Home Improvement Blog Improving Your Home And Your Life

Assessing the quality of the air inside your home becomes very important when you are dealing with the remodeling of your home, having storage in your home or even simply living in your home. Be sure that you take all of the following steps into consideration when you are thinking of assessing the indoor air quality.

Air-sealing and the Thermal Boundary

It is important that you have air-sealing where the ceiling meets the attic that is very good. This will help you to not only reduce your energy and fuel bills, but it is going to help you prevent moisture build up in your home.

Because warm air will rise, this will increase the air pressure on the top floors of your home. Here, air leaks are going to be very problematic, because the air that leaves or enters the space inside your home will not be able to be contained, and will therefore leave the home. If you live in a cold climate, when the warm, wet air leaves your home and travels to the attic or to outside, it will leave behind it droplets of water and will cause water damage in your home. There are many places that leak in your home, and these include staircases, the chimney chase, recessed light fixtures, plumbing and electrical penetrations, and some framing details. There are a variety of techniques for, and approaches to, sealing the ceiling of the top floor.

Insulation issues, including how much, where you put it, and it's relation to air and vapor barriers are also concerns for energy-use, comfort, and moisture control. Improper use of insulation can lead not only to energy problems but also to condensation and mold growth.

Attic Conversions
It is very popular nowadays to have an attic that has been converted into a bedroom or other living space. This means that you save space, and are going to be allowing for more areas to be filled up with living. It is important to remember that if you make an attic your living space, there are things that you need to do in order to insure that this kind of space is going to work the best for you. Make sure that you convert the attic completely to a living space, so that you are avoiding comfort problems when it comes to temperature. You should also make sure that you are avoiding other problems that may result in health related problems. These include the air-sealing and insulation issues discussed above, as well as other considerations mentioned below. No-Regrets Remodeling provides a good overview of the issues.

Ventilation
It is always important to remember that good ventilation is essential to a good living space. If you are going to be living in an attic, make sure that it has an adequate ventilation system. This might have to be created if the attic has not always been a living space. You are going to want to make sure that it has the same type of ventilation as the other areas in your home so that you can live in it without any fear of dangers.

Windows
It is also important that you are going to be converting your attic windows into regular windows. You will need to replaces them all with living windows, such as ENERGY STAR® windows. It might not always be the cheapest route, but it is important that you make your new windows adequate for living areas, not simply for an attic. Even if the windows are expensive, it is going to greatly benefit your space. Not only will they provide the right amount of sunlight and ventilation, but they will also cut down on energy and heating costs because they are newer and will have been built with better standards in mind.