Save Money on Utility Cost in Myrtle Beach, SC

Home Improvement Sale in Myrtle Beach & Horry County SC



Retro-Solutions Construction Company is proud to announce a sale on Energy Saving Home Improvement products proven to lower utility cost in Myrtle Beach, SC & Horry County.  With the dog days or summer finally arriving, with temperatures climbing into the High 90's, Retro Solutions is offering a sale on our Energy Saving "Green" Building Products.  If you are a homeowner or business owner in the coastal Carolina area looking to lower utility cost, and improve the overall comfortability of your home or business, then call us today.  We can help make your home a cooler, more comfortable place to live and work.  Below is a list of our services and Coupons for saving money on installation.

1. Spray  Foam Insulation - Recieve $100 off Spray Foam Insulation services when re-insulating your home.
2. Wall Foam Insulation - $100 off when having all exterior walls on your home re-inuslated with wall foam insulation.
3. Standing Seam Metal Roofing - $150 off Standing Seam Metal Roofing on New or Existing homes in the Horry County, SC and surrounding areas
4. Crawl Space Encapsulation - Get $100 off crawl space encapsulation when getting your entire crawl space encapsulated w/ spray foam insulation
5. Tile Roofing Products- $150 off any Energy Star rated tiles installed by Retro-Solutions Construction
6. Solar Powered Hot Water Heaters - $100 off purchase and installation of a solar powered hot water heater system in Myrtle Beach, SC and surrounding areas.
7. Home Energy Monitoring System - $50 off installation of a Home Energy Monitoring System
8. Other Energy Efficient Roofing Systems - $150 off any roofing system that has a energy star rating or "green" building product listing.

Retro-Solutions Construction Company has some great sales going on right now on Energy Saving products.  We have Free Estimates on all our services, and more information on our services can be found in our other blog post and on our company website.  All the products listed above have been proven to lower utility cost dramatically for homeowners and business owners alike.  So take advantage of these additional savings on installation, in addition to many tax credits being offered to South Carolina homeowners as well.  This is the time of year in South Carolina where homeowners pay the most for utility cost, so call us today to help us lower your utility bills.  You can't beat these savings anywhere so Call Dan today for a Free Estimate at 706-951-0158.


Retro-Solutions Construction Company Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 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 |

Remodelling With Spray Foam Insulation

Remodelling with Spray Foam Insulation in the Carolinas

With high inventory levels and a poor real estate market across the nation, many homeowners are deciding to remodel their existing home, instead of buying new.  In addition, most real estate markets are not seeing the increase in real estate value of their home from year to year, as in recent years.  This has lead to many homeowners looking for other ways to add real estate value to their home, and remodelling is the best way to add value, and curb appeal to your home.  One home improvement a lot of homeowners in North Carolina & South Carolina are making, is re-insulating their home to make it more energy efficient, and in turn lowering utility cost.  With rising utility cost and increase in gas prices, energy efficiency is a top priority among most homeowners looking to remodel.   By re-insulating, homeowners can see a return on their investment in the form of utility savings.  Current tax credits for re-insulating is also encouraging more homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their home.  In order to maximize utility savings homeowners are turning to "green" building products like spray foam insulation, wall foam insulation, and crawl space encapsulations.  Though slightly higher in installation cost, energy & utility savings are much higher as well, helping to offset installation cost.  "Green" building products not only help homeowners save money on utility bills, going green also helps to save the environment as well. 

Here is a list of some of the most popular energy saving home improvements our customers are having installed in 2011:

• Spray Foam Insulation
• Wall Foam Insulation
• Crawl Space Encapsulation
• Solar Energy Powered Hot Water Heaters
• Standing Seam Metal Roofing
• Tile Roofing Systems
• Solar Integrated Roofing Systems

If you are a homeowner in North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia reading this blog, and looking to save on utility bills in 2011 and in years to come, then call Retro-Solutions Construction Company of Myrtle Beach, SC.  We have experienced, professional, and licensed install teams across all of NC, SC, and GA, and we can help make your home or business more energy efficient. 

For a Free Estimate on any of our Services, follow this link: Free Estimates


Retro-Solutions Construction Company Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 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 |

Salisbury, NC Homeowners Can Save Money on Utility Bills With Spray Foam Insulation

Save on Utility Bills With Spray Foam Insulation in North Carolina

If your a homeowner in North Carolina you already know that thru the months of May thru June, your utility cost is going to go up do to high temperatures and high humidity producing lots of heat, keeping your A/C running most of the day.  Heating and Cooling are the number one utility cost for most homeowners, so areas with hot climates in the summer, like North Carolina, experience a spike in utility cost for homeowners with traditionally insulated homes.  The air conditioner runs most of the day just to keep your home at a comfortable temperature level, and some homeowners find that even with the A/C running all day, there house still feel warm and uncomfortable during the hot summer month in North Carolina.  We call this the "hot house" effect.  This blog post is to let homeowners in North Carolina know that their is a solution to high utility cost during the summer months, in addition to lifetime energy savings.  Spray Foam Insulation can save homeowners 33% or more on utility cost versus traditional fiberglass insulation.  What this blog is going to explain is why spray foam insulation works so much better than traditional fiberglass insulation in North Carolina, and how payback on investment with spray foam insulation is a lot higher than with traditional fiberglass insulation.  Lets first talk about how fiberglass insulation works.

