Category Archives: Residential

New AC & Furnace with Old Ductwork Reduces Savings

Do you ever feel like your new heating and cooling system is just as inefficient as the old
one it replaced? With temperatures in Kansas City exceeding 100 degrees in the summer and dropping below 10 degrees in the winter, it is important to have fully functioning New AC & Furnace with Old Ductwork Reduces Savings systems. Newer furnaces and air conditioners have an HVAC efficiency of up to 90 percent, but you aren’t getting the full benefit with an improperly designed duct system. The team at A+ Insulation helps break down the problems with old ductwork.

How could these hi-tech heating and cooling systems be as inefficient as a 1980s-era system? The loss of energy efficiency caused by leaky or collapsed ducts, stuck dampers, and non-functioning or dirty air intakes is costing you. Your ducts require more energy to maintain the desired thermostat temperature. This could be why your energy bills have been hundreds of extra dollars already this year!

Don’t Make Your Systems Work Too Hard

Optimal performance of the heating and cooling system can only be obtained through a well-designed and properly sealed duct system. A well-designed duct system will have an efficiency of over 80% leading to reduced cooling and heating costs and a more comfortable indoor environment.

Ducts are sealed with materials, such as caulk and tape, that eventually dry out. New AC & Furnace with Old Ductwork Reduces Savings-heating Once the seals dry out and lose their integrity, the airflow is impeded. This results in thermal loss due to cooled or heated air escaping through these leaks.

Your system could be losing 30 percent of the air that moves through your ducts due to leaks, holes, or improper sizing and connections. This forces the heating or cooling system to work significantly harder to maintain the desired temperature. Protect the longevity of your systems by making sure they don’t have to work excessively due to leaky ducts.

Breathe Easy with Upgraded Ducts

A healthier and more comfortable environment is possible with properly functioning ducts. Balancing pressure throughout rooms decreases temperature variance. Rooms stay closer to your desired temperature. Another benefit of properly designed and sealed ductwork is significantly improved air quality.

With upgraded duct work, your systems don’t have to work harder to compensate for the loss of heated or cooled air that escapes. Your home’s temperature won’t drastically vary room to room. You won’t have to worry about your system pulling in moldy and unhealthy air from attics and basements through the return ducts.

Save Yourself Some Money

When it comes to energy bills, where does your money go? During the hottest and coldest times of the year, significant extra energy is required to support the heating and cooling systems that are operating on a near-24/7 basis. As a result, there is a significant energy cost adjustment factor for energy drawn during this period.

Don’t sweat or shiver needlessly any longer. Get your ducts in a row by calling the professionals from A+ Insulation at (913) 281-2250 or (816) 268-7511 or contact us online.

Don’t Forget to Insulate the Most Neglected Room in Your Home

Insulating a Garage KC Insulation exists in the main living space of most homes from the get-go, but only the minimum required by law. NAIMA (North American Insulation Manufacturers Association) reports that 90% of homes in the U.S. are under-insulated. That’s why so many homeowners find great energy savings by adding additional insulation.

However, one of the most neglected spaces in most homes is the garage. Failing to properly insulate the garage allows air seepage and heat to flow in and out throughout the year, cooling your home in winter and heating it in summer.

Homeowners Don’t Consider the Garage a Room

One of the reasons the garage is so neglected is because many homeowners don’t consider the garage a room. People think about insulating their attics, their walls, and even their basements, but the lowly garage many times goes unnoticed. This is usually because homeowners see this area as just a place to park the cars and store the trash cans and lawn mower.

Insulate the Wall the Garage Shares with the House First

One of the most important places to insulate in your garage will be the wall it shares with your home. This is the point where most of the heat transfer occurs between the garage and interior of your home. Heat transfers into your home during warmer months and out during the colder ones. Insulating this wall can start saving you money right away by reducing the amount of time you need to run your furnace or air conditioner.

Garage Doors Don’t Provide Much of a Temperature Barrier

The second place you’ll want to take care of is the garage door. Most garage doors are thin, and the many joints create spaces where air can freely flow. More often than not, air that moves through the thin garage door is what heats/cools the garage, and eventually ends up heating/cooling your home. That being said, insulating the garage door is a must!

Garage Insulation Options

When it comes to garage insulation, you have a few different options:

Fiberglass – If you’ve ever seen that pink, cotton candy-like insulation in a home, then you’re already familiar with fiberglass insulation. It’s relatively cheap and widely used, though the installation is tough to do yourself. To be effective, fiberglass insulation requires walling-in.

