Only about 18 percent of Airdrie homes were built before 1991, so these attics almost always carry a modern depth of insulation. Attic spray foam insulation in Airdrie is therefore rarely about adding more. It is about the openings through the ceiling, and on a house of this age the single largest one is usually the attic hatch.
The hatch is a hole in the ceiling with a lid on it
On most houses it is a sheet of drywall or plywood sitting in a frame, with no insulation on top and nothing sealing the edge. It has heated house on one side and a cold attic on the other, which makes it a piece of the building envelope, and it is almost never built like one. Warm air leaves through the gap around it continuously, and in a house that is otherwise well insulated it can be the largest single leak in the ceiling plane.
What a hatch should have
Insulation fixed to the back of it to at least the depth of the surrounding attic, a compression gasket around the frame so the lid seals when it is closed, and a catch that actually holds it down against that gasket. Weight alone does not seal a hatch. None of this is expensive and all of it is skipped on the majority of houses we open.
The other holes on a newer house
Recessed lights, each one a penetration through the ceiling. Bathroom fan housings. The plumbing stack. The top plates where interior walls meet the ceiling. Individually each looks trivial; together they are a continuous opening between the house and the attic, and they run every hour of the winter.
Why adding depth here usually disappoints
Air escaping through the ceiling plane travels straight through any new material laid on top of it. The bill arrives, the house feels the same, and the owner concludes insulation does not work. It worked. It was solving the wrong problem. On a stock this new the sealing is the job and the depth is already there.
What foam does in this attic
It is the sealing layer, applied around the stack, the fan housings, the hatch perimeter and the top plates, filling gaps nothing cut to size will close. It is not a bulk depth product on a modern attic. A quote to spray a whole new attic to full depth is the most expensive version of a job that does not need doing.
Say which room is cold
On Airdrie houses the other frequent complaint is the room over the garage, which is a floor and wall problem rather than an attic one even though it gets reported as the upstairs being cold. Naming the room when you enquire changes what we come to look at.
Attic Spray Foam Insulation Airdrie: Common Questions
Is the attic hatch really that important? On a well-insulated modern house it is frequently the largest single opening in the ceiling. It needs insulation on the back, a gasket and a catch that holds it closed.
Our attic is full - why is the house still draughty? Because insulation does not stop air. The penetrations through the ceiling are what let it out, and new depth sits above them.
Do we need the whole attic sprayed? Almost certainly not. The depth is already there; the sealing is what is missing.
Size the job with the R-value calculator, then get a free Airdrie quote. More on Attic Spray Foam Insulation Alberta province-wide.