ATTIC INSuLATION & VENTILATION PRO’SGEORGE ZENTZ • LICENSED BUILDER • INSURED • SINCE 1984

ATTIC INSuLATION & VENTILATION PRO’SGEORGE ZENTZ • LICENSED BUILDER • INSURED • SINCE 1984

Attic ventilation is an important, yet often neglected, issue affecting our home’s preservation. The building codes passed regarding attic ventilation are rarely enforced and often ignored. Nearly all homes in our area, both old and new, suffer from the effects of poor attic ventilation. In the summer, attic temperatures can soar beyond 160 degrees Fahrenheit. This heat broils the living space in your home and literally bakes the life out of your shingles. In fact, shingle warranties are void without adequate intake and exhaust venting. The cold, winter weather creates condensation in your attic which leads to mold and trapped heat will create ice dams.

A properly balanced system of both soffi t intake venting in the eaves and exhaust venting on the roof will cycle air through the attic to keep it cooler in the summer and drier in the winter. This will extend the life of your shingles, reduce your air conditioning expense, improve your family’s comfort and help prevent attic mold and ice dams.

Unfortunately, most homes fall far short of the minimum amount of intake and exhaust venting that our attics require. Common problems include: little or no soffi t venting, inadequate ridge venting, soffi t or ridge venting that was installed improperly and soffi t venting that is blocked by insulation. We can correct these problems by installing additional soffi t venting, an attic fan or perhaps insulation baffl es to channel the air from the soffi t vents, past the insulation, and into the attic.

Our attic fan will automatically draw the super-heated air out of your attic in the summer, pulling cool air in through the soffi t vents, reducing your attic temperatures by up to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. During the winter months, the automatic humidistat will control the fan to keep your attic dry. Premium quality, energy effi cient, thermally protected motor, quiet, ten year manufacturer’s warranty, available in black, brown and gray.

Insulation baffl es create a channel for the air entering your soffi t vents to get past the insulation and into your attic cavity. Most homes have few, if any, baffl es and they are often installed improperly.

Bathroom exhaust fans must be vented out of the attic to prevent mold, rotten wood and ice dams. The preferred method is to install a combo vent with a built-in damper that prevents back drafts.

WE’RE THE ONES TO CALL WHEN SECOND BEST JUST WON’T DO!

Please call for an evaluation of your attic...(586) 997-4000 Copyright 2007 George Zentz

We all know that energy costs are skyrocketing with no end in sight. The cost of natural gas for winter heating nearly tripled from January, 2000 to January, 2006 and the cost of air conditioning continues to climb as well. The ceiling in your home is the number one source of winter heat loss and summer heat gain. The good news is, upgrading your attic insulation to reduce your energy costs is comparatively inexpensive and will also minimize ice damming, reduce your risk of attic mold infestation, improve your comfort and increase your property value.

Virtually all older homes fall far short of today’s standards and, surprisingly, even new homes in Michigan fail to meet of the Department of Energy’s minimum recommendation of R-49 for attic insulation. In fact, most new homes have only R-30 fi berglass insulation with an effective R-value of less than R-20 in the winter!

Why should you hire the Attic Insulation & Ventilation Pro’s? I have been a contractor for over twenty years and have satisfi ed thousands of homeowners. I’ve accomplished this by being honest, knowledgeable, timely and competitive. I use only the highest quality materials and never sacrifi ce quality for profi t. Many homeowners are concerned about reports of unscrupulous contractors who actually install far less insulation than quoted. We always install at least the amount quoted, and I personally guarantee it! I am state licensed and insured to protect you, the homeowner. We’ll do the most thorough job, treat your home with respect and clean up properly. This is why we can say, “We’re the ones to call when second best just won’t do!”

Oak Ridge National laboratories found that as the temperature drops, the effective R-value of fi berglass plummets while the effective R-value of cellulose actually increases.

Please call for an evaluation of your attic... (586) 997-4000

Inadequate Ventilation =

Higher summer cooling billsAttic mold and rotten woodPremature aging of shinglesShingle warranty is voidedIce dams and water intrusion

WHAT IS R-VALUE:“R” VALUE IS A STANDARDIZED

MEASUREMENT THAT GAUGES

INSULATION’S ABILITY TO RESIST HEAT

FLOW. THE HIGHER THE “R” VALUE THE

GREATER THE INSULATING POWER.