Blown-In Insulation – For those who already have drywall installed around their garage, but don’t have any insulation, then blown-in is what you need. To install it, we will come in and open up a hole in the wall, pump in insulation, and then patch up the hole. Blown-in insulation is quick and easy, and we can often complete the job within a few hours.

Spray Foam Insulation – Spray foam insulation must be installed by professionals with specific equipment. Spray foam goes on wet and both seals and insulates for better airflow reduction and a higher R-value overall.

Insulating the garage is not an easy job; there are several building and safety codes that exist regarding installation and removal that must complied with. At A+ Insulation, we have a OSHA certified supervisor on the team who ensures the work we do is safe and complies with all regulations. We’ll give you all of your options and let you know which ones make the most sense for your home and your budget.

If you want the job done right by experienced professionals, then give A+ Insulation a call at (913) 281-2250 or (816) 268-7511. You can also contact us online.

These 5 Attic Insulation Mistakes Could Be Costing You Hundreds

These 5 Attic Insulation Mistakes Could Be Costing You Hundreds Most homeowners overlook their largest energy thief – attic insulation. While the insulation isn’t actually stealing the energy, lack of proper installation definitely is. Installation defects occur regularly and cost homeowners a lot of money. Insulation makes up for 70% of your home’s heat gain and loss.

By having your insulation inspected and installed by a professional, you can turn this energy thief into an energy saver.

Blown-In Insulation: Two issues regularly occur with blown-in insulation: An inadequate amount of insulation is blown and rooms are completely missed with no insulation at all. Inspectors routinely find attics with less than half of the insulation required for recommended energy efficiency.

Fiberglass Batt Insulation: Gaps due to misaligned batts are common. If batts are not snug to each other and the sheet rock below, an airtight barrier is not possible. Another installation error with batts occurs when ceilings are different heights and there isn’t a smooth transition. If the batts are laid over wires, pipes or other protrusions instead of against drywall, they could eventually collapse and create breached areas.

Gaps and Air Leaks: Plumbing pipes, recessed light fixtures, HVAC vents, etc. all have gaps around them where conditioned or heated air can escape. Not sealing these gaps before installing insulation will make your insulation less effective.

Architecture: Knee walls, dropped soffits, open chases and skylight wells are all examples of difficult construction details to insulate. Uncommon eve or soffit vents also cause energy loss due to lightweight blown insulation scattering from the wind.

Attic Walkways and Hatches: Many attics have paths to access both ends of the room. There often is a gap between the pathway and sheet rock because the installer didn’t properly insulate beneath it. Another commonly forgotten area is the attic access door. Usually plywood or drywall, it is often missed in the installation. A properly insulated attic access door should have insulation attached directly to it.

Disturbed Insulation: Whenever a technician enters your attic, the chances of your insulation being disrupted multiplies. They might move insulation to reach wires or pipes and don’t always take the time to replace it.

NAIMA (North American Insulation Manufacturers Association) reports that 90% of home in the U.S. are under insulated. If you think you it might be time for a proper inspection or better insulation, contact the professionals at A+ Insulation. As certified master insulators with over ten years of experience, we’ll get the job done right. Call us at (913) 281-2250 or (816) 268-7511.

How A+ Puts the Pro in Process

Unless you move a lot and end up living in multiple homes,you will probably only have insulation installed once in your li
fetime. That makes it difficult to know exactly what to expect during an insulation installation. At A+ Insulation, we make sure our customers know exactly what to expect.

With our 14-Step Installation Process, you’ll know how long the installation will take, how we protect your home, how much it will cost, etc. We tell you up front so there are no surprises, no inconveniences, and no unknowns. You can relax with A+ because you are informed.

A Breakdown of Our 14-Point Installation Process:

Initial Contact – First, call or email us and we’ll set an appointment for an inspection of your home.

Free, In-Home, No-Obligation, Inspection – We tell you where and how much insulation you’ll need.

Free Estimate – We provide a free, upfront estimate before any work begins so you never get a surprise bill with add-ons or extras you weren’t expecting.

Free Home Energy Evaluation – The home energy evaluation helps us see where your home is leaking energy so we know exactly which problem areas to fix.

Pre-Installation Walk-Through to go over Scope of Work – Before we begin working, we take you on a walk-through to explain where we will be adding insulation.

Set Date for Installation – We set a date that works with your schedule.