The reason why many homeowners in North Carolina experience the "hot house" effect, is that most homes are insulated with traditional fiberglass insulation, creating a buiding envelope, that traps hot air in the attics, and crawl spaces of most homes.  Vents and fans are designed to vent the attics, however many attics in North Carolina with traditional fiberglass insulation, are 30-40 degrees warmer than the rest of the house.  In poorly vented attics, we have seen temperatures of up to 180 degrees.  Thru a process known as convection, the hot air in the attic will covect heat thru fiberglass insulation and sheetrock, to make temperatures warmer in the home.  In turn, the A/C will run longer, in order to compensate for the extra warm air entering the home.  A new A/C unit may be able to blast the cool air into the home, and cool a home quickly, however this does not eliminate the problem of warm air entering the home.  So even with a newer HVAC system, your house is still getting warmer faster due to the hot air in the attic convecting heat into the home thru the ceiling.  The best way to eliminate this heat in the attic is to balance the temperatures between the two spaces.  In order to do this, the builidng envelop must be changed, to include the attic space, and crawl spaces where applicable.  The only way to do this is to make these areas conditioned space, which means moving the insulation from the ceiling of the home to the rafters of the roofing system, creating a semi-conditioned space.  Fiberglass insulation can not be installe in this method, due to air gaps and unsealed space, which would result in condensation forming.  The only way to get this desired method is to use Spray Foam Insulation, which can penetrate and seal all gaps and cracks, eliminating the possibility for condensation.

Since spray foam insulation can penetrate all gaps and cracks, and is made in place, it eliminates the worry of moisture or condensation forming in the attic, allowing the insulation to be installed on the rafters of the roofing system.  By installing the spray foam insulation on the rafters, it totally changes the dynamics of your home's building envelope.  Instead of trying to vent warm air out of the attic, as traditional fiberglass insulation systems are designed, spray foam insulation works to balance the temperature of the attic space with that of the home, and also prevent warm air from entering the attic space thrue the roof as well.  This building envelope design not only reduces attic temperatures, it also uses the inefficiencies of your HVAC system to cool attic space as well.  Even in a well designed duct systems, there is always energy loss, and spray foam insulation takes advantage of this energy loss, helping to cool the attic space and balance temperatures between the home and attic space.  With the balance of temperature, and the elimination of warm air entering the attic space, A/C systems operate much more efficiently than with traditional fiberglass insulation.  Spray Foam Insulation also has a much higher R-Value than traditional fiberglass insulation, reducing the loss of cool air leaving the home as well.

What all these factors of the spray foam insulation building envelope design means is, your air conditioner runs less, thus reducing your utility cost by 33% or more in North Carolina. In addition to providing these huge energy savings, Spray Foam Insulation also offers a number of other major advantages & benefits that fiberglass insulation does not offer as well. Spray Foam Insulation is about creating sustainable living solutions such as reduced mold and allergens, and lowering the amounts of dust found in your home.  Spray Foam Insulation has also been proven to prevent pest such as ants and termites from entering the home, in combination with homeowners having up to date pest control policies.  Spray Foam Insulation is a "green" builidng product, in addition to being an energy star product as well.  Tax Credits are still available, and homeowners can get credits upt to $500 for 2011.  Spray Foam Insulation can be installed in new or existing homes, giving any homeowner the chance to take advantage of the huge energy savings that spray foam can bring.  Though cost of installation for spray foam insulation is higher than that of traditional fiberglass insulation, payback on investment is a lot quicker and homeowners realize energy savings over the life of the home, making spray foam insulation an home improvement that will actually pay the homeowner back over the life of the home.  Being a lifetime product, Spray Foam Insulation will loses little or no R-value over the lifetime of the product, eliminating re-insulation cost associated with having to replace fiberglass insulation every 10 years.  

In summary, whether your looking to get a cooler home in the summer in NC, or looking for a new product to re-insulate your home, spray foam insulation is the best choice.   Most homeowners look at their home as a long term investment, making spray foam insulation even a better choice due to the lifetime payback in energy savings.  Not only will you be making a wise investment for your home, you'll also be doing your part to be "green" & more enviromentally friendly.  Being a "green" building solutions contractor, we love to hear satisfied customers stories about having spray foam insulation installed in their home, or about any of the other energy saving solutions we can offer North Carolina residents. If your looking for more information, please see our other blog post, visit our company website, or call our local North Carolina phone number at 704-636-9338 or our home office in Myrtle Beach, SC at 706-930-0322.  We offer competitive pricing and affordable solutions to saving on utility cost in North Carolina & South Carolina, however our business is in the promotion of green energy solutions to save the enviroment.  We love promoting spray foam insulation and other "green" building products, so please comment with current information or ideas for blog post. 


