What types of New siding are available?
New siding products available typically fall into categories such as wood, wood composites, masonry, metal, vinyl, and synthetic. There is a very large variety of types, styles, and options now available for residing a home. Selecting real wood, wood composite, vinyl, metal, or fiber cement typically depends on matching up the right needs and wants for each particular home owner and can be affected by exisiting structure of home and budget allocated.
How does vinyl siding compare with other siding materials?
When compared to wood, brick, stone, stucco, and metal sidings on the basis of initial cost, maintenance costs, appearance, durability and value, vinyl siding is typically a good value if it is the right product for type and style of house as well as neighborhood. Guardian Exteriors offers a broad range of vinyl siding products, so you can choose one that’s easily affordable.
I have a covenant in my neighborhood for Natural products. Which products are available that still meet the requirements?
Real wood, wood composites, and masonry materials such as James Hardie fiber cement are the types of products that in most situations are re-siding options that meet the typical Natural products covenants in many sub-divisions.
The cedar siding on my home is curling and needs continous painting, what are my options?
As long as you have no covenants, there are several options available. Most of the siding products available today are made to replicate the look of traditional cedar siding. Vinyl, fiber cement, steel, and composite panels all have cedar wood grain textures to them but would eliminate the typical maintenance found with real cedar siding.
Can insulation be added when residing my home?
Yes. There are several options when adding insulation in a residing project. Insulation can be blown into each wall cavity and fill the walls with proper insulation. Insulation board and house wraps can also be added or used depending on available depth and specifications of new siding system and existing structure.
The building envelope is the single most crucial element of any building. A building envelope includes all components of a building that enclose conditioned space. Building envelopes create a separation between the interior and the exterior environments. The building envelope also serves as the outer shell to protect the indoor environment from outdoor weather conditions.
A building envelope design must include a solid, well formed structure, a drainage plane, an air barrier and a thermal barrier. If any one of these building envelope components fail, is damaged or is not constructed properly, minor to serious building damage can occur. Should these problems occur, this situation will degrade the structural integrity of the building and may pose serious health risks.
Wind Washing
Air Sealing & Insulation
You can reduce your home’s heating and cooling costs through proper insulation and air sealing techniques. These techniques will also make your home more comfortable.
Any air sealing efforts will complement your insulation efforts, and vice versa. Proper moisture control and ventilation strategies will improve the effectiveness of air sealing and insulation, and vice versa.
Therefore, a home’s energy efficiency depends on a balance between all of these elements:
- Air sealing
- Insulation
- Moisture control
- Ventilation.
A proper balance between all of these elements will also result in a more comfortable, healthier home environment.
Air Sealing
Air leakage, or infiltration, occurs when outside air enters a house uncontrollably through cracks and openings. Properly air sealing such cracks and openings in your home can significantly reduce heating and cooling costs, improve building durability, and create a healthier indoor environment.
It is unwise to rely on air leakage for ventilation because it can’t be controlled. During cold or windy weather, too much air may enter the house. When it’s warmer and less windy, not enough air may enter. Air infiltration also can contribute to problems with moisture control. Moldy and dusty air can enter a leaky house through such areas as attics or foundations. This air in the house could cause health problems.
The recommended strategy in both new and old homes is to reduce air leakage as much as possible and to provide controlled ventilation as needed.
Air Leaking
Leakage to the interior of a building enclosure is referred to as air infiltration, while leakage to the exterior is known as air exfiltration. If there are any openings or junctions, there is potential for air leakage and consequently heat loss. With any extreme air movements, a significant reduction in the thermal integrity of a building envelope occurs and can remain the major contributor to energy over-consumption within a building.
Air Seal and Insulate with ENERGY STAR
Sealing and insulating the “envelope” or “shell” of your home — its outer walls, ceiling, windows, doors, and floors — is often the most cost effective way to improve energy efficiency and comfort. ENERGY STAR estimates that a knowledgeable homeowner or skilled contractor can save up to 20% on heating and cooling costs (or up to 10% on their total annual energy bill) by sealing and insulating.
To Seal and Insulate with ENERGY STAR:
- Seal air leaks throughout the home to stop drafts,
- Add insulation to block heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer,
- Choose ENERGY STAR qualified windows when replacing windows.
Air Barriers
Stopping air is the second most important job of a building enclosure.
Next to rain, air leaks through walls, roofs, and floors can have a HUGE effect on the durability of a house. Uncontrolled air flow through the shell can not only carry moisture into framing cavities causing deteriation of the structure, it can account for a very large portion of a home’s energy use.
