Fchatters Business, a referral: Everguard Insulation

You know what will really help also, (if you don't already have one) is an attic fan. The one we have is fully automatic, turns on whenever the temp reaches too warm, draws a lot of air through, (makes a bit of noise) turns off when it has done its' job. Some people have manual setups also, but the auto has some advantages.

 

I had Steve do my home about 4-5 years ago.
HUGE difference! Both in keeping it cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Steve and his crew are great.

A big +1 for Evergaurd

 

Steve did my house several years ago as well. Between Steve's double insulation layer (his insulation on top of my old insulation), LED lighting, energy efficient appliances, attic fan and an oversized solar system, I have completely eliminated my electric bill.

Tim

 

Thanks for the write-up & kinds words Dusty. Just a few things to throw out:

* There is a Federal Tax Credit of 30% for insulating your home
* There is also a Gas Company rebate program that pays 15-cents per sq/ft
* The cost of insulation is generally paid for in energy savings in one year or less

Most homeowners entirely assume they have plenty of insulation, but some insulation settles over time and older homes have material that was installed years ago when building codes were far lower. Even brand new homes can tighten-up 15-30% by blowing more insulation and sealing their existing insulation. Many other advantages too. Most people, like Dusty, are blown-away by the difference and regret not doing it sooner.

Yes & No....

I'm a big believer in ventilating the attic, it'll not only drop the temp in the attic but also help the roof last longer! The downside of these fans (power attic ventilators) is that they require electricity to run, they often make a vibration noise down into the home and sometimes they burn-out in as little as 3 years...but the bigger problem is that they often move so much air so quickly that they tend to draw air (to replace the air being blown out of the attic) from the closest source: instead of flushing and moving air through the entire attic, they tend to draw air from the closest eave-vent.

Another option is the solar fan. The solar fan, while using no DWP electricity, costs upwards of $450 and they don't move nearly as much air. The photovoltaic cells also start to decay in as little as 7-9 years. Why do they make it? Because people will buy them and salesman can sell them.

My suggestion is to spend a fraction of the money and buy 2 or 3 Whirley-Birds, those turbine-shaped vents that spin on top of the roof. These ventilators require no electricity, cost about $35 each and often last as long as 25 years! They are also mounted closer to the top of the roof where the heat accumulates...and by using 2 or 3 you get a more even & thorough dispersion of the attic heat.

Btw Tim....it's now 2010 and while they have insulation from denim, foam, fiberglass, rockwool, mineral wool and cellulose fiber....they still don't have CARBON FIBER! But when they do, I'm sure you'll be the first to have it.

 

Steve did our house about 4 years ago, we dont even have to use the heating in winter now unless it is super cold and our AC use is down by at least 50% in the summer. He even mailed in a bill and got me rebate from both LADWP and the gas company.
Most important, his guys showed up when they said they would, cleaned up after and even fixed a few things in the attic for me. Job well done, I cant say more than that.
D

 

Good going Dustin and Steve

 

Steve did my house about 4 years ago. It does make a huge different and saves $$$$ Thanks Steve

 

LOL...I didn't realize how many homes of F-Chatter's I've done over the years. Thanks for the prop's guys, it's nice to help people save money and be more comfortable....oh yeah, and help fight global warming too (if it really exist )

You know, I have to say....I feel quite fortunate. I've got a great family, great friends and my job is satisfying; it's good to earn an honest living! I don't know if I've lived any past lives, but thus far this life has really turned-out to be quite enjoyable.

I wish I could get to more events n' stuff, I've just been really busy with life in general and some new interest have taken a lot of weekend time. I keep missing every event Dustin throws and (knock on Italian wood) the 360 has been bullet-proof reliable.

Anyone needs insulation, just give me a shout...and do me a favor; please wait for a nasty heatwave and then call up and demand I fit you into the next day's schedule

 

Steve, I am looking forward to your crew arriving next saturday and hope that it makes a difference to our bills as it gets realyy hot in summer out in San Marino. I also like the idea of attic turbine vents to keep the attic cool. Do you know any one who can install these. Thanks, Adil.

 

Adil,

Ahhh....I just noticed you on the calendar. I was in Alaska and just got back.

Attic ventilation is a good thing, not only will it help keep the home cooler by lowering attic temp's, it also reduces the "load" on the insulation. Beyond that it even serves to extend the life of the roofing!

We don't install fans or turbines, but I know several people who do. Any handyman should be capable and roofers are quite good with turbines as well. Let my crew evaluate your current attic for ventilation, you may not additional ventilation. We look at the color of your roof, the material the roof is made of, how much shade your home gets and even the pitch of the roof....lots of factors. We only like to see homeowners move in a direction where they get a solid return on their investment; if you don't need it, we'll tell ya....let my guys check it out.

 

Is this expensive to do? I have a 1,300 foot house. I bought it as a bank repor nearly two years ago and they put in a brand new a/c unit. It works well, but there is still a lot of heat coming through. Between something like this and new windows and/or tint, I think it would make a huge difference.

It's already been above 110 here and only going to get warmer for the next few months.

 

Steve's crew did our old, single story house several years back. We don't have A/C, don't have any insulation in the walls, and until Steve's crew came out, had no insulation in the attic. His crew was awesome and we noticed the benefits of the insulation immediately. Plus Steve was a real pleasure to work with and one of the last honest contractors left in the world.