Retro-Solutions Construction Company
Home Office: Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 706-951-0158
North Carolina Sales: 704-636-9338
http://www.ncroofingcontractors.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 |

Why General Contractors are Installing Spray Foam Insulation in New Construction

Spray Foam Insulation & "Green" Building Products in New Home Construction

With the changing face of new home construction in the United States, many General Contractors are looking for ways to differentiate their product from what competitors are offering.  One way many general contractors in South Carolina & North Carolina are differientiating their homes from other general contractors homes, is the use of "Green" Building Products; to offer potential homebuyers in North Carolina & South Carolina, long term energy savings and payback in utility bill savings over the life of the home.  The great thing about new construction, is that new homes being built, open all kinds of new options for energy saving "green" building products. In a tough housing market like today's economy, a builder needs every possible way to differientiate there home from others on the market.  Long term energy savings, payback on investment, Tax Credits for Home Owners, Energy Star Ratings, and other great qualities can help sell a home a lot more quicker, then a typical fiberglass insulated home that offer little energy savings to homeowners.  Some reports have reported as high as 80% of potential homebuyers in today's economy have insulation and energy efficiency on their list of things their dream home will have.  Spray Foam Insulation, Crawl Space Encapsulation with Spray Foam, Solar Powered Appliances, and Energy Efficient Roofing have all been proven to sell homes faster in today's real estate market.  Lets talk about a few ways "Green" Building can pay off for general contractors in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

In North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia real estate markets have been flooded with homes from bankrupt spec builders, foreclosures, and just areas flat out being overbuilt.  Though housing inventories are depleting, many general contractors are having trouble luring potential home buyers away from foreclosures and short sales, with the main reason being that they are trying to offer the same product at a higer price.  The most popular way our general contractor clients are finding to build and sell successfully in North Carolina, South Carolina, & Georgia Housing Markets, are "green" building products & other materials that offer long term energy savings.  Though cost of these products are slightly higher traditional building materials, it still cost a lot less to install "green" building products in new construction versus retrofit installation in existing homes.  Another reason why "green" building materials help sell homes in North Carolina, South Carolina, & Georgia has a lot to do with the hot climate the southeast experiences during the summer, giving many fiberglass insulated homes the "hot house" effect.  What we call the "hot house" effect, simply means that even with the A/C running all day, your home still fills warm or hot during the summer.  Spray Foam Insulation is the best solution to eliminate the "hot house" effect, and is even more energy efficient installed in new homes, then being retrofit into existing homes due to walls and other open spaces being exposed.  Here is a list of some of the most popular "green" building products and materials general contractors are using in new construction in North Carolina and South Carolina real estate markets.

1. Spray Foam Insulation - our number one seller to general contractors and homeowners, as it offers lifetime insulation solutions to the potential and existing homeowners both, with 33% more energy savings then fiberglass, and payback on investment over the life of the home.  Closed Cell Spray foam insulation  adds structural integrity & pest control capabilities as well. 
2. Crawl Space Encapsulations - create a dry, clean crawl space that offers additional energy savings to homeowners, and also offers pest control qualities as well.
3. Solar Energy Powered Appliances - with cost of taking a home completely solar still being very high, the development of Solar Panel technology has allowed affordable installation of solar panels to power high energy using appliances like hot water heaters and pool heaters, reducing utility cost for homeowners on average of $300/year or more.
4. Standing Seam Metal Roofing - popular in style, and also an "Energy Star" rated product, offering addittional home energy efficiency for potential homebuyers.  The reflectivity quality of metal roofing has been proven to lower utility cost for homeowners.
5. Home Energy Monitoring Systems - Contractors this would make an excellent housewarming gift for new homeowners that can lower enegy cost even more.  Old TV's, computers, and such can be increasing utility cost for the family.  Low Cost Installtion & Monitoring make it the perfect housewarming gift for new homeowners, and an addittional weapon for existing homeowners to fight high utility cost.

