St. Cloud General Contractor

One of the most unpleasant seasons for some is Winter.  Granted it’s a festive season with plenty of holiday cheer and thanks giving but it also breeds heavy snow flurries, cold weather and high heating bills.  The last expense you want to think about during the winter season with all the festivities and increased utilities is a home remodel project in your St Cloud home.  Winters in Minnesota make it hard enough, who wants to add to the racket with a St Cloud general contractor trudging about costing you money?

That’s exactly how it looks on the front end but there’s a way to reverse that cash flow so that far less is slipping out your door every winter season – and let’s face it we all deal with those inflated heating costs lately.  It might seem like an extreme investment to start running through home improvement ideas in order to improve the efficiency of your home but working with a general contractor to prep your house for winter is about more than just comfortable living.

It’s about making your home more energy efficient – here’s how:

The Attic:  Got one?  Probably.  If you have an attic that means you more than likely have an access route into the attic.  Whether it’s a big hole with some drop down stairs or it’s just an access panel, there’s a good chance that your attic access isn’t fully insulated.  What are the ramifications of stripping away insulation in one spot without forming a tight seal on that attic door?  A lot.  You’re losing over 10% of your heat up through the entry space.

The solution to this problem is more than just a roll of pink panther cotton candy on the topside of the panel.

Turn your attic into a monster that will work for you to help heat your home.  Get with a general contractor and pickup foil insulation for your attic.  By installing the foil you’re creating a radiant barrier that reflects the heat back down into your home.

The normal insulation in your attic is great for slowing down heat loss.  That’s all it does, though;  it slows it down.  A reflective, radiant barrier placed throughout the roof in your attic will reflect more than 90% of the rising heat back down into your living space.  The common fiber-glass insulation in your attic will slow the heat loss, but that radiant barrier almost stops it completely.

Imagine leaving a window open throughout the entire Minnesota winter – that sounds a bit unpleasant doesn’t it?  Bitter cold blizzards blowing into your home aside, you can imagine the cost of heating the outside world.  That’s what you’re doing though if you don’t have your home and attic space insulated properly.  It’s a simple task, and one that’s easy for a general contractor to tackle regardless of the style of your home.

Just remember that the larger your attic, the more heat you’re losing.  That can be reversed though – the larger your attic the greater the potential for savings.  While the initial investment might scare you away from tackling some of those energy home improvement ideas, you’ll be saving 10-25% on your energy bills each month.  You can rest assured that this type of home improvement in St Cloud will pay for itself and then some for years to come.