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Monday, May 14, 2012

Cathedral Ceilings - Eliminating Energy Loss With Spray Foam Insulation

Cathedral Ceilings & Spray Foam Insulation 


A cathedral ceiling is a great way for an architect to make a room appear or feel bigger then it actually is.  Cathedral ceilings are made by actually using the underside of the roof line as the finished ceiling of the room or space they are in.  Just as with any ceiling, designers can pick a number of different coverings and materials to go on the wall, from tongue and groove decking to expensive stained hardwoods, however the most commonly used material in most homes is Sheetrock.  By creating this beautiful look in a home, no matter what wall covering the designer decides to choose for a cathedral ceiling, it creates a insulation nightmare for a lot of contractors and homeowners.  What homeowners and contractors both fear when insulating a cathedral ceiling space, is the little air space created by traditional fiberglass insulation bats, that ultimately lead to condensation.  This tricky area to insulate can often lead to homeowners and builders leaving it uninsulated, instead of looking into the product options available to take out that nightmarish word to homeowners called condensation.  By leaving the wall cavity empty, or under insulating, poorly insulated cathedral ceilings can lead to huge energy losses, especially in homes or buildings where they take up a large areas of heated and cooled space.  With a large area of your ceiling exposed directly to the temperatures that the roof is taking, especially the extreme summer heat in the Carolina's, your spending a fortune cooling your home in the summer.  What we intend to do in this blog is to educate homeowners and building owners on the insulation products available to be installed in a cathedral ceiling space, and eliminate the one factor that condensation needs, and that is air, leading to an airtight insulated cathedral ceiling.  Most products can be retrofitted into existing cathedral ceiling spaces, making rooms feel more comfortable, while lowering power bills at the same time.

First, lets talk a little more about condensation first. 

What is Condensation?

Condensation is the opposite of evaporation. It takes place when water vapor in the air condenses from a gas, back into a liquid form.  Sometimes in your ceiling if you have insulation with a vapor barrier on it.

By knowing what condensation is, we can come up with a solution that if we can eliminate the air in that space, then we can eliminate condensation as well.  The problem with most homes is its not that the builder didn't know about products that could be used in cathedral ceiling spaces, its that the products that insulated the best in those situations were really expensive, up until about a decade ago when major technological breakthroughs and tax credits, leading the way to lower material prices.  Cathedral Ceilings is also becoming another popular topic on home improvement shows, with second story rooms with cathedral ceilings being victims of huge energy losses, not to mention being very uncomfortable to live in.  With this knowledge, and more availability to lower cost superior insulation systems like spray foam insulation, builders and home designers can incorporate these breakthroughs in insulation technology into their building design. 

But what about the current homeowner with cathedral ceilings with hot rooms losing energy? 

Good News!  Foam Insulation, in addition to a number of other products can be retrofit in between the finished ceiling surface and the plywood decking of the roof.  Injection Foam, and other advanced insulation methods can not only reduce homeowners energy bills, but also make rooms with cathedral ceilings much more enjoyable to live in as well.  If your reading this article and live in North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia then  you know how hot the summers can get.  With foam insulation it will make your A/C finally feel like its working again.  There's no comparison to the feeling we get when we see a homeowner or business owners A/C go off for the first time on a hot summer day.  By eliminating the energy loss, not only did we eliminate the heat coming in from the roof, we have also encapsulated the cool air into the living space, making for a much more energy efficient building envelope. 

Now to most homeowners, some of this may sound confusing.  So its best to call your local spray foam insulation contractor.  A quality insulation contractor also knows that this is the best option as well, and can often get a better rate for spray foam insulation then the average homeowner.  If  your a homeowner or business owner looking to lower your utility bills in North Carolina, South Carolina, or the Augusta, Georgia area then call MBS Construction Co. today at 706-951-0158.  We are networked throughout the southeast and get the lowest rates on spray foam insulation materials in the region.  Also be sure to visit us on the web at our website link below.

MBS Construction Company
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
Phone: 706-951-0158
http://www.scroofingcontractors.com

Energy Efficient Roofing Systems | Spray Foam Insulation | Wall Foam Insulation | Crawl Space Encapsulations | Solar Energy Powered Hot Water Heaters | Solar Energy | Energy Monitoring | Standing Seam Metal Roofs | Tile Roofs | Slate Roofs | Historic Home Retrofits |

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing. I would really love to see more of how to lower electric bill. I need some help making ends meet these days. Every little bit is big help. I need one of these.

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  2. Give us some contact information through our contact us form on our website. Thanks for reading, however in order for us to find the most cost effective way to lower your homes electric bill, we need a little information like size, what your appliances operate off of, etc.

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