If you are a general contractor or a potential new home builder in North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia looking to install new "green" building technology into new construction homes, or existing homes during remodel or addittions, then call Dan at Retro-Solutions Construction Company at 706-951-0158 for a free estimate, or for general information on "green" building products offered in the North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia areas.  We can help homeowners and general contractors both, with energy saving home improvement solutions that really do lower utility bills & improve overall saleability of your home in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.  Read our other blog post for more information on our products and services.  Increase the value of your home:

http://www.scroofingcontractors.com

Retro-Solutions Construction Company Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 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 |

Augusta, GA Homeowners Save on Utility Bills with Spray Foam Insulation

Augusta GA Spray Foam Insulation Company & Energy Efficient Roofing Contractors 

If your a homeowner in the Augusta, GA and surrounding CSRA area looking to lower utility bills, then you might want to read this blog post.  With the hot summers in Augusta, a poorly insulated or underinsulated home, will keep your air conditioner running all summer in the Georgia and South Carolina heat.  Many of our customers in the CSRA area, experience high power & utility bills in the summer, due to the A/C trying to keep the home cool.  Many of our customers have already tried fiberglass insulation as a solution to keep their home cool; but the Georgia heat, and the inefficient building envelope system fiberglass insulation incorportes fail to properly keep homes cool in the Augusta, GA and surrounding areas.  Historic Homes can really experience the "hot house" effect because of steep pitched roofs and large attics, and with lots of room for hot air in a fiberglass insulated building envelope system.  See our previous blog post for more on the building envelope definition, and the difference between the building envelope design fiberglass insulation used versus the building envelope system used with spray foam insulation. 

If you have fiberglass insulation now, you probably know what we are talking about, because its like a sauna when you go into the attic space of your home.  What makes Spray Foam Insulation 33% better then fiberglass is the balance in temperature between living space and attic space, balancing the overall home temperature, thus improving the overall efficiency of your HVAC system.  By spraying the rafters of the home with spray foam insulation, including gable walls, closing soffit vents, and eliminating non-conditioned space, our spray foam insulation systems can save homeowners in Augusta, GA 33% or more on utility cost.

One of the main reasons we wanted to point out the ,Augusta, GA, Richmond County, GA, Columbia County GA, Saluda County, SC, and Aiken County, SC (CSRA) area customers, is that they see some of the biggest energy savings of all our spray foam insulation customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia.  Being in the sandhills region, the sun can really beat down on a home, so spray foam insulation's unique building envelope design, with the insulation on the rafters versus the ceiling of the home, also helps to reduce the transfer of heat thru the home.  Energy Efficient Roofing Systems, uses of solar energy powered appliances, and other "green" building materials known to lower utility cost for homeowners in Georgia.  With a large market of Historic Homes in the Augusta, GA area, many historic homeowners are including spray foam insulation into budgeting cost for historic home renovation projects; as long term savings on energy bills will offset higher installation cost versus traditional fiberglass insulation.  Retro-Solutions Construction Company is proud to have installed spray foam insulation in a number of Historic Homes, in addition to retrofitting new homes with spray foam insulation in the Augusta, GA and surrounding CSRA area.  Spray foam insulation is at a all time low to have installed in your home, but with rising oil prices, cost are likely to inflate with increased gas cost. 

Retro-Solutions Construction Company is a licensed spray foam insulation contractor & roofing contractors in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.   We offer a variety of Energy Saving solutions for homeowners in the Augusta, GA and surrounding areas.  If your looking to lower utility cost in Augusta, GA then contact us today at 706-951-0158.  Below is a list of services we offer to the Augusta, GA and CSRA area:

• Open Cell Spray Foam Insulation
• Closed Cell Spray Foam Insulation
• Crawl Space Encapsulation with Spray Foam Insulation
• Wall Foam Insulation
• Solar Energy Powered Hot Water Heaters
• Solar Panels
• Energy Efficient Roofing Systems - Tile Roofs, Slate Roofs, Standing Seam Metal Roofs
• Home Energy Monitoring
• Residential & Commercial Insulation Services
• Residential & Comercial Roofing Services
• other "Green" Building Products

Please read our other blog post for more information on our products and services.  Retro-Solutions Construction Company offers the best Spray Foam Insulation Services, and Energy Efficient Roofing Services in the Augusta and CSRA area, so call us today for Free Estimates on any of our services, or visit us on the web at:

http://www.csraroofingcontractors.com/ or call Dan at 706-951-0158

Areas Served:
Augusta GA, Thomson GA, Evans GA, Martinez GA, Appling GA, Grovetown GA, Harlem GA, Hephzibah GA, Blythe GA, Washington GA, North Augusta SC, Edgefield SC, Aiken SC, Johnston SC, Batesburg-Leesville SC, Greenville SC, Spartanburg SC, Columbia SC, Lexington SC, and most of South Carolina, North Carolina, and east of Atlanta Georgia.

