Cottage renovations are on the rise, with owners looking to add specialty rooms to make their vacation home a dream escape.
If you’re adding a wine cellar, sauna, indoor pool, home theatre, or music studio to your cottage, Curtis Hinksman of Soundseals Insulation suggests planning ahead to make sure your walls, ceilings and floors are insulated properly to support your added living space.
“Insulation is not one-size-fits-all,” says Curtis. “While its primary purpose is to make your home comfortable and energy efficient, it can and should be tailored to your space, to keep moisture and sound where you want it.”
At Soundseals Insulation, Curtis and his team use two different types of spray foam – open cell and closed cell – as well as other materials to personalize the insulation of each room to its use.
Manage moisture
Each insulation has its purpose. For your wine cellars and saunas, where the space has very specific humidity and temperature requirements, closed cell insulation is a perfect solution.
“This type traps air in individual closed cells that are impenetrable, keeping moisture and odours where they belong,” says Curtis.
Create better acoustics
While closed-cell offers a superior vapour barrier, open-cell insulation is a much better choice for rooms like home theatres, music studios, or noisy playrooms, where you’d like to trap the sound.
Unlike closed-cell insulation, open-cell consists of cells that are deliberately left open to be softer and better for sound wave absorption.
While the two types are often used independently, they can also be used together to maintain and manage both sound and moisture control.
“If you want to have a sauna next to your theatre room, we can offer a personalized insulation solution to help control the moisture, temperature and sound travel to make the most of your design.”
Winter advantage
If you’ve recently purchased a home or cottage, this winter is the perfect season to assess your insulation.
While ice damming (huge sheets of icicles that can be seen in your roof’s valleys and along the eavestrough) is the clearest indication that your insulation is insufficient, you can also look and feel for insulation flaws indoors.
“If you feel the wall and it’s cold, that’s a good indication that it’s time to upgrade your insulation,” says Curtis.
Now’s the best time to book an installation, when insulation companies like Soundseals are generally less busy.
“We can work directly with homeowners or partner with your project manager, from the planning stages and throughout the project,” says Curtis. “We will provide you with excellent advice and service, no matter how big or small your build or renovation.”
TEXT SHELANNE AUGUSTINE | PHOTOS ANDREW FEARMAN
