Installing Insulation

Things to Consider Before Installing Home Insulation Without Professional Help

There are a lot of things you could do yourself.

But sometimes, it makes a lot more sense to hire a professional. After all, a job worth doing is worth doing right. And a project you have to pay someone else to fix is a waste of the very money you tried to save (plus time you’ll never get back).

What about home insulation, though? Does it fall in the same category as dentistry, surgery, and federal criminal defense?

Installing insulation is part of what we do as a Colorado-based home energy efficiency company. But there are some pretty compelling, no-nonsense reasons you should consider letting a certified professional install your insulation for you. Here are just a few:

Hard Work / A Lot of Work

Even if you’re convinced that you can install insulation yourself, are you sure you want to?

Take it from us, to install insulation is a lot of work. Hard work. Time-consuming work. Unpleasant work. (Though we have an unusual kind of fondness for it ourselves.)

For many people, “I’ll install insulation myself” turns into “I bit off more than I could chew” pretty quickly.

Mistakes Are Easy to Make

Did you know that you can have too much insulation?

…Or too little

…Or the wrong kind

…Or the wrong pairing of multiple types of insulation

…Or the right type of material but the wrong method of installation for your particular house

…Or the wrong approach to insulating a crook or corner or gap…

The list goes on.

We could list many mistakes that are both serious and easy to make. True, you wouldn’t be the first to make them, but that won’t make the consequences any less frustrating or costly for you.

As is always true in life, there is simply no substitute for experience. A professional will have already learned these lessons the hard way — a long time ago — to your benefit.

Health and Fire Hazards

There are serious health hazards associated with DIY insulation projects. You can have severe allergic reactions. You can inhale dangerous or toxic chemicals / particles / fumes. You can break out in rashes or hives. If even a speck of insulation gets in your eyes, there is a real risk of permanent visual damage or blindness.

There are also significant fire hazards when installing insulation. And the scary thing about that is that the fire won’t always happen right away.

Insulation shifts over time, and you have to understand how those shifts are going to happen in order to avoid the risk of a fire starting months or years down the line.

The Right Types of Insulation

To Install insulation yourself means you’ll need to be intimately familiar with the right types of insulation for homes in Colorado.

The effectiveness of home insulation material is measured by its R-value, which is essentially how well it stops heat from passing through it. The higher the R-value, the more effective the insulation.

Some of the best types of insulation in Colorado include:

  • Fiberglass insulation — Non-flammable with fine strands of glass woven into the insulation material, it’s the most popular form of insulation and offers very high R-values.
  • Mineral wool insulation — A great form of supplemental insulation, mineral wool (which can be made from a variety of materials) is ideal for insulating larger areas of a Colorado home where mineral wool is not the only material being used.
  • Cellulose insulation — Environmentally friendly and fire-resistant, it’s another great supplementary choice (and quickly growing in popularity in Colorado, given the increased cultural interest in eco-friendly and non-toxic materials here).
  • Spray foam insulation (polyurethane foam) — Because it expands to fill crooks and crannies, spray foam is considered a prime candidate for anyone who lists overall home comfort as their top insulating goal.

Learn more about the best types of home insulation in Colorado.

Amateur DIY Installation Does Not Save You Money

If you’re asking, “Can I install insulation myself?” it’s probably because you want to save money. But nonprofessional installation almost never saves money in the long run. If it did, a lot more people would do it. Don’t let YouTube talk you into something that will cost a lot of time, money, and frustration in the long run.

Talk to a Professional About Installing Insulation in Your Colorado Home

REenergizeCO is a Colorado-based home energy efficiency company that helps homeowners increase their comfort, decrease their energy bills, and prolong the life of their home.

We are proud to be a Colorado-born company, providing insulation services across the entire state. Unlike other insulation companies, we do not hire third-party insulation contractors. 

We are a BPI and LEED-Certified home energy company. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and excellence in home insulation installation.

Contact our office to learn more about the home insulation installation options for your Colorado home today.