Bakersfield Roof Makeover By BSW Roofing Solar & Air With Raised Radiant Barrier, Insulation & GAF Grand Sequoia®Shingles

Bakersfield Roof Makeover By BSW Roofing Solar & Air With Raised Radiant Barrier, Insulation & GAF Grand Sequoia® Shingles

When you combine a fabulous home in the Rio Bravo area of Bakersfield, CA with GAF Grand Sequoia® composition shingle roof it equals a dramatic visual impact.

BSW Roofing Solar & Air removed an old wood shingle roof, installed raised radiant barrier, attic insulation, and a  new Grand  Sequoia® composition shingle roof by GAF building products. The combination of these three products provides the homeowner with a roofing system for both energy efficiency and curb appeal.

Your attic can get extremely hot and cold. If you have attic air leaks and insufficient insulation, a lot of your conditioned air will escape into your attic and out of your roof. Additionally, lack of insulation means more hot and cold temperatures seeping into the home.

Radiant barrier insulation is a reflective insulation system that offers a permanent solution to reducing energy costs. Radiant barrier insulation systems reflect radiant heat energy instead of absorbing it. When temperatures start climbing, the hot rays from the sun beam down on your roof. As the roof absorbs heat from the sun, it starts to heat up your attic like an oven.

Proper insulation in the form of radiant barriers will drastically reduce the rate of heat transfer. On hot days when the sun is beating down on your roof, radiant heat from the underside of the roof causes most of your attic’s heat absorption. Radiant barriers are most effective in warmer climates with air duct located in the attic.

According to the U.S. Dept. of Energy, “radiant barriers can reduce cooling costs 5% to 10% when used in a warm, sunny climate.” It’s important to improve your  thermal insulation as well, such as blow-in fiberglass first as was done on this Rio Bravo home. Radiant barriers will work best in attics that have the proper R-value thermal resistant insulation. Radiant barrier insulation benefits include:

  • Works to keep warm air in during the winter and solar radiant heat out during the summer.
  • Prevents up to 97% of solar radiation.
  • Reduces attic temperatures by up to 30ºF
  • Improves energy efficiency and lowers utility costs, especially if HVAC and duct systems are located in the attic.
  • Provides faster heating and cooling with fewer cycle times. This reduces the need for repairs and extends the lifespan of your HVAC equipment.
  • Greater control over heating, air conditioning, and humidity.
  • More comfortable, more precise heating and air conditioning.
  • No maintenance required.
  • Lasts a lifetime.

Wood shingles offer a classic look, but, if your home has a wood shake roof, you’re going to pay more for insurance. In some cases, insurers may refuse to cover a house with wood shakes. These fiberglass asphalt shingles from GAF feature over-sized shapes and large tabs that mimic the look of wood, for less. Grand Sequoia Shingles have a Class A fire rating and a 130 mph wind warranty. They come in a variety of colors for the Bakersfield region.

Contact BSW Roofing Solar & Air for a free quote today to replace your wood shake roof through bswroofing.com or email or call us at 661-327-ROOF (7663).

How Effective can Attic Insulation be in Shrinking your Energy Bills?

Lots of people never realize this, but insulating your attic represents an effective means in which you may intensely bring down your energy bills. Energy preservation signifies a really hot and argued issue these days, both between the masses as well as in the mass media. Attic insulation is both very effective and affordable, particularly when you cannot manage to pay for high priced ecological appliances.

So, let’s start with one of the most vital laws of nature: warm air always rises up above cold air. This is exactly the reason why if you do not set up attic insulation, the hot air will always rise up from the house and get straight outside through the roof. And this is precisely where attic insulation comes into place. It will keep hot air from leaking out and it will actually reduce the time during which your furnace works.

Perhaps the most popular attic insulation type is fiberglass batt insulation. This insulation type is in reality what virtually all people see in the mind’s eye when imagining attic insulation. Fiberglass batts are in reality long strips that can be either pink or yellow. Furthermore to the fact that this special insulation type is very easy to install, the R-value of batts can also differ a lot, a thing that constitutes an benefit too, as you need to customize your specific insulation’s R-value taking the recommended value of your area into consideration. The choice of incorporating or not incorporating a vapor barrier is completely yours.

At that point, another cool option is cellulose attic insulation. It possesses a significant advantage over the fiberglass batts, and that is the fact that it is way cheaper. Nonetheless, there is a catch to this: most people cannot install this type of insulation by themselves, and often professional service is called for. This will somewhat increase the price of its installation. Cellulose is a loose material that gets blown on the floor of the attic, coating even the tiniest opening or gap. The perfect installation is a homogenous blanket. Also, if you treasure the environment, you will be glad to find out that cellulose is really an environment friendly solution, for cellulose is actually made from reprocessed newspapers.

Eventually, there is one more important insulation type, the spray foam. This specific insulation type was typically applied in commercial applications, but it is nowadays significantly more popular than it used to be. It is a material that expands, and it becomes a few times more voluminous in its dilated state. This lets it cover every little opening and to create a highly efficient insulation. Spray foam has a large range of R-values, making it mainly valuable in cold climates. It is also a kind of insulation that demands a professional installation procedure, since highly specialized tools are needed for the process.

Now, how effective can attic insulation be in shrinking your energy bills? Honestly, it can be very effective, and you will be surprised to find out that you might even pay up to 30% less for your energy bills! All you need to do is get in touch with a professional who will examine your attic and will tell you just what insulation type is best for your home.