House of Questions - Page 2

Spehar: We work with some of the roofing contractors of Eichler Network, and typically, what roofing you have determines the type of insulation you put in there, whether it be the Duro-Last [single-ply] system, or foam, or a tar-and-gravel system. For almost everyone, it's a requirement in California to add insulation to the roof. I know that foam roofing is probably the most expensive, but it gives you the best R-value of those products.

Carey: We think that the foam roof is the best. It's a durable product that provides the best insulation value for the type of roof that most Eichlers have, which is a flat roof. It's spray foam, and they seal it off with a hard coat that weatherproofs everything.

What about the walls?

Carey: If you have to replace any siding on the exterior, or if you're replacing a window and you're taking out siding anyway, absolutely insulate the walls at that point. And it will make another tremendous difference. If you're not already going to be doing something to that wall [during a remodel], it's very cost prohibitive to make the decision to say, "I'm going to take all of the siding off all at once to put insulation in the walls."

Spehar: When we're doing siding repairs, we're constantly upgrading. If there's any insulation at all [behind the siding], it's usually like R-7, and it's not up to today's standard of R-13.

If there is any insulation [behind the siding], you remove the existing, and you get rolled-up batts [of insulation], and you install that in its place. Usually when we're doing that, it's either because we're pulling off paneling from the inside and installing sheetrock, and that gives you the opportunity to do it then, or when you're doing siding [replacement] on the outside.

You can also do blown-in [foam insulation behind the interior paneling], which typically is a little more expensive. It can give you a higher R-value, but that requires a specialty subcontractor. It'll get you up to R-14 or R-15. Blown-in is typically 20 to 30 percent more expensive because of the labor involved.

Any other tips?

Carey: You would not believe how much of your energy—mostly heat, in an Eichler—that you lose up your chimney. If you're not going to replace your chimney, there's a product called a chimney balloon. You can order it online, and it is exactly what it sounds like. You inflate it to fill up the [chimney] cavity. And then when you want to use the fireplace, there's a little sign that hangs down that says 'balloon in.' You just deflate it and use the fireplace, and then when you're done, you put it back in. And [the chimney balloon], it's like $100. It's super inexpensive. So that's a really, really easy solution.