Provide Job Length Estimation – We look at the project and give you a time estimate of how long we will be there from start to clean up.

Protect Walls and Floors with Plastic – We take special care to protect your home from our equipment. We want it to look perfect when we leave.

Install Insulation in All Areas Required – We not only install the insulation, but we go the extra mile to seal all leaks where air can escape. Related Read: Insulation Installation – The Devil Is in the Details

Post-Installation Walk-Through for Customer Satisfaction – When finished, we show you our work so you can see we did exactly what we said we would do.

Show You Before & After Pics Hard to See Areas – To make sure there is no doubt as to the work we finished, we provide photographic evidence of attics and crawl spaces that would otherwise be hard to see.

Thorough Cleanup – We always leave your home as clean as we found it.

Get Final Payment – Once we are sure you are completely satisfied with our work, we accept final payment.

Leave You Comfortable – We leave you comfortable with the job, the quality, your home, and the price.

Quality in Every Insulation Installation

The most important thing we want you to know is that your home will be insulated to or above all local building codes for your area. Since 90% of homes in the U.S. are under-insulated, yours probably is too, and it will make a noticeable difference in your heating and cooling bills.

If you’d like to save money on your energy bills, give A+ Insulation a call at (913) 281-2250 or (816) 268-7511 or contact us online.

Compare before you hire. Use this handy list to know which questions to ask when comparing insulation companies. Download by clicking on the image below:

4 Ways DIY Attic Insulating Can Go Wrong

Heat rises, so it makes sense that in the winter, homes lose the most heat through the attic. Because of this, adding insulation makes a lot of sense.

However, attics can be a bit tricky. Simply adding insulation to your attic won’t keep all the heat inside your home. If you’re going to do it yourself, make sure you read these tips to avoid making these common mistakes.

1. Not Sealing Leaks

Insulation can only do so much if there are leaks around it that aren’t sealed to keep air from escaping. Attics are notorious for having vent pipes, electrical cables, recessed lighting, and more that create small spaces where air can get by. Sealing around these leak points will go a long way in reducing energy loss.

2. Not Sealing the Attic Hatch

The attic entry door, or hatch, is another place that’s often forgotten by homeowners, and surprisingly even professional insulation companies. Making sure the attic hatch has a tight seal will keep air from seeping through it and escaping into the attic. Conversely, in the summer, it will keep hot air from seeping down into your living space.

3. Not Insulating the Attic Hatch

Again, the attic hatch, because it is a moving part that must be opened and closed to enter the attic, is sometimes neglected when it comes to insulation. If your attic hatch is left uncovered, it creates a large space where air can get through an otherwise thorough bed of insulation.

4. Not Allowing for Proper Ventilation

The other tricky thing about attics is that they must have proper ventilation. Without it, homeowners can experience mold and mildew problems as well as ice dams that can form on the eaves in the winter. A ridge vent (vent along the peak of your roof) combined with soffit vents along your eaves keeps your entire roof from getting warm.

Insulation Makes Up for 70% of Your Home’s Heat Gain & Loss

While houses may have a variety of ways they are heated and cooled, insulation always provides tremendous energy savings. Luckily, insulation installation is one of the least expensive ways to achieve these energy savings. A professional insulation company like A+ Insulation will take care of all of these problems and make sure you save the maximum amount of money on your energy bills. If you need your attic insulation done right, call A+ Insulation at (913) 281-2250 or (816) 268-7511.

When comparing insulation companies, make sure you know what questions to ask to make the most informed choice. Use this handy checklist as your guide. Just click on the image below:

Why We Batten Down the (Attic) Hatches!

With the high cost of home heating and cooling, today’s homeowners are more concerned than ever with sealing off energy-wasting gaps and making sure their homes are well insulated. One of the most important areas of a home to insulate is the attic. That’s because, as everybody knows, heat rises, and if the attic is poorly insulated or worse, has no insulation, you can say goodbye to lower heating costs!

Gaps in Insulation Cause Heat Loss

Before you contact an insulation professional, though, it’s essential to do your homework to make sure you understand the difference between a good attic insulation job and a substandard one. Basically, the job of insulation is to keep heat from moving from one area to the next. In the winter, it keeps the heat in your home. In the summer, it keeps heat out. But even the very best insulation can’t prevent heat loss if there are gaps where air can escape and get in or out.

