With winter upon us and Christmas around the corner, a line from a song synonymous with the season makes for a good segue into the benefits of upgrading your home’s insulation.
“It is cold out,” chuckled Blake LaBonte of Phoenix Siding, adding that most people with older homes tend to forget about insulation in the summer, but come calling “when the heating bills start piling up.”
Blake’s dad, Mark LaBonte, started Phoenix Siding in 1990 and continues to oversee all aspects of the company.
Blake has been with Phoenix since 2006, after graduating from VIU with a bachelor of Business Administration.
The majority of Phoenix’s business involves siding and gutter installation, but as the federal government continues to offer homeowners grants and rebates for increasing the energy efficiency of their homes, the demand for those services grows.
“The majority of what we do where insulation upgrades are concerned is with the walls. Houses that are 40 years and older have zero insulation in the walls. Nothing,” LaBonte explained, adding “A lot of people that have recently bought an older home don’t realize their home is not insulated.”
Phoenix does not do asbestos or fibreglass batten removal, but the walls do need to be empty before they can do the insulation upgrade.
“We will also do some small attics, but our machine is designed more for walls.”
To that end, Phoenix will come to your house and do an insulation assessment.
For the upgrade, Phoenix uses a blower designed to disperse the cellulose insulation (basically ground-up treated newspaper; environmentally friendly, and mold and fire resistant) evenly for optimum efficiency.
The improvement in heating costs is immediate, and the savings add up.
“Obviously it depends on the house, but on average our customers save anywhere from $30-$75 a month in heating costs during the winter months by just having the walls down.”
Upgrading the insulation in your home’s walls also increases sound proofing, and keeps the house cooler in the summer months.
“When your house is really cold in the winter, it’s going to be hot in the summer.”