Retro-Solutions Construction Company 706-951-0158

http://www.csraroofingcontractors.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 | Historic Home Renovations | Historic Home Roof Restorations

How to Get a Cooler Home & The "Building Envelope" Factor

How the Spray Foam Insulation Building Envelope Works

"The building envelope is the physical separator between the interior and the exterior environments of a building. Another emerging term is "Building Enclosure". It serves as the outer shell to help maintain the indoor environment (together with the mechanical conditioning systems) and facilitate its climate control. Building envelope design is a specialized area of architectural and [[engineering practice that draws from all areas of building science and indoor climate control."  Cited from, and more can be read at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Building_envelope&oldid=432330358

We wanted to start with a good clear definition of the "Building Envelope" so that homeowners and business owners will know what we are referring to, when we talk about the building envelope.The building envelope is very vital to the overall efficiency of the way a home or business is heated and cooled.  The way homes and most commercial buildings create the building envelope is by using insulation and some kind of vapor barrier, to prevent moisture from developing inside the home.  The best example of this would be the typical R-13 Kraft Faced Fiberglass insulation that goes into most home in South Carolina.  Both fiberglass and Spray Foam Insulation create a buidling envelope system sustainable to control indoor temperatures, however their is a huge difference in the building envelope designs that each insulation system incorporates.  What we are going to try to educate you on in this blog post is how the building envelope is designed for fiberglass insulation vs. the design used for Spray Foam Insulation.  We are also going to show you how the Spray Foam Insulation building envelope design is far more superior design to that of traditional fiberglass insulation designs.  Then we will talk about how Spray Foam Insulation improves temperature balance in your home, with its unique building envelope design, and how this will improve overall comfortability in your home.



The biggest reasons why homeowners in North and South Carolina experience "Hot Homes" persay, even in very well fiberglass insulated home, is because of the building envelope design that is created when fiberglass insulation is properly installed.  Fiberglass insulation is typically installed in the ceiling rafters of the attic, walls, and floor joist of your home, with the vapor retardant side (paper side) facing the controlled enviroment.  This creates a building envelope, that is designed to trap cool or warm air inside the  home, and eliminate heating & cooling non-liveable space.  Proper attic ventilation, soffit vents, solar fans, electric fans, gable vents, ridge vents, and other venting methods are then used to release hot or cool air.  Venting also allows air to flow on the underside of the roof, preventing condensation and moisture in the attic area.  The main reason why fiberglass is installed differently from spray foam insulation is because if fiberglass insulation is attached to the rafters of a home, especially in extreme temperatures summer brings in the Carolina's, it does not eliminate air flow, thus creating conditions for condenstion, leading to moisture in the attic space..  Even in cathedral ceilings, cellulose injections, foam injections, and other newer methods of insulation are being used because of serious moisture issues many homeowners have seen with fiberglass insulation installed in cathedral ceilings.  In crawlspaces, fiberglass insulation is attached to floor rafters, taking the crawlspace out of the equation.  New fiberglass insulation systems will save homeowners a good amount on utilities,  however over time many figerglass insulation systems begin to lose R-value and fail to insulate, due to sagging sagging, and loss of depth of insulation.  Even if your not in the price range for spray foam insulation, fiberglass is definitely a good way to save short term on utility bills.  Now that we know how the fiberglass insulation building envelope works, lets compare it to the building envelope design using spray foam insulation in a home in South Carolina.

In every home, duct work is installed in either the attic or the basement, with the furnace and air handling units normally being located in the same spaces, and condesing units and compressors located outside of the home.  The most popular places for the ductwork systems and air handling units in homes in South Carolina is the crawlspace or the attic, or both in larger 2 or more story homes.  Your probably saying, duh, thats an obvious, but this is the main reason that Spray Foam Insulation's building envelope design can out save fiberglass by  33% or more in utility savings.  With the Spray Foam Insulation building envelope design, spray foam is then applied to the rafters of the roofing system, versus the ceiling joist of the home. During retrofit spray foam insulation projects, ceiling insulation is then removed to create more air flow into the attic from living space below or above.  With spray foam insulation being made in place, it can seal all gaps and cracks, enabling it to be applied to roof rafters, because there is no air left to create condensation, thus eliminating moisture possiblities in the attic. The gable walls and soffitts are then eliminated by creating a spray foam insulation wall that is in line with the existing wall below, eliminating any outside envrioment condtions coming thru the soffit vent. Both open cell spray foam insulation & closed cell spray foam insulation work the same way, adding the attic space into the building envelope desing.  During crawl space encapsulation, the walls of the crawlspace & floor of the crawlspace lined with 3 mil plastic, then sealed with closed cell spray foam insulation, adding the crawlspace into the building equation. 

The reason spray foam insulation building envelope design works so well, is that the ductwork and a/c system are brought into the equation, and the inefficiencies of your HVAC ductwork system, no ceiling insulation, and increased interior airflow; all work to balance the temperature of your home.  With ductwork being conditioned as well, trapped air in the ductwork system will not be as hot upon HVAC start up, thus shortening time for cool fresh air to reach the conditioned space. Spray Foam Insulation systems takes out venting, with windows, doors, and fans as the main sources of ventilation in the home. The overall improvement to temperature balance in the home, improves overall efficiency of your HVAC system, thus creating a cooler more comfortable homes in South Carolina during extreme heat of the summer.  The better your HVAC system is, usually results in better energy savings as well, as newer HVAC units can really blast the cool air in your home at incredible speeds in spray foam insulated homes. 