We install premium grade cellulose insulation. Extensive, independent testing has repeatedly proven that cellulose outperforms all fi berglass products during both the winter heating and summer cooling seasons. Overwhelming evidence from internationally respected laboratories such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, University of Colorado School of Architecture, Cornell University, University of Illinois and even the National Research Council of Canada have concluded that cellulose is superior to

fi berglass in energy conservation, preventing air infi ltration, slowing the spread of fi re and reducing convection. Convection is the movement of heat through the insulation, resulting in ice dams and attic mold. Fiberglass loses up to 40% of its R-value in the winter while cellulose actually gains R-value in the winter! R-value lost is heat lost into the attic, resulting in higher heating bills, attic mold and ice dams.

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Most homeowners are surprised to learn that ice dams are the result of heat trapped in the attic. In a poorly insulated home, heat escapes through the ceiling into the attic and without proper ventilation, it remains trapped in the attic. This trapped heat melts accumulated snow on the roof, even though outside temperatures are below freezing. The water from this melted snow travels down the roof until it arrives at the much colder edge of the roof and refreezes forming an ice dam. As the snow continues to melt, additional water pools behind the dam working its way under the shingles and into the attic and wall cavities. While you may see some structural damage, the most extensive damage is often unseen. Moisture in the attic and walls creates a fertile breeding ground for toxic mold, wood rot and insect infestation.

To minimize your home’s exposure to ice dams, you must have adequate insulation in the attic to control heat loss and provide proper ventilation to remove heat and moisture from your attic. Your attic insulation should have an “effective R-value” (see chart on page one) of at least R-49. Attic ventilation requires a properly sized and balanced system of both intake and exhaust venting. The heat and moisture from bathroom exhaust fans must be vented out of the attic.

IN AN EMERGENCY, WE CAN CLEAR THE SNOW AND ICE OFF OF YOUR ROOF.

In the winter, a vast amount of heat escapes up through the whole house fan louvers into the attic. The solution is our foam fi lled, radiant barrier. Reusable, install in the fall and remove in the spring, takes less than one minute!

Fold down stairs are an enormous source of heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer. Our Energy Shield cover has an effective R-value of 14.5 and is constructed with a convenient, fi reproof zipper for easy access.

While mold has been around for millions of years, it’s only recently that it has become an unwelcome guest in so many of our attics. I’ve witnessed an alarming increase in the percentage of attics contaminated with mold in just the last few years. The fact is, we’re unwittingly creating a fertile breeding ground for mold in our attics. Mold needs moisture to reproduce. Insuffi cient insulation, improper ventilation, construction errors and incorrect bathroom exhaust venting allows condensation to form on the underside of the roof decking in the winter.

We fi nd attic mold in both new and old homes. Most homeowners aren’t aware they have it until they attempt to sell their home and the buyer’s inspector says that dreaded word “mold”.

While mold and the mycotoxins it produces have been proven to be hazardous to humans, it’s not clear if mold in the attic is an imminent threat to the home’s inhabitants. What we do know is that it can be devastating to the market value of your home and we encourage homeowners to be proactive and avoid attic mold by insuring they have effective insulation and ventilation. The good news is, the steps you take to prevent attic mold will also reduce your heating and cooling costs, minimize ice dams, improve your comfort, increase your property value and protect your family’s health. Note that homeowners’ insurance policies generally exclude attic mold from coverage.

Before

If you already have attic mold, don’t panic. Instead of capitalizing on media hype and fear to overcharge, we offer a serious, sensible solution to mold clean up and regrowth prevention at a reasonable price. We use an effective, step by step approach to contain, kill and eliminate the mold. Next we prevent regrowth by denying moisture to the attic with improved insulation and ventilation and correcting any bathroom exhaust problems. Some homeowners have paid signifi cantly for mold clean up only to have the mold return in less than one year! I possess the professional experience and knowledge of the unique conditions that cause attic mold, how to safely remove it and effectively prevent regrowth.

We use E.P.A. registered sanitizers and anti-microbial products with the most advanced nanotechnology to prevent mold growth.

ICE DAMS ATTIC MOLD

BEWARE: NEW HOMES ARE JUST AS VULNERABLE TO MOLD AS OLDER HOMES

After

CLEAN UP

CLEAN UP