moemoe Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 Off topic guys, but can any one recommend a decent home energy audit company? serving hamitlon area, big thing is I need to upgrade trhe attic insulation from the 4inch bats that are there, and while I am topic can anyone recommend a decent and fair priced insulation company to have it blown in? Thanks moe
fishnsled Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 I've got a few buddies in the Hamilton area that I just sent out emails to. Will see if I can get any names for you. Been investigating the Durham region myself and was wondering if anyone had used someone out that way for the audit. (don't mean to hijack the thread)
The Urban Fisherman Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 I did mine by myself and saved some cash.... bought the insulation on sale at Home Depot and they gave me the machine for free....It was a piece of cake, but my father-in-law and I drank a whole pile a beer that night...what a hangover.. lol
mike rousseau Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 Do it yourself... The insulation that is... Get tge pink panther stuff at home depot... I think 20 bags gets a free machine... If you don't use em all... You can return tge rest... No charge... I did my house... From the time I left to pickup everything to when I was back home sipping beers... 3 hours... Saved hundreds... Just blow it in 2 feet deep for the max "R" rating...
mike rousseau Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 Btw... I thought they stopped giving back money for energy audit stuff...
The Urban Fisherman Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 Btw... I thought they stopped giving back money for energy audit stuff... They're doing it again.... I did it the last time around... lucky for me my father in law runs a heating company so...all said and done I got 2 new doors, a furnace, gas fireplace insert and insulation for a grand total of my time like $200.00 out of my pocket...most of which was the costs of providing beer to my helpers!
adolson Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 Btw... I thought they stopped giving back money for energy audit stuff... I thought that you only get 1/2 of the money you got a couple years ago now? I forget which, but either the federal or provincial government pulled out of that audit stuff right after I did it, which was a year or two ago. There's also the home renovation tax credit, which I think skipped a year or two and it's supposed to be back now.
Hooked Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 They have a sale this week at Home Depot and Lowe's for that type of insulation. I think it was Home Depot that had a free machine with the purchase of 10 bags. I was thinking of doing it as well.
SylvanOwner Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 I've done the energy audit at my home as well and highly recommend it. It is possible to actually MAKE money after having some things done and attic insulation is one of the better paybacks but you do have to do it yourself to maximize return. Home Depot waives the rental cost of the machine if you buy 10 or more bags, as mentioned. It can be a very easy job to do depending on what (if any) prep work has to be done. I highly suggest taking the time to add the vents. Anyway, back to the original question, the company I used was Carson Dunlop & Associates. I don't have the name of the lady who did the assessment but she was excellent and I'll see if I can find the name over the weekend. I live in south Etobicoke and think she came from Burlington so you'd likely be able to get her out to Hamilton. To be honest the person who does the assessment doesn't matter much as they have to document and photograph everything that you physically change or for the leak/blower test it just goes into a computer black box software that can't be manipulated. Kind of like Drive Clean....but it's actually useful I think Dana is right in that it's only the feds who are offering the rebates now and also the cost of the audits has gone up since I did mine so making money probably not realistic but this is a really great way to get the gov't to help pay for things that benefit you and the environment in the long run. Good luck.
mike rousseau Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 We got a new furnace and I insulated the attic... Pretty much broke even... But that was with provincial and federal...
registerfly Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 (edited) gotta get my audit also as we have a ton of windows on order and still can come out on top with a few bucks. think it's about $40 per window Edited October 21, 2011 by registerfly
Twocoda Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 if you blow in attic cat ( pink) ensure you have proper moore vents and blockers underneath the vents...attic cat is designed to not settle and the slightest breeze will blow the insulation away from the soffit creating bare spots...it is a fantastic product if done properly....for those that dont want to ensure the prepwork is perfect i would recommend celulose.... the fact that it does settle is a pro as opposed to a con for "top ups"...you say you have batts already up there so i would go with the cellulose....its a bit dusty so where a mask either way both are by far better than batts in an attic... Its a very easy job to do as long as you can fit through your attic acsess and are fairly nimble in confined spaces to not fall through the drywall....it is a 2 man job....1 to blow and one to load....Attic Cat is by far less messy to do Have fun!
adempsey Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 I doubt it matters which audit company you use, with respect to price at least. I was told they have to charge at least $300 (or a bit over) for the initial audit in order for you to receive the $150 back for the audit from the OPA. The follow-up audit is about $150. I recently installed a new furnace and the four furnace companies I obtained quotes from each had their own recommended audit company/person and they were all about the same price. Unfortunately the rebates are federal only this time, so it's not as much of a rebate as before.