The temperature balances between fiberglass and spray foam insulation building envelope designs vary greatly. Its not so much that fiberglass insulation is a poor insulator, its just the extreme temperatures of the Southeast like NC, SC, GA, AL, and FL, have some really hot days for long periods, thus creating extreme heat in attic spaces.  Attic temperatures in homes in these states with fiberglass insulation systems can sometimes reach 180 degrees because venting is just not enough to let out the hot air fast enough. With the a/c being a sealed system with most cool air being lost in registers and returns your attic can get up to 180 degrees in some cases, thus meaning the duct work is also a 180 degrees. This means cool air is being heated for a period of time, before it reaches living space. If your HVAC usit is always cooling 180 degree metal ductwork before it gets into living space it means that the air coming out is not coming out as cold as it was designed too, thus making fiberglass insulation work against your overall efficiency of your HVAC system in extreme heat conditions. 

Spray Foam Insulation works with HVAC systems, leaving attic space and crawl space temperatures 10 degrees cooler or warmer than lliving conditions, improving efficiency of HVAC systems in South Carolina homes.  Spray foram Insulation and new HVAC systems work together they make a great energy savings combo.  We hope this has been an informative blog on how to improve a hot home in North Carolina & South Carolina.  If your in North or South Carolina and interested in having spray foam insulation or any other energy efficient "Green" insulation systems, give us a call today at 706-951-0158.  We look forward to providing homeowners with more energy saving home improvement information, and if your not in our coverage area please contact a spray foam insulation contractor today to start saving on utility bills.


Myrtle Beach Services & Construction Company
1357 Wycliffe Drive
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
Phone: 706-951-0158
Website: 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 | Air Barriers | Siliconized Roofing Systems | Mold Removal

Energy Saving Ideas for Hotels & Resort & How Hotels can Go Green

Ways Hotels & Resorts are Saving Money on Utility Expenses 

Since starting our Energy Saving Home Improvement blog, we have added a few of the commercial uses of Spray Foam Insulation, Solar Powered Hot Water Heaters, Energy Monitoring Systems, Energy Efficient Roofing and other "Green" Building Materials that save on energy consumption.  In this blog we want to directly target hotel and resort owners in North Carolina & South Carolina specifically however, any other hotel or resort in areas of climate with extreme weather conditions, like the heat in the southeast, should read this blog post as well.  What we are going to talk about are "Green" Building Solutions for existing hotel/resort owners.  Most hotel/resort owners pay huge electricity bills, which is often one of the highest operating expenses a hotel will occur each year.  For example, in order to offer quality hotel service, many hotels offer controllable temperature rooms as a ammenity for customers, and to attract more business.  As we all know, when a guest is using the A/C in the summer on your bill, there probably running it full blast.  In order to offset these cost, hotel owners will raise the A/C temperature to 84 or more degrees, to keep the unit from running when vacant.   What Retro-Solutions Construction Company of Myrtle Beach, SC, & other "Green" Building construction advocates, offer to hotel and resort owners, is retrofitted energy saving solutions that can lower utility cost extremely.  Though installation price can be a big initial investment, energy savings will offset these cost within a short period of time, depending on what products you are interested in using.  If your looking for long term cost savings solution for your hotel or business, please read on.

Retrofitted Foam Insulation Systems

The first "green" building product we are going to talk about is retrofitted foam insulation systems.  With increase competition in the foam industry in the past decade, prices for retrofitting foam insulation have fallen dramatically.  With more commercial real estate developers incorporating foam insulation into new buildings, many existing commercial real estate owners, like hotels and resorts, have started to show interest in using retrofit foam technology as a way to reduce operating cost in hotels.  Spray foam insulation & boarded foam insulation are the most popular, other solutions such as wall foam insulation, blow foam insulation, and other expanding foam products have saved hotel owners big on heating and cooling bills. The same benefits retrofitted foam insulation offers homeowners, is also transferred to commercial building owners as well.  Foam Insulation can be installed in wood, and metal studded walls with little or no aesthetic damage.  Hotels & Resorts are constantly remodelling and updating hotel rooms, foam insulation has started to be included into budgets, and paying off tremendously, with return on investment being less than 10 years in energy savings. Here are some of the advantages that hotel and resort owners are seeing from installing retrofitted foam insulation during remodelling projects:

• Energy Savings - 20% or more energy savings
• Soundproofing - foam insulated walls reduce sound & a great ammenity to offer customers.
• Pest Control - tight fitting foam seals reduce areas of entries for pest.
• Sustainable Living Conditions - improves air quality in hotel rooms.
• Comfortability - more comfortable temperatures for customers in hotel rooms.
• Enviroment Friendly - Let customers know your concerned about the planet.

