Kramp....Home Show guy here in Houston (610am) says it is NOT cost effective to do this, he recommends BOTH the spray on and foil liners, AND adding insulation. Just what he's said on the radio MANY times, as this topic comes up frequently.

DVM

Bummer. House built in '89. Has the cathedral ceilings over a large part that are just decking and shingles. Maybe spray or foil the parts I can get to and re-deck the other...

DVM is correct. The paint type radiant barriers don't have a very good payback. There is a reason they add the insulation with the radiant barriers. The insulation is what gives you the most benefit.

here is a good article.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/home/stories/031009dnmetradiant.3d76bd0.html

[This message has been edited by chocolatelabs (edited 4/8/2009 8:45p).]

For the most bang for your buck, get TechShield for your re-deck. A ROI of 2-3 years max at the price of wood vs. commodity deicking

Another thing,

With Tom Tynan, be careful of what he says, my company used to pay him a fat check when he first started and he will promote anyone filling his pockets, and trash a competitor.

Tom Tynan is one of the VERY few builders that trashes a Value Added OSB sheathing/decking vs. Plywood (There's a reason Plywood is scarse today). One is price, two is performance. You can look up testing or data on apa.org

Whether it's Hardie or Polar Ply, these are the "flavor of the month" promotions. Tom is no more knowledged than hundreds of quality builders in Texas to say the least. He probably won't mention the cons of any of his sponsors obviously.

got an estimate for eas. gonna talk to the mike guy and see what he says. will report back.

The hail has me getting a new roof. I think I will go with ridge vents and see if that helps.

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Don't forget, you can also blow in more insulation into your attic. That is ridiculously easy and I call anyone a fool who would hire someone to do it for them. That or someone who has money to burn. Rent the machine and buy the bales of stuff and spray.

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I did this Sat. morning and it was not only easy, it was fun. Had the wife loading, the 8 year old at the attic staircase feeding and retracting hose and I added insulation to the entire house and over the garage where there was none previously. Free rental from home depot with the purchase of 10 bags. $250.00 and done!

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got an estimate for eas. gonna talk to the mike guy and see what he says. will report back.

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How did it go?

Again....my bro does this and usually beats out EAS as he does not have to spend tons of $$ to advertise. He does the spray on liner and blown in insulation...the company is Texas Insulation and can be found online FYI.

DVM

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Again....my bro does this and usually beats out EAS as he does not have to spend tons of $$ to advertise. He does the spray on liner and blown in insulation...the company is Texas Insulation and can be found online FYI

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I imagine that Kool Attics beat EAS.

I had a company called A Cooler House (based in Garland, TX) come out and do a full audit. With the rebates from Oncor it ended up costing me about $750. They did multiple leakage tests to determine what could be done to help. They ended up sealing up all the duct work, closing off one inefficient return and adding a bigger one, blowing in a bunch of insulation, and weatherizing the home. Last Summer I couldn't get the house below 79-80 degrees. So far, granted it isn't THAT hot yet, I'm able to get down to 72 without issue. Big improvement. House was built in '61.

From reading this thread it seems that Foil is better than the spray but also more expensive. Anybody know about how much the difference is between them? I got a 2300 sq ft home built in the late 50's and I want to get it done and I am not sure which way to go just yet. I have seen a lot of recommendations for spray ones in the houston area but does anyone have a recommendation for the foil barrier in the houston area? thanks.

[This message has been edited by Ags #1 (edited 6/14/2009 12:51a).]

Does anyone know if there there a company like a Cooler House in the College Station area? We could use some help in trying to figure out what we can do to make this house cooler and why some rooms are so warm.

ZTGA

I forgot to mention that I'll be able to claim a tax credit for the work and get about $200 of it back.

We're into July now and the house is still perfectly comfortable.

Here is a video explaining the difference between radiant barrier paint and radiant barrier foil.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7B2pGUB-mU

[This message has been edited by GreyBoy (edited 7/4/2009 7:36p).]

I was hangin out with an architect friend yesterday and she mentioned a product that I've never heard of called SIPS. They are multi-use premanufactured insulated panels with a high R - value.

http://www.sips.org

I'm guessing these are used almost exclusively in new construction but still a neat concept.

Has anyone installed the radiant foil on a garage door? I want to install some on mine by attaching the foil to the inside ridge so that there is an air gap between the door and the foil. However I can't find anything online that states whether or not I need to leave an air gap at the top of each panel. Any insight is greatly appreciated.

This is a great thread that needs to stay current.

I will definately be using it for my next home.

Zach,

We do residential energy audits in the College Station/Austin areas. You can look at our website and contact us if you’re still interested in finding ways in improving the energy efficiency of your house.

Thanks,

Jonathan

www.sundancerenewable.com

For the DIYers, where did you get the foil? Is the Home Depot stuff as good as the stuff online?

TIA

I plan on doing it myself this winter with
http://www.atticfoil.com/index.html

I had them send me a sample and it seemed to be alot thicker than the Home Depot brand.

Also they are in Dallas so I will just make a weekend out of it when I go pick it up. This should make the wife happy since I figure the next few weekends I will be in the attic.

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Does anyone know if there there a company like a Cooler House in the College Station area? We could use some help in trying to figure out what we can do to make this house cooler and why some rooms are so warm.

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Zach I work for a insulation company here in College Station. We only do the spray insulation though. If you are interested post your email and I will send you the info. The company is Custom Insulators.

There is also a radiant barrier underlayment that goes under the felt when you have your roof replaced.

When I lived in Dallas EAS quoted me $10K for radiant barrier in my attic and they would add 6" of insulation. The payback on this is not worth it. I would recomend either doing it yourself or having the underlayment added if you have your roof replaced.

It is alot cheaper to add tech sheild during the construction proccess. Also spray foam insulation is much more efficient than typical insualtion.

I am doing the foil b/c when I built my house the salesman in his infinite wisdom told me that the radiant barrier wouldn't do that much because the house was energy start rated blah blah blah blah.

So in Houston during the summer I don't need it.

Worst $500 I never spent. I could strangle him.

What about cell phone reception? Anyone had problems with this?

Custom Insulators = Great guy and an Aggie! I work for the man and he really knows his stuff and his costs are really affordable in contrast to other companies.

I have been in construction for most of my life and I have come to the following conclusions for cutting down on the electric bills: Get more attic insulation (cellulose is best and a green product), install a power attic fan with a temp and humidity sensor, seal off all air leaks

As far as the paint and foil stuff, it is a waste of money IMHO.

Keep hearing about this Aggie operation in Lubbock on the radio.

http://www.truprotect.com/

So where is the best place to buy the DIY foil? I am in DFW and Home Depot's $59.99 for a 4' x 24' sections seems outrageous...

www.atticfoil.com

I paid a guy to blow in more insulation and cover it with attic foil. I've got some awesome pics of my rooftop compared to all my neighbors after the last snowfall here in DFW. My roof is completely covered with snow while all the neighbors' roofs are half melted.


I'm too lazy to do all the things necessary to post the pics, but I'll email them to anyone interested in posting them here.

Post it on www.tinypic.com

Its really easy.

First try

Back of house



Neighbor

Thanks for the help TMoney. This is fun. Here's another pic.

Edit: Had to remove because it's too big.


[This message has been edited by OleRock02 (edited 4/16/2010 3:34p).]

No problem, those pics really show the difference. There is an option to resize them when you upload the pics.

Luckily, the house I'm renting (and buying sometime soon) has a radiant barrier. It balances out the leaky windows... When I buy it, I'm going to have to replace the windows and the attic stairs, and probably put up one of those attic tents.