ImproveIT! of Atlanta

Attic insulation should be one of your priorities when designing your roofing system. Proper attic insulation helps maintain your roof’s integrity, on top of its many other benefits.

Today, we discuss the importance of attic insulation to your roofing as well as other related things you should know about.

The Importance of Attic Insulation

The attic helps to keep your indoor living spaces more comfortable. It keeps your home warmer in the winter or cooler in the summer. However, without sufficient insulation, your attic will be more susceptible to temperature changes, which could have an impact on your indoor comfort. Since your heating and cooling system is in charge of making your indoor temperature remain at your desired level, it would have to work harder if the excessive heat in your attic would keep on affecting your living spaces. This could lead to increased energy usage and costs.

Insulating your attic can help you save money on energy by reducing the strain on your heating and cooling system and minimizing the energy required to keep your home comfortable. Attic insulation is typically made of cellulose, mineral wool or a combination of the two. It inhibits conditioned air from escaping and outside temperatures from penetrating the space.

Reasons Attic Insulation Is Beneficial for Your Roof

During your consultation and planning, your roofing company will likely discuss the following as benefits of attic insulation:

• Prevents Costly Repair and Replacement

Poor attic insulation can be a contributing factor to water damage on your roof and other parts of your home since it plays a role in maintaining the appropriate level of moisture in your attic space. If your roof gets too hot in the summer and overheats, condensation may form – which can result in lifting or curling shingles. When you have compromised shingles, water can permeate through the material and eventually leak into your home. This can further lead to other issues, such as mold growth, discoloration and structural damage.

As a result of inadequate insulation in the attic, complications can also occur during the winter. When warm air from your living spaces rises into your attic because there is no insulation to prevent this, condensation could develop. This might result in the formation of mold and a significant increase in the cost of heating your home. In addition to this, it might create weak areas all over your roof, which will eventually lead to more extensive damage. All these roofing problems will cost you repairs or require a full roof replacement. 

• Protects Rafters

The rafters in your attic provide support to the roof structure and keep the asphalt shingles in their proper position. The potential for cracks and other damage caused by fluctuations in temperature is mitigated by the insulation, which also protects the rafters. Temperature changes cause wood rafters to expand and contract; an insulated attic can lessen the impact of these changes and prevent damage.

• Preserve Roofing Structure

By installing an efficient, high-quality insulation system that can be customized to your specific needs, you will protect your attic from overheating and your roofing structure from warping. If your attic insulation system isn’t functioning properly, it might lead to disastrous results, such as water damage, rot, cracking and a breakdown in the structure of the roof.

Other Advantages of Attic Insulation to Your Home

• Gives Your HVAC a Break

Your heating and cooling system no longer needs to put in extra hours of work because it is no longer required to keep cycling on and off because of fluctuating temperatures. As a result, it can maintain the level of comfort in your home more easily and without requiring much energy.

This will not only result in lower utility bills, but it will also help extend the life of your HVAC system. If you take good care of your HVAC system and make sure it’s well-maintained, it will have fewer malfunctions and will last much longer serving your home before it needs significant repairs or replacement. 

• Improves Indoor Comfort

As mentioned, attic insulation is a significant factor that can affect the comfort inside your home. If your attic insulation is lacking, the temperature inside your home could be higher in the summer and much lower in the winter. If your home does not have adequate insulation, there is a good chance that warm or cool air will escape, regardless of how new your HVAC system is. It is also possible that the temperatures in different areas of the home will not be the same, which might be stressful on the thermostat.

Some Types of Insulation Aren’t Good Enough

There are different types of attic insulation on the market, but not all of them can keep your home warm the way it needs to. The U.S. Department of Energy has a list of recommended R-values for different parts of the house and different U.S. climate zones. But you’ll also need to consider the building codes in your area and what your contractor suggests.

Ventilation Also Matters

Poor ventilation can hurt the durability and long-term performance of good insulation. When there is too much heat in the attic, ice dams can form in the winter. The snow on the roof melts, but when it gets to the gutters, it freezes again. Ice dams speed up your roof’s deterioration, which could lead to leaks and constant water infiltration. Water can wear down your insulation, make it less effective and cause it to fail sooner than expected. Also, the curling of your roofing shingles is usually caused by bad insulation in the attic. When the underside of your roof is too hot, your asphalt shingles would buckle quickly, making it easy for damage to happen.

Make sure your roofing system is protected with the help of ImproveIT! of Atlanta, LLC. We provide a range of quality roofing services, from repair to replacement. Call us at (770) 612-5635, or fill out our contact form to book an appointment. We serve clients in Alpharetta, Marietta and Sandy Springs, GA.