Solar Energy Powered Appliances - Solar Powered Water Heating

Another big cost that many hotel and resort owners incur are hot water heating cost, providing hot water for laundry services, hotel customer showers and needs, kithcens, pools, hot tubs, cleaning and many other uses.  Heating water uses a lot of energy, and is a big part of utility cost for hotel and resort owners in North Carolina and South Carolina.  With rising prices in gas and electricity, many hotel owners are looking to "Green" Building Products for solutions to lower hot water heating cost in their hotel or resort.  With the development of solar energy products, their has been a variety of development in solar energy powered hot water heaters, and solar energy powered pool heaters.  With great sunshine in the Carolina's hotel owners are seeing tremendous energy savings by installing hybrid Solar Energy Powered appliances like hot water heaters and pool heaters.  With most hotel building having flat roofing systems, solar panels for heaters can be installed out of the general view of the public.  Commercial buildings also generally have accessible conduits and ways to transfer any kind of wiring that is required for installation, that also helps improve overall installation cost of installing solar energy powered appliances to save on utility bills.  Here are some of the most popular Solar Powered Appliance product hotels and resorts are using to save on utility cost:

• Solar Energy Powered Hot Water Heaters - saves $300 or more per unit
• Solar Energy Powered Pool Heaters - saves up to 80% on pool heating in some cases.
• Solar Energy Powered Fans
• Solar Powered Lighting
• many other solar energy solutions for hotels.

Energy Efficient Roofing Systems - Solar Integration

With many hotels and resorts experiencing the extreme heat conditions of the southeast, technology in energy efficient roofing systems can save hotel owners big on energy bills as well.  Roofing product manufacturer's are investing more and more money into research & development for commercial roofing systems that offer energy saving to building owners.  With a variety of products from spray foam, plastic, rubbers, and solar inegration into existing roofing materials, offering commercial building owners a variety of solutions for reducing energy cost.  With clear skies most of the year, sun can heat up buildings thru the roofing systems tremendously thru a process called convection.  Roofing product manufacturer's have developed ways to reduce energy loss thru convection in a number of different ways.  One of the most popular ways of reducing convection of heat into the building thru the roof is, the more frequent use of roofing products with whiter surfaces to improve reflectivity of heat coming from the sun.  With nearly every commercial roofing system being insulated in one form or another, improvements in roof insulation materials and coatings has also offered tremendous energy savings to hotel and resort owners in the Carolina's.  Here is a list of some of the most popular roofing systems being used today in re-roofs and new construction in hotels and resorts:

• Spray Foam Roofs - Spray Foam Insulated, variety of coatings, durability, huge energy savings.
• White TPO - white coatings offer reflectivity to the sun's heat reducing convection
• White PVC - better fitting systems similar to TPO, but offer a higher performance.
• Elastometric Coatings - Coatings are being used on existing systems to improve reflectivity.
• Solar Integrated Flat Roofing Systems - Solar cells integrated into TPO, PVC, and others. High Investment Cost, High Return on Savings.
• Other High Performance Roofing Systems that offer overall improved energy efficiency.

Becoming A More Enviromentally Friendly Hotel or Resort

As you can see, there are a variety of options for hotel and resort owners looking to improve energy efficiency in their hotels and buildings.  With not much new commercial construction going on in 2011, many hotel owners are looking at improving existing properties, versus building new.  The great thing about the "Green" Building Industry is that everyone is striving to reach the same goal, and that is reducing energy consumption, thus lowering utility & power cost to the consumer.  If your reducing energy consumption in any way as a business, your part of the "Green" building solution, to be more enviormentally friendly businesses. If you are a hotel owner in the North or South Carolina area, please call us at 706-951-0158 for more information, more contact information is listed below.  Thanks for reading our blog, and please comment to let us know what other "Green" builing materials you want to read about.

Retro-Solutions Construction Company Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 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 |

Historic Home Renovation Ideas for Roof Restoration Projects

Historic Home Roof Restoration Ideas for Historic Home Renovation Projects

One of the most eye catching features of a lot of Historic Homes in the South Carolina area, and across the country, is the steep, detailed, and intricate roofing systems.  The steep pitched roof adds exterior beauty, as well as increased interior spaces.  Existing historic homes in most southern towns are generally large in square footage, and belonged to wealthy homeowners, who really put the money and time into building the homes.  The story that goes along with a historic home, is always interesting as well, so keeping with the same time era styles and building products is very important.  Many Historic Home Preservation Committee's are really strict on allowing changes, and its sometimes hard to find material matches that these Historic Home Preservation Committee's will approve.  This often adds more cost and burden to a historic homeowner trying to make home improvements, and often discourages potential historic homebuyers away from owning a Historic Home. 

One of the major cost in a lot of Historic Home Renovation projects is the roofing system, because of no A/C in the time frame the home was built, roofing systems such as tile, metal, and tin were used to help lower temperatures inside the home, during the hot summer months North Carolina and South Carolina are all accustomed to dealing with.  It has been proven now that thes historic roofing systems reduce utility bills for homeowners, by 10-20% in modern times.  Although added energy savings for historic homeowners, they're often left out of cheaper roofing alternatives then traditional homeowners, and left dealing with the headache of shopping for a roof tile, or metal roofing material, that is often hard to find in this part of the country; that the historic preservation committee board will approve for both style and color.  Another concern even after historic homeowners have been approved on building materials, its often hard to find a contractor that is experienced enough to perform the intricate cuts and details historic home roofing systems often have.  The good news is tho, with new technology, and more competition for building materials entering the historic home construction market. More and more historic homeowners are finding the historic home renovation project a little less challenging.