Attic Hatches Are often Forgotten

At A+ Insulation, there’s a reason we batten down the hatches when it comes to installing attic insulation! We not only address every possible escape route, every gap around recessed lights, duct work, or anywhere your attic could possibly leak air, we also make sure to include an area that other insulation companies, all too often, forget about — the attic hatch.

Leaving the hatch unsealed and unprotected leaves a huge gap in the insulation, greatly reducing its benefits! We seal the hatch and make sure there is insulation on top of it when we exit. We do every job right, down to the last detail.

Related Read: The Devil Is in the Details

We Show You How Thorough Our Job Is

When we finish the job, we provide a walk-through inspection so you can see exactly what we did. Plus, we show you before and after photos of the work we’ve completed in attics and crawl spaces since they are so hard to get to. We do a thorough job and we want to make sure you know it so you can have peace of mind and confidence in recommending us to your family, friends and neighbors!

Contact us online or call us at (913) 281-2250 if you’re considering adding insulation to your home. Your complete satisfaction is our mission!

Make sure you know who you’re hiring before you choose. Download this checklist for homeowners to know the critical questions to ask when hiring an insulation company. Just click on the image below:

Don’t Take Our Word for It…100+ Real Life Customer Stories

At A+ Insulation, we have been building our reputation since we opened our doors in 2004. Every job is done right, we don’t cut corners, we don’t use inferior products, and we stand behind our quality work.

But show me a company who says they don’t do every job right, do cut corners, and don’t stand behind their work.

The point is, everyone says good things about themselves. What you need to know is what our customers say about our work. That’s where the rubber meets the road and the truth comes out.

Testimonials Tell the Real Story

That’s why we don’t want you to take our word for it. See what our customers have to say about the way we do our job. Hear from real homeowners and business owners and get their opinion. They have no vested interest in promoting A+ Insulation. All they know is the job we did for them.

Real experiences are the best source for homeowners who are considering hiring an insulation company. No one hires a company expecting to be disappointed. Expectations are only expectations until the job is through.

Blown Away by Our Blown-In Insulation

Here is just one example of the many testimonials happy customers have left us:

Review by a homeowner in Overland Park, KS

Project: Install or Upgrade Batt, Rolled or Reflective Insulation

Mike O’Hara and his team were very professional! Offered a great presentation on the services they offered and explained every step in detail. It was great to watch the whole procedure, crews were wonderful and the clean up was great! I would highly recommend them!

Need more convincing? Check out our over 125 reviews on Home Advisor.

We want to be your insulation company in Kansas City and surrounding areas. If you have any questions about our work, our materials, our technicians, or our prices, we will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Call us at (913) 281-2250 or (816) 268-7511.

Excellent Insulation Installation Is No Accident

Are you searching for the right company to insulate your home or business? Expect the Best from A+ Insulation. We provide quality, detail-oriented service. Why should A+ Insulation be your first choice when looking for insulation services?

Customer Service Is as Important as Quality Work

Besides being bonded, licensed and insured in quality insulation work, the team at A+ Insulation is also customer service driven and trained. It isn’t just about installing quality insulation in your home or business with A+. From initial consultation to completion of the project, this team wants you completely satisfied and confident that you are dealing with a team of qualified and professional insulation installers. You will get more with us than the other insulation companies in town.

Safety Is Always a Priority

With A+ Insulation, every installation has an OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) certified supervisor on site. We take pride in the safe removal and installation of insulation in your home and business. Our OSHA certified supervisor ensures that the work we do is done safely and in compliance with safety and hazard regulations. We are committed to making sure the job is done right.

Learn More before You Decide Which Insulation Company to Hire

Please check out our blog to learn more about news and trends regarding insulation and conserving energy, and also request a free home energy evaluation. No pressure, just customer service! A+ is your trusted, quality source for insulation and energy savings for your home and business.

Contact us today at A+ Insulation on our website or (913) 281-2250 or (816) 268-7511 to learn more about the best insulation installation services serving the Kansas City area!

Before you choose an insulation company, make sure you know the differences. Download our free guide to help you make an informed choice. Just click on the image below:

We Don’t Just Talk the Insulation Talk, We Walk the Walk

At A+ Insulation, customer service is our main concern. We want our customers to be happy, satisfied, comfortable, and confident that they hired the right insulation company and got a quality job for the money they paid. Sounds like what a lot of other insulation companies would say, right? Well, the difference is that we don’t just talk about it. We take actions that accomplish it.