I would recommend Steve to anyone.

 

Hey Christian, long time...how have you been? Thanks for the compliments...it still astounds me that all it takes to impress homeowners is to show-up on time, do a good job and follow through with any issues...oh, and call people back when they call.

When it comes to attic insulation we generally work with 3 different thicknesses (or performance levels) of insulation: R19, R30 and R38 It's all the same material, it's just the thickness that differs, so it's like comparing a quart to a pint to a gallon of water; only the quantity changes, same product.

If your attic has no insulation, then you'd want to install R38. If your attic has 2-3 inches of existing insulation, then you'd want to install R30 over that existing material in order to bring it up to R38....and if you have more like 4-5 inches of existing insulation, then adding R19 over it would bring you up to R38

I have no problem openly disclosing prices. My competition tends to tell people "you can't buy insulation over the phone" and then they proceed to send out salesman (closers) who do their presentation and then score a quick $500 on ya. We take more of the Costco approach to things; great prices, high quality product, solid customer service...and then on the way out we offer pizza, hot dogs and churros

R19 is 80-cents, R30 is 90-cents and R38 runs 1.05 per square foot. There are 2 incentives; a Federal Tax Credit of 30% and a Gas Company Rebate of 15-cents per square foot. Here are the numbers on a 1,300 sq/ft home...figuring it needs R30 (which is typical because most homes have some old material...the same material that most homeowners are inclined to belive is "plenty & good enough")

1,300 sq/ft x R30 @ 90-cents = $1,170

Federal Tax Credit 30% = $351
(Technically your only supposed to get 30% on the materials, but I'm told most accountants will figure 80% of the price is material and many just take the whole amount)

Gas Company Rebate 1,300 sq/ft x 15-cents = $195
(takes 2-3 months to arrive, it's a solid program unlike SCE)

Total outlay after tax-credit & Gas co. rebate = $624

It might take you 2-3 months to pay for itself. I've had customers with $1,400 electric bills cut in half, but results vary based on LOTS of factors. Other benefits include the material being resistant to rodents, insects and mold..as well as planes flying by being much quieter. The other thing too, just like low-flush toilets and low-flow shower heads, they will soon have energy audits when homes are bought & sold...so you can insulate today and get the rebate, tax-credit, enjoy a more comfortable home with lower energy bills....or you can wait until you sell the home. Oh yeah, and insulating your home reduces the carbon footprint by all those billions of tons of something or other, ask Al Gore

 

Hi Steve - Doing really well amigo. We're expecting our first child in November so we're over the moon with excitement about that.

The sad truth is that finding an honest contractor of any kind (even today) just isn't easy. And as you may recall, you and your team went way above and beyond the call to take care of our little house in Dana Point. I haven't forgotten that.

Quick question for you... We have an attic fan and I am in the camp that it doesn't really help too much. I think it creates more heat than it expels and it uses a lot of electricity. I'd like to investigate the "whirley bird" idea you mentioned earlier. I know I'm way, way out of your neck of the woods but do you know anyone that installs those in S. Orange County that I could talk to?

Best regards,

Christian

 

Lots of controversy about the fans. In my opinion, they make fans because someone will buy them...how effective they are is questionable. The technical term is "Power Attic Ventilator"

Do they use electricity....yes, but they claim it's just 20-cents per day and in the grand scheme of things negligible.

Do they move air? YES...they do expel a good deal of hot air from the attic, BUT in my opinion and observation they draw so much air at such a rapid rate that they tend to draw air from the source of least resistance: if you have an eave vent close to the fan, most the air is being drawn in through that vent and it's flowing like a river right to the fan.....is the fan truly flushing ALL the air through the entire attic? I don't think so.

Other issues....the fans sometimes only last a couple years before their inexpensive Chinese motors burn out (we've installed and seen fans die in as short as 8 months!). Some of the fan motors and fan blades are not well balanced and homeowners will report a humm or buzz coming from the attic. While the fans are generally about $60 at Home Depot, most A/C contractors, electricians or a handyman want $350 to $600 to install one.


I do see and agree with the benefits of ventilating the attic...it keeps the house cooler in the summer, reduces the load on the insulation and extends the life of the roof. Today we no longer have wood shingle and shake roofs that are far cooler and ventilated...we have asphalt compositioin shingle and they get HOT...so ventilation is critical.

My own thoughts lean towards the WhirleyBirds....those turbine-shaped hats that spin. They cost about $35 and last about 25 years. They require no electricity and work even if there is no wind. The let a LOT of heat out of the attic and if you get 2 or 3 of them, they really do provide cooling across the whole attic. If installed correctly they don't leak and are maintenance free. The only downside is that they can be a bit of an eye-sore, so you want to mount them on the backside of your home and as high as can't be seen from the front of your home.

As for installing them, any roofer or handyman can do it...or you can do it yourself. You just cut a hole, slip the unit under the shingle, nail a few waterproof nails through the flashing and mount the thing: a drill, jig saw or sawsall, hammer and 20 minutes!

Christian, I don't know of anyone in your area, but I'm sure you can call around. I have a handyman up here who installs 'em for about $85 each

If you do go with anything electric (like the fan)....you do want to pay the money to have a legit licensed contractor do the work: if anything goes wrong with the electric and you hired a non-licensed person, your insurance may not cover it!

Congrats on expecting your first child...it's just an amazing experience!!!!