Why You Shouldn’t Install Insulation on Your Own

In order to save money by not hiring a professional insulation installation company, some people attempt to install insulation on their own. Doing so, however, can have several negative repercussions—from safety risks to quality issues. Because of the severity of some of the risks associated with installing your own insulation, you should know what you’re getting yourself into before forgoing hiring professional contractors. Discover some of the main reasons why you shouldn’t install insulation on your own.

You could do it wrong

If you aren’t a trained insulation installation professional, there is a good chance that you could end up installing your insulation incorrectly. A substantial problem when people try to install their own insulation is gaps in the insulation. Such gaps make the insulation highly ineffective. Rather than a tight seal to prevent air from leaving or entering your home, air will simply be able to travel through the gaps. Thus, you’ll likely still experience the draftiness in your home that made you want to install insulation in the first place. If insulation is incorrectly installed, however, your drafty home will be the least of your worries. Poorly installed insulation can pose several health risks for the residents of your home.

It can be dangerous

One of the most significant reasons why you should avoid installing insulation in your home on your own is because doing so can be dangerous. Certain types of insulation pose health hazards both during and after the installation process if you don’t follow proper protocol. Common health risks associated with improper attic insulation include respiratory issues, skin irritation, eye and nose irritation, and even an increased risk of cancer.

One of the leading causes of such risks is the chemical off-gassing that can occur if the insulating agent isn’t applied properly. Such chemicals will be released into your home through the process of evaporation. If such hazardous chemicals are inhaled for an extended amount of time, residents of your home may begin to experience respiratory issues such as difficulty breathing, throat irritation, or worsening asthma symptoms.

Another serious health hazard associated with improper insulation is an increased risk of cancer. This exacerbated risk is present when the chemicals in foam insulation don’t bind properly and, as a result, release harmful substances that are potentially carcinogenic. Because of such severe safety and health hazards, you should avoid installing insulation on your own.

You could damage your home

In addition to injuring yourself, you could also damage your home by trying to install insulation on your own. If your insulation is improperly installed, mold, rust, and ice dams could form in and outside your home. When insulation is installed improperly, warm air can escape your attic and cause the snow on your roof to melt and refreeze repeatedly. This frequent thaw-freeze cycle may cause ice dams to form on your roof, trapping melted water in a pool. The extra weight of water on your roof could cause the roof to sag, doing serious structural damage to your home, or even collapse. An improperly insulated home may also result in excess moisture as well. Such excessive moisture can not only cause metal elements in your home to rust and deteriorate more quickly, but it also provides an ideal environment for mold to flourish. In addition to being potentially hazardous to one’s health, a mold outbreak in one’s home can weaken its structural integrity.

You might not have the right equipment

Even if you’re able to properly determine which type of insulation is best for your home, you may not have the right equipment to install it. Properly installing more complex insulation types such as spray foam insulation requires highly specialized equipment. Such equipment is not only challenging to use but is also very expensive. Unless you’re planning on starting your own insulation installation company, such equipment will probably be used only once. Plus, the equipment can be challenging to obtain as you won’t find it at your local hardware store. As such, obtaining insulation installation equipment likely isn’t worth the cost of forgoing hiring a professional insulation company.

You might choose the wrong kind of insulation

There is a wide variety of insulation and many variables go into determining which one is the best option for your home. In certain homes, a specific type of insulation may be required to effectively insulate the area. For example, an area that has a lot of nooks and crannies may not be ideal for batts and roll fiberglass insulation. Instead, the space may require spray foam insulation to properly fill such tight areas. Without the professional opinion of a trusted insulation company, you risk wasting your efforts on attempting to install an inappropriate insulation type for your home.

Correctly installing insulation on your own is very difficult

Aside from the many health and safety risks of installing your own insulation, doing so correctly is also simply very time consuming. While professional insulation installers may make it look like a piece of cake, correctly installing insulation is very challenging—especially if you have little or no experience doing so. Thoroughly inspecting your home, determining which type of insulation is best for your home, gathering materials, installing your insulation, and testing to ensure that it has been installed correctly takes up quite a bit of time. Unless you’re willing to invest a substantial amount of time and energy into properly insulating your home, it is probably best to hire a professional insulation contractor.

You don’t know how to test that it’s installed correctly

While you may be able to infer that your insulation isn’t properly installed as your energy bill fails to decrease and drafts persist throughout your home, this isn’t the best quality-check method. Rather than adhering to a trial-and-error technique, a professional insulation installer will be able to efficiently check to ensure that your insulation has been properly installed. By doing so, any issues can be resolved immediately, rather than months down the line.

If you aren’t willing to put your health, safety, and home at risk by installing your own insulation, consider enlisting the services of Paragon Protection. We are leading providers of blown-in fiberglass, cellulose, batts and roll fiberglass, compact, and spray insulation in the Chicagoland area. Our insulation contractors will safely, efficiently, and effectively install insulation in your home. For more information regarding our services, contact us today.