Retro-Solutions Construction Company of Myrtle Beach, SC is one of these companies experienced in historic home renovations, and offering historic home renovation solutions to Historic Homeowners in North and South Carolina.  Thru experiencing some of the challenges and suprises that often pop up during Historic Home Renovation projects, we have learned a few things that have helped historic homeowners save money on historic home renovation cost.  In this section we are going to talk about the Roof Restoration in particular, as it is one of the most important phases of any Historic Home Renovation projects, because a bad roof can destroy everything else that has been preserved inside the home.  The roof is also one of the more expensive phases of Historic Homeowners as well, and if your on a construction loan, most banks are going to require a satifactory roofing system, before releasing money for other phases of restoration.  With limited experienced roofers able to re-create the styles and techniques of earlier time eras, this can create problems for the construction project schedule, so its important to be able to find a roofing contractor that can help you right away.  When planning a Historic Roof Resoration project, its a good idea to keep these ideas in mind when picking a roofing contractor for your Historic Home Renovation project.  Here are some tips for picking a roofing contractor for a Historic Home Renovation Project.

1. Experience with Historic Home Renovation - Although there are many roofing contractors with roofing experience, it doesn't always mean that they have done historic roof renovation projects. An experienced historic roof restoration contract is going to be able to tell you problem areas, as well as available roofing materials that are going to pass Historic Home Preservation Committees often strict guidelines in materials used. Having roofing material options is always going to give a Historic homeowner a way to save money on renovation cost.  An experienced roofing contractor is also going to be able to check and inspect for structural damage, and offer affordable solutions for any structural roof repairs that may need to be made.
2. References - Although this may also fall under the category of roofing experience, its often good to still get references, so that you can physically go view other Historic Home Roof Restoration the roofing contractor has done.  Details are extremely important on Historic Roof Restorations, and you want to make sure your roofing contractor has the abilities to perform the work that the roofing company has proposed to do.
3. Trust  your Roofing Contractor - Once you have found an experienced roofing contractor that has been successful in other historic home renovation projects, its good to let the roofing contractor take control of the roofing portion of the project.  Not only is an experienced roofing contractor going to offer more material options, but there also going to get a better price on the roofing materials then the average historic homeowners.  Suppliers are more likely to give a price break to a roofing contractor who is going to be back the next week to purchase, then to the homeowner who may not need another roof for 30-100 years.  A roofing contractor is also going to know about technological improvements to underlayments and flashing techniques that can save on roofing cost and/or improve overall efficiency of your roofing systems.
4. Time Management - In addition to finding an experienced roofing contractor, your going to need a roofing contractor that is going to be able to meet your time schedule for construction.  Its important to have a roofing contractor experienced to know other trades are following, so a good question to ask your roofing contractor is how long will it take to complete, and also how long will it take go be dried in, so that you can coordinate with other construction trades that are dependent upon a dried-in roof to begin their phases of construction.
5. Helpfulness - Another quality you want to look for that is sometimes unmeasurable in price, is how helpful is your roofing contractor going to be, in helping gain historic preservation committee approval on roofing materials.  A roofing contractor experienced with historic home preservation will usually be able to streamline the approval process, and make it a lot less of a hassle for the historic homeowner. 

These are just a few tips we have used to help make Historic Home Preservation easier for Retro-Solutions Construction Company customers in North Carolina & South Carolina.  These few tips can also be applied to other trades as well.  With the many details in woodworking and metalworking on historic homes, its good to have a contractor in any trade experienced with more historic building techniques, because details really stick out in historic homes.  Craftsmanship is one of the most notable achievements from builders in historic times, so you also want to preserve this craftsmanship, in addition to the colors and building material styles as well.  There's a reason that home is still standing after 100 years, and that reason being the craftsmanship of early American builders.

Retro-Solutions Construction Company is here to help with all your Historic Home Restoration projects and we also offer Energy Saving Home Improvements for the historic homeowners as well.  We have tile matching, metal matching, slate matching, and cedar matching available for Historic Roof renovations that match time and style for most historic homes in North and South Carolina.  If your looking for a quality Historic Home Renovation in the Carolinas please give us a call at 706-951-0158.  Also be sure to check out our other blog post and website, http://www.scroofingcontractors.com/  for more information on Historic Home Renovations, as well as Energy Saving Home Improvements like spray foam insulation, solar energy, & other Energy Star & "Green" building materials that save on utility bills.  Stay tuned to our blogs for more post on historic home renovation projects.

Retro-Solutions Construction Company Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 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 |