SylvanOwner Posted November 4, 2011 Report Posted November 4, 2011 Sorry about the tardy follow-up on this but I did say I would provide the name of the individual who did my Energy Audit so here it is; Pat Thompson from Carson Dunlop and Associates 289-259-8662. Dan
zamboniwaterboy Posted November 4, 2011 Report Posted November 4, 2011 All the energy audit guys charge the same. Call Reliance I think they do it. The link following will give you the contact number of pros that are very reasonable, very professional, and well worth the $! http://www.canpages.ca/page/ON/brantford/attic-full-insulation/5046116.html
ch312 Posted November 6, 2011 Report Posted November 6, 2011 I doubt it matters which audit company you use, with respect to price at least. I was told they have to charge at least $300 (or a bit over) for the initial audit in order for you to receive the $150 back for the audit from the OPA. The follow-up audit is about $150. well, whoever fed you that line was quite full of it. the first visit can cost you as low as $7 out of pocket after you get the $150 back for paying for the adviser. there's a reason many of the guys doing audits pulled in over $100k/yr before too many people started doing it. im still considering heading west to do the same. you'd be surprised by how much money can be made with such little training... i did my upgrades in 09 and 10 and ended up receiving $8000 in rebates and because i did all of the work myself, almost $4000 of that was profit. i couldnt believe how many people turned down the rare opportunity to have the government pay for your house to be upgraded back when the rebates were x2.
smally21 Posted November 6, 2011 Report Posted November 6, 2011 i used a company call 'energuy' in the hamilton area. i did my basement insulation, attic, toilets, furnace, a/c, a few windows. made out like a bandit. on attic insulation - i paid a guy 495 to do mine. father inlaw did it himself from home depot 700. hardly worth doing yourself. the guy is in hamilton PM me if youd like his number....
Fish4Eyes Posted November 7, 2011 Report Posted November 7, 2011 Twocoda: If I have bats in the attic that were originally put up there (in 1975) should I spray the cellulose on top of them, or should I dispose of the bats as they have probably lost majority of their R value, given their age. They are the 2-3" thick bats that have the black tarp paper attached to the yellowish insulation. smally21: how thick did he blow it in at that price? Is your attic roughly the same size as your fathers? Did he ensure he did not block the vents? I'm thinking about doing cellulose as they say its the 2nd best insulator, first being spray foam. The cost is about the same as fiberglass insulation too. For those interested in doing it themselves, I recently went to Home Depot and they no longer give you the machine for free to blow in the insulation, regardless of how many bags you buy. Its about 75ish for the full day and like 40 for half day. I would imagine if you prep well you would only need it for half the day.
ch312 Posted November 7, 2011 Report Posted November 7, 2011 you'll want to spray over any existing insulation in your attic as its one of those things where you'll be doing more harm than good (ie. waste of time, messy, disposal fees). pink atticat is excellent stuff as there is very little airborn particles while spraying and more importantly it doesnt settle. you lose r value when attic insulation settles so this is an important thing to look at. cellulose is messy and has way too many airborn patticles that require a respirator and sealing off your access point to avoid making a mess in your house. i believe it settles as well. figure roughly 2 hours for 1000sq/ft at 2ft thick with pink.
tb4me Posted November 7, 2011 Report Posted November 7, 2011 if you blow in attic cat ( pink) ensure you have proper moore vents and blockers underneath the vents...attic cat is designed to not settle and the slightest breeze will blow the insulation away from the soffit creating bare spots...it is a fantastic product if done properly....for those that dont want to ensure the prepwork is perfect i would recommend celulose.... the fact that it does settle is a pro as opposed to a con for "top ups"...you say you have batts already up there so i would go with the cellulose....its a bit dusty so where a mask either way both are by far better than batts in an attic... Its a very easy job to do as long as you can fit through your attic acsess and are fairly nimble in confined spaces to not fall through the drywall....it is a 2 man job....1 to blow and one to load....Attic Cat is by far less messy to do Have fun! x2 here folks...If your looking for a great deal on the job done for you call Bruce Jackson from insta insulation..Tell him Ron Ritchie sent ya. 519 861 7100 if you call Bruce to get a free estimate you have to mention my name he will help you out, we work together on a daily basis, he will look after you...Will even give a good referral on an energy audit guy. either way good luck with the project. You will also have to be sure your soffits are open and breathing. We also have a solution for that (cost effective and simple)
Twocoda Posted November 8, 2011 Report Posted November 8, 2011 Fish4eyes- ch312 nailed it ...its probably safe to consider the batts in your attic at R10.....im sure they are higher but its better to underestimate its R value....leave them there and top up with cellulose/atticcat (your preference) another R40 Cellulose will be about 15 inches or Attic cat 18 inches@ R40...combine that with the underestimated R 10 Batts and you should be good to go to meet the new Code comming out of R 50 or R 60 (whichever the powers to be decide upon) ....but it never hurts to be better then "code" Sorry it took so long to reply...i didnt see this thread until just now... Cheers
moemoe Posted November 8, 2011 Author Report Posted November 8, 2011 thanks for the info tb4me, I ended using enwise for the audit, they had availablitiy right away and charged like others said, all the same price, insulation next
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