Energy efficiency requires a tight shell and good indoor air quality. In “leaky” homes, large volumes of air — driven by exhaust fans, furnace fans, the stack effect, and wind — can blow through the home’s floor, walls, and ceiling. Because air usually contains water vapor, these uncontrolled air leaks can cause condensation. Homes needs an adequate air barrier and a controlled ventilation path.
WHAT IS AN AIR BARRIER?
An air barrier consists of materials assembled and joined together to prevent air leakage between the conditioned space and unconditioned space — that is, indoors and outdoors. Some products — for example, drywall, plastic, or housewrap — are considered air barriers, but when building scientists talk about a home’s air barrier, they’re not talking about a single material, they’re talking about a collection of materials that reach from the basement around the entire exterior of the building’s thermal envelope.
A typical air barrier incorporates more than a dozen materials: poured concrete; sill seal; wall sheathing; housewrap; contractors’ tape; caulk; spray foam; gaskets; window glass; insulation, vapor barrier, and weatherstripping.
Insulation
Properly insulating your home will not only help reduce your heating and cooling costs but also make your home more comfortable.
R-Value of Insulation
An R-value indicates an insulation’s resistance to heat flow. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating effectiveness.
The R-value depends on the type of insulation and includes its material, thickness, and density. When calculating the R-value of a multilayered installation, add the R-values of the individual layers. Installing more insulation in your home increases the R-value and the resistance to heat flow.
The effectiveness of an insulation’s resistance to heat flow also depends on how and where the insulation is installed. For example, insulation that is compressed will not provide its full rated R-value. The overall R-value of a wall or ceiling will be somewhat different from the R-value of the insulation itself because some heat flows around the insulation through the studs and joists. Therefore, it’s important to properly install your insulation to achieve the maximum R-value.
The amount of insulation or R-value you’ll need depends on your climate, type of heating and cooling system, and the section of the house you plan to insulate.
Recommended Levels of Insulation
Insulation level are specified by R-Value. R-Value is a measure of insulation’s ability to resist heat traveling through it. The higher the R-Value the better the thermal performance of the insulation. The table below shows what levels of insulation are cost-effective for different climates and locations in the home.
Recommended insulation levels for retrofitting existing wood-framed buildings
Zone
|
Add Insulation to Attic
|
Floor
|
Uninsulated Attic
|
Existing 3–4 Inches of Insulation
|
1
|
R30 to R49
|
R25 to R30
|
R13
|
2
|
R30 to R60
|
R25 to R38
|
R13 to R19
|
3
|
R30 to R60
|
R25 to R38
|
R19 to R25
|
4
|
R38 to R60
|
R38
|
R25 to R30
|
5 to 8
|
R49 to R60
|
R38 to R49
|
R25 to R30
|
Wall Insulation: Whenever exterior siding is removed on an Uninsulated wood-frame wall: Drill holes in the sheathing and blow insulation into the empty wall cavity before installing the new siding, and
Zones 3–4: Add R5 insulative wall sheathing beneath the new siding
- Zones 5–8: Add R5 to R6 insulative wall sheathing beneath the new siding.
Insulated wood-frame wall
For Zones 4 to 8: Add R5 insulative sheathing before installing the new siding.
|
Where to Insulate
Adding insulation in the areas shown here may be the best way to improve your home’s energy efficiency.
Insulation
First, check the insulation in your attic, ceilings, exterior and basement walls, floors, and crawl spaces to see if it meets the levels recommended for your area. Insulation is measured in R-values – the higher the R-value, the better your walls and roofs will resist the transfer of heat.
Improving your Home Envelope
The exterior of your home is called the “envelope” or “shell”. The envelope is made up of the outer walls, ceiling, windows & floor. By proper Air Sealing & insulating you can improve your “envelope” and make your home more comfortable and help lower your energy bills.
Hidden Air Leaks and Lack of proper insulation
Air leaks can make your home uncomfortable. In the winter, drafty windows, doors, cold walls or ceilings & ice build-up or ice dams on the roof are all symptoms of air leaks or poor insulation in attic. In the summer, ceilings that are hot to the touch & upstairs rooms that are uncomfortably hot, no matter how the A/C is set , can also be a sign of air leaks & insufficient insulation. Fixing air leaks can make your home more comfortable & help you get full performance from your insulation and your heating & cooling system.
*If you add up all the hidden air leaks in your home they can equal a hole the size of an open window.
