a utility knife, and a staple gun. Wear long-sleeved, loose-fitting clothing, gloves and eye-protection. Also, use a respirator mask approved for fiber glass protection.

Homeowners can also add to the winterization of their homes by caulking and installing weather stripping around windows and doors, scheduling a heating-system tune-up, cleaning furnace filters and installing storm windows and doors.

Published: November 25, 1998

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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.