A Space Most Builders Forget About

Sometimes you can live in a house for years and not put two and two together. For example, let’s say the second level of your house is cantilevered. In common parlance, it has an overhang. The rooms with the cantilevered floor are exceedingly cold in winter and hot in summer. Hmmm… In this case, 2 plus 2 equals a sloppy builder. A builder who didn’t adequately insulate the overhang. Or maybe it wasn’t insulated it at all. By making this mistake, he also left the joist bays directly under your floor vulnerable to cold air in winter and hot air in summer. This is costing you a lot more money in energy bills, and lowering your quality of life when you’re at home.

While building a house, insulating an overhang is relatively easy. Spray foam insulation or rigid board insulation can be used to insulate and air seal the cantilevered area. Builders only need to remember not to nail off the subfloor over the cantilevered joists until after they have installed the insulation. Even fiberglass can make a small difference as long as you’re conscientious about air sealing (otherwise it’s worthless). With an existing home, however, the job is more time consuming and labor intensive. You have to access each void inside the cantilevered floor assembly, either through holes bored in the soffit or by removing the soffit altogether. Then you have to install insulation and seal against air leaks from below, while standing on a ladder and juggling your tools, caulk and insulation. At Foam It Insulation, your local Dr. Energy Saver dealer, we have a number of solutions to tackle this job quickly and efficiently. Our methods normally allow us to install the insulation without affecting the interior of your home. Our dense-packed TruSoft™ cellulose insulation (blown in under high pressure so it stays put) resists air and moisture movement. Usually, only the cantilevered portion of the floor needs to be insulated. If the floor is over a garage and has not already been insulated, however, we recommend that each joist bay be filled with insulation as well.

Foam It Insulation of Binghamton, NY knows how to insulate the forgotten spots. Call us today for a free quote. Dial 1-607-821-0519 and one of our energy experts will explain your options at no obligation to you. Isn’t it time to end frustration and make your home more comfortable?

We offer our services in Endicott, Binghamton, Johnson City, Owego, Vestal, Jackson, Apalachin, Kirkwood, Conklin, Greene, and areas nearby!