Thursday

Roof Insulation And Technology

This may come as an element of surprise to most of the present generation of house owners that till about early 1970’s, the U.S. building code did not specify the insulation of homes. It may come as a big surprise to many of the house owners that their present house has inadequate or no insulation at all. The same holds good for many of the commercial buildings.

The present Standard Building Code of the U.S. makes it mandatory for the builder to provide attics with R19 insulation. Generally, the specified grade of insulation is adhered to by providing insulation with fiberglass or cellulose that is blown in at the time of construction of the building. The drawback of the materials mentioned is that over a period of time they get settled and tend to get compacted, thus offering limited insulation.

new roof insulation

If ever a survey is carried out to check the insulation of houses and commercial buildings, it will become apparent that most of them lack proper insulation in some form or the other. This will be particularly true for roofs, which start collecting heat coming in from the roof in the absence of perfect insulation. As a matter of fact, no means of effectively insulating the roof were available till recently. Most of the homeowners were content using cellulose or fiberglass as there was no better choice of an efficient insulating material.

The said materials that have so far been employed for the purpose of insulation proved ineffective as they would get fluffy and soft and failed to provide the needed level of insulation. As a consequence, the homeowners had no choice but to bear the heat that radiated down their homes thru the roof.

The latest technology that has been developed calls for the application of a layer of polyurethane foam before fixing the roof over it. Such a roof with a thin layer of polyurethane foam prevents the heat from entering the structure. In winters the same insulation helps to retain the heat within your home.

The new age material is Polyurethane foam. It provides insulation that is twice as strong as normal insulating products. It wouldn’t deteriorate or settle in your lifetime. Once it has been cured, you can walk over it without causing any harm; you won’t be able to make a dent into it under normal circumstances. That’s how tough it gets. Its thin layer applied under the tiles of your roof remains invisible and doesn’t affect the looks or pitch of the roof at all.