Whole-House Walk-Through

When we finish with your insulation job, we don’t just say, “Thank you”, and pack up our equipment and go. Yes, the insulation job is complete, but our customer service job has only just begun, as we go above and beyond what is expected. After all, we want you to give us an A-PLUS!

Our technicians take the time to walk you through your home, show you where the insulation was installed, explain the details and let you see the finished work. Before we leave, we want to make sure you are completely satisfied with every aspect of the job.

Photographic Evidence of an Insulation Job Well Done

Attic Blown-In Insulation After Pic — Attic After Picture with Ruler

Air Sealed Light Fixture Pic — Sealed Light Fixture in Attic

Some areas of your home, like your attic or crawl spaces, aren’t the most inviting or easy places to do a walk-through. We don’t let that stop us. We provide photographic proof of the insulation we installed. You’ll see before, during, and after photos of our work so you can be completely confident that we did what we said we would do. We show you how we sealed any leaks, and how much insulation we installed.

Your satisfaction is that important to us. We have built a reputation on excellence and trust. We count on you to recommend us to your family, friends, and neighbors and we want you to recommend us with confidence!

If you need insulation installed in your home, call A+ Insulation at (913) 281-2250 or (816) 268-7511. We will provide the best insulation job you can find.

If you’re shopping for an insulation company in Kansas City, download this handy Homeowners Comparison Checklist to help know what to look for in an insulation company. Click on the image below:

6 Great Reasons to Insulate Your Home

There are plenty of good reasons to insulate your home. We’ve seen them all at A+ Insulation. Here are the top six that we see the most often.

Whether you want to be more comfortable, save money on energy bills, or want a quieter home, we can help with the right kind of insulation.

You Have an Older Home with Little or No Insulation

Did you know that most homes are under-insulated? It’s true. The North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA) estimates that roughly 90% of existing U.S. homes are under-insulated, based on new research.

Most people assume their home is sufficiently insulated, but they are wrong. Only 20% of homes built before 1980 were well insulated). If you have an older home, you can save on energy bills and feel more comfortable by adding insulation – especially to your attic.

Keeping Your Home Comfortable

If your home feels uncomfortably cold cold in the winter or hot in the summer, the culprit is probably not just your air conditioner or furnace, you most likely lack the proper insulation. Your home probably also leaks air in quite a few places.

A free home energy evaluation can help you identify where your home is losing its energy (and your money). We’ll be able to tell you where you can make the changes that will affect your comfort (and wallet) the most. It’s great information and it costs you nothing to get informed about your home’s energy efficiency.

Upcoming Remodeling Projects

If you’re building an addition to your home, or adding siding or a new roof, it’s the perfect time to add insulation. If you’re going to build it, you want it to be comfortable and energy efficient. Plus, it’s easier to add insulation to new construction than existing structures.

Related Read: Remodeling? One Thing Most Homeowners Forget to Update

High Energy Bills

If your energy bills seem high, it’s most likely due to lack of insulation and a home that leaks energy. Get a free energy evaluation to find out exactly where you could benefit from sealing and insulating your home.

Noise Reduction

Noise from both outside and inside the home can be lessened with insulation. It’s perfect for offices, home theatre rooms, and nurseries to absorb room-to-room noise. Insulating outside walls will keep outside sounds from sneaking in.

Environmental Responsibility

If you’re concerned about the effect of energy use on the environment, insulation definitely lessens the amount of energy your home uses and loses. Installing insulation helps reduce energy loss in a number of areas in the house.

A great place to start is the attic, as about 25% of a home’s energy can be lost through the attic. Adding insulation to walls and ceilings and over unconditioned ground floor spaces, like basements and garages, is a simple and effective way to reduce energy loss.

If your home feels uncomfortable, or you have high utility bills, insulation is the answer. Call A+ Insulation at (913) 281-2250 or (816) 268-7511 for a free home energy evaluation.

Before you hire an insulation company, make sure you know the differences. Make an informed choice by clicking the image below to download a free guide.

"Informative and thorough" From the beginning I knew Mike and his team would do a great job. When Mike came to give the estimate, both he and I climbed up in the attic to look around. He didn't just peek his head up in the attic. He was willing to show me (a girl) what he was going to be doing. While we were up there, he found exposed wires and lighting that needed to be taken care of before the insulation could be put down due to it being a fire hazard. He even offered to do these things for us. His staff was friendly, and cleaned up when they were done. I could have paid less with another company, but you pay for what you get. Peace of mind is priceless.