Tuscany was developed from the 1990s onward on high ground in Calgary's northwest, and both of those facts point at the same short list of problems.
This is not a neighbourhood that needs whole-house insulation projects. It is a neighbourhood with three specific, very common complaints.
The room over the garage
This is the number one enquiry from Tuscany, and it is a design consequence rather than a defect.
A bonus room sits directly above an unheated garage. It is exposed on the underside, and it usually projects out so that two or three of its walls are also exterior. Almost no other room in a house is exposed on that many sides.
The floor assembly is where it fails. Batts were pushed up between the joists and the perimeter of that cavity was never sealed, so air from the garage moves freely into the joist bays and around the insulation instead of being stopped by it.
Adding more batt changes very little. Sealing the cavity changes the room. See bonus room insulation.
Wind on the ridge
Tuscany sits high and comparatively open, with landscaping that is still young by the standards of Calgary's established neighbourhoods. Chinook winds coming off the mountains reach these houses with little to slow them.
Wind pressurises a building - pushing air in one side and pulling it out the other, through any unsealed path. If your house feels draughty specifically on windy days and fine on calm ones, that is the mechanism, and it is an air sealing problem rather than an insulation-depth problem.
The points that matter most under wind pressure are the rim joist and the attic penetrations. See how to fix a draughty house.
What a 1990s-2000s house actually needs
Houses of this era were built to reasonable standards. A poly vapour barrier is standard, insulation levels are adequate, and the structure is sound.
Where they disappoint, it is execution rather than specification:
- The rim joist - insulated, rarely sealed.
- The attic hatch and recessed lighting - constant small leaks at the top of the stack.
- The bonus room floor, as above.
That is a targeted list, and it is deliberately short. If someone quotes you a whole-envelope project on a Tuscany house, ask them to justify each item against what you are actually experiencing.
The honest position
For most homes here, the right job is small. We would rather refer you for a rim joist and a bonus room floor than sell you a whole-house package you do not need - and an installer who agrees with that is the one worth having.
What we do
We are a referral service. We do not install. We connect you with vetted installers - certification, insurance and WCB standing checked.
No price without a site visit. Get a quote, and tell us which room is the problem.
Related: bonus room insulation - garage insulation Calgary - NW Calgary homes