There are many ways to fix air leaks, such as Caulking using spray foam and weather stupping for closing smaller cracks and gaps. Plywood/drywall & rigid foam insulation may be used for plugging larger holes. Sheet metal and High Temperature Caulking can be used to close gaps around chimney and furnace flues. Call us and let us help reduce your air infiltration issues.
Moisture Control
Properly controlling moisture in your home will improve the effectiveness of your air sealing and insulation efforts, and vice versa. Thus, moisture control contributes to a home’s overall energy efficiency.
The best strategy for controlling moisture in your home depends on your climate and how your home is constructed. Before deciding on a moisture control strategy for your home, you may first want to understand how moisture moves through a home.
Moisture control strategies typically include the following areas of a home:
Attics; Foundations; Basements; Crawl spaces; Slab-on-grade floors; Walls
In most U.S. climates, you can use vapor diffusion retarders in these areas of your home to control moisture. Proper ventilation should also be part of a moisture control strategy.
Combination Air Barriers/Vapor Diffusion Retarders
An air barrier/vapor diffusion retarder attempts to combine water vapor diffusion and air movement control with one material. This type of material is most appropriate for southern climates where keeping humid outdoor air from entering the building cavities is critical during the cooling season.
In many cases, air barriers/vapor diffusion retarders consist of one or more of the following materials:
- Polyethylene plastic sheets
- Builder’s foil
- Foam board insulation
- Other exterior sheathings.
How Moisture Moves through a Home
To help understand the principles of moisture control, you need to understand the basics of how moisture can move through your home.
Moisture or water vapor moves in and out of a home in three ways:
- With air currents
- By diffusion through materials
- By heat transfer.
Of these three, air movement accounts for more than 98% of all water vapor movement in building cavities. Air naturally moves from a high pressure area to a lower one by the easiest path possible—generally through any available hole or crack in the building envelope. Moisture transfer by air currents is very fast (in the range of several hundred cubic feet of air per minute). Thus, you need to carefully and permanently air seal any unintended paths to control air movement.
The other two driving forces—diffusion through materials and heat transfer—are much slower processes. Most common building materials slow moisture diffusion to a large degree, although they never stop it completely. Insulation also helps reduce heat transfer or flow.
The laws of physics govern how moist air reacts within various temperature conditions. The study of moist air properties is technically referred to as “psychrometrics.” A psychrometric chart is used by professionals to determine at what temperature and moisture concentration water vapor begins to condense. This is called the “dew point.” By understanding how to find the dew point, you will better understand how to avoid moisture problems in your house.
Relative humidity (RH) refers to the amount of moisture contained in a quantity of air compared to the maximum amount of moisture the air could hold at the same temperature. As air warms, its ability to hold water vapor increases; this capacity decreases as air cools. For example, according to the psychometric chart, air at 68ºF (20ºC) with 0.216 ounces of water (H2O) per pound of air (14.8g H2O/kg air) has a 100% RH. The same air at 59ºF (15ºC) reaches 100% RH with only 0.156 ounces of water per pound of air (10.7g H2O/kg air). The colder air holds about 72% less of the moisture as the warmer air. The moisture that the air can no longer hold condenses on the first cold surface it encounters (the dew point.) If this surface is within an exterior wall cavity, wet insulation and framing will be the result.
In addition to air movement, you also can control temperature and moisture content. Since insulation reduces heat transfer or flow, it also moderates the effect of temperature across the building envelope cavity. In most U.S. climates, properly installed vapor diffusion retarders can be used to reduce the amount of moisture transfer. Except in deliberately ventilated spaces, such as attics, insulation and vapor diffusion retarders work together to reduce the opportunity for condensation in a house’s ceilings, walls, and floors.
To effectively control moisture in your home, you need to first consider your climate when exploring your moisture control options.
Vapor Barriers or Vapor Diffusion Retarders
In most U.S. climates, vapor barriers or vapor diffusion retarders should be considered as part of a moisture control strategy for a home.
How They Work
A vapor barrier or vapor diffusion retarder (VDR) is a material that reduces the rate at which water vapor can move through a material. The older term “vapor barrier” is still used even though it may inaccurately imply that the material stops all of the moisture transfer. Since everything allows some water vapor to diffuse through it to some degree, the term “vapor diffusion retarder” is more accurate.
The ability of a material to retard the diffusion of water vapor is measured by units known as “perms” or permeability. A perm at 73.4°F (23°C) is a measure of the number of grains of water vapor passing through a square foot of material per hour at a differential vapor pressure equal to one inch of mercury (1″ W.C.) Any material with a perm rating of less than 1.0 is considered a vapor retarder.
