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Building an extension for my mother-in-law

I love my mother-in-law but I never planned on living with her permanently. I have been enjoying her living with us now that we have kids but I feel like we all need some extra space so I am getting a granny flat built at the back of our block. This should allow us to have some extra space to make sure everyone has the privacy that they need whilst we can still be a family. This block has some tip on the process of building a granny flat including how to choose a contractor and how to get the council approval for the build.

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Building an extension for my mother-in-law

Parts of a Home You Can Insulate

by Chloe Cooper

Insulation creates a barrier that prevents heat from passing through or reflects heat away. Thus, it will keep your home at a more comfortable temperature in all seasons. Here's an overview of the different parts of the house you can protect.

Roof and Ceiling

A lot of heat enters and exits a building through the roof and ceiling, so these are crucial areas to insulate. Batts, made of glass wool or polyester, can be fitted between the ceiling joists, or loose-fill products can be blown in. Your contractors will pay special attention to the lights, and they may leave a gap around them to avoid fires. Some kinds of LED lights may not require this. Your contractors will be able to advise you. Insulation can also be applied between the roof battens and underneath the tiles, steel or other roof cladding. In hot climates, reflective foil insulation is frequently used to reflect solar heat away from the crawl space, keeping it cooler.

Walls

Another part of a house that benefits from insulation is the external walls. These face outdoor weather conditions, which is why they're more important to insulate than the internal walls. In an existing house, a contractor may use loose-fill insulation, which they can blow in after creating a small hole in the wall. Loose-fill insulation can be made from wool or cellulose, which is manufactured from paper fibres. If you're adding insulation to a house while it's being built, batts can be put in the cavity between the external cladding and plaster.

Which insulation is used will depend on the wall's materials and structure. The walls may be weatherboard, brick veneer or solid, and each of these will require a different solution. For example, for a brick veneer home, bats could be put between the wall studs, and a foam board could be placed behind that, in the gap between the bricks and the wall studs. The board will stop heat from using the wall studs to pass through the wall.

Floor

The floor is another surface where your home can either lose or gain unwanted heat. If you have wooden planks, bats or foil insulation can be fitted between the floor joists. The insulation will help keep draughts out and prevent moisture from building up under the wooden planks.

If the floor is suspended concrete, an insulating foam board may be fixed underneath. If you're building a new house with a concrete slab on the ground, your contractors can advise on ways they can add residential insulation. They need to be careful that any products they add don't rot and also be mindful of other issues. 

For more info about residential insulation, contact a local company. 

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