Vapor diffusion retarders can help control moisture in these areas:
- Basements
- Ceilings
- Crawl spaces
- Floors
- Slab-on-grade foundations
- Walls
Effective moisture control in these areas and throughout a home includes air sealing gaps in the structure, not just the use of a vapor diffusion retarder.
Air barriers/vapor diffusion retarders are generally placed around the perimeter of the building just under the exterior finish, or they may actually be the exterior finish. The key to making them work effectively is to permanently and carefully seal all of the seams and penetrations, including around windows, doors, electrical outlets, plumbing stacks, and vent fans.
Missed gaps of any size not only increase energy use, but also increase the risk of moisture damage to the house, especially during the cooling season. An air barrier/vapor diffusion retarder should also be carefully inspected after installation before other work covers it. If small holes are found, you can repair them with caulk or polyethylene or foil tape. Areas with larger holes or tears should be removed and replaced. Patches should always be large enough to cover the damage and overlap any adjacent wood framing.
Ventilation
When creating an energy-efficient, airtight home through air sealing techniques, it’s very important to consider ventilation. Unless properly ventilated, an airtight home can seal in indoor air pollutants. Ventilation also helpscontrol moisture—another important consideration for a healthy, energy-efficient home.
Purpose of Ventilation
Your home needs ventilation—the exchange of indoor air with outdoor air—to reduce indoor pollutants, moisture, and odors. Contaminants such as formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds, and radon can accumulate in poorly ventilated homes, causing health problems. Excess moisture in a home can generate high humidity levels. High humidity levels can lead to mold growth and structural damage to your home.
To ensure adequate ventilation, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) says that a home’s living area should be ventilated at a rate of 0.35 air changes per hour or 15 cubic feet per person per minute, whichever is greater.
Venting and Energy Efficiency
Proper roof ventilation and a properly insulated attic help keep your home energy efficient. To understand why they both work together, we must first understand why a home may be inefficient when it comes to the amount of energy it uses. Your WE Energies bill can tell you a lot about how efficient your home is. Talk to your neighbors and friends and see if your energy bills are higher than theirs. How do your homes compare? The heating/cooling elements of your home only turn on and run when the temperature of the home is not equal to the display on the thermostat. The more often the furnace or air conditioner has to run, the higher your energy bill becomes. When your home is fully insulated and properly ventilated, the energy bill is at a minimal level. So, if you are writing big checks to WE Energies, and are tired of doing so, it is time to make improvements to your home.
Temperature Differences: Attic and Roof Contributions
Another tell tale sign that your attic needs more insulation or your roof needs to be better ventilated is the temperature in your home. Is the second story of your home warmer than the first? This is caused by the sun beating down on the roof all day long. Without proper ventilation and insulation, the warmth from the sun enters your home and battles with your heating and cooling system, ultimately winning the battle of the second floor. Your first floor may seem colder than your thermostat reads, or the second floor may seem like a boiler room. The reverse happens in the winter months, when snow covers the roof and makes the attic colder than the rest of the home. Taking measures to properly insulate your attic and vent your roof can significantly reduce the temperature difference between the first and second floors of your home.
Roof Ventilation
Proper roof ventilation is comprised of the correct ratio of both intake and exhaust to create air circulation in and out of the air space being ventilated. There are a number of ways that proper roof ventilation can be achieved and each have advantages and disadvantages. The size and shape of the roof, objects such as trees and other structures, all contribute to factors of consideration when designing and deciding on best solutions for proper ventilation. Incorrect air flow can prevent the ventilation process from occurring and have serious consequences. Lack of proper ventilation leads to higher energy bills and moisture build up in attic eventually leading to warping, splitting, cracking structural defects and generally damaged roofs. Most roofing product manufacturers void all warranties if proper ventilation according to specified standards is not in place due to probability of premature product failures. Proper ventilation systems will affect the life of the roof system by 25% or more.
A ventilated roof will also help keep rotting and warping of siding as well as mildew, drywall damage, and peeling paint both inside and out. It also keeps moisture from being trapped in structural wood, insulation, and shingles.
When the roof is properly ventilated, it allows air to flow naturally into the attic, and back out again. It also prevents excess heat and moisture to accumulate in the attic, which would lead to the need for a new roof earlier than planned if contained in the attic for extended periods of time.
Having a properly ventilated roof allows your home to breathe. When the excessive temperatures are released from the home instead of into the living areas of your home, it keeps the temperature of the home at a stable level throughout the house. This reduces the need for your heating/cooling system to be used, in turn reducing the energy your home needs to function.