Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A radiant barrier is not going to really be worth doing financially, especially if you have a large tree shading some or all of your house. If you want to be green in every fairly easy way possible then go for it, otherwise, there are far more efficient uses of that money such as adding insulation to the attic, sealing your air ducts, etc. You can have a company pressure test your home to see where leaks are and seal them up. At the time I did all of this, Austin Energy was providing hefty rebates -- I would assume they still have some sort of rebate system for this. I would make the radiant barrier the last thing on your list. The roofing company is likely not replacing your actual roof or decking, just the shingles.
The roofing company is likely not replacing your actual roof or decking, just the shingles.
They should examine the decking, though, and recommend replacement of specific sheets if there are issues. The house does not likely old enough to need much deck repair, but it is possible and easy to do while the shingles are off.
There is no way for me to know for sure, but I think the HVAC is the original with the house, which would make it 17 years old. We have 19 soffit vents around the house, only one of which is in the front (as there are gables, not soffits. I think there are 4 low profile exit vents (mushrooms) at the peak. The house is 2,300 sq. ft., plus the garage.
Our houses are very similar in size so the ventilation requirements would be almost identical. I understand about the gables, the front of my house is mostly gables with one mostly decorative gable vent above the garage. So all but two of the soffit vents had to be added on the other 3 sides. Adding the additional vents doesn't cost much and will significantly reduce your attic temperatures.
I did look up the CCR architectural guidelines. I don't see anything that disallows standing seam. When I asked about metal roofs, the reply was just "submit a sample and we will see." I am not set on metal of any type at this point, however, since I am just trying to get information.
There was nothing specifically disallowing standing seam, what I read said they would allow metal shingles, but did not specifically allow any other kind of metal roof. So it makes sense they want you to submit before committing. Since I am of retirement age, it does not make sense for me to install a metal roof, as I am unlikely to ever live here long enough to benefit much from the extra cost of it.
I think my next step should be to get an energy audit company to evaluate the ducts, insulation, attic ventilation, etc., and they could also tell me about the age of my AC. I will have to start looking for companies that do that.
Not a bad idea, but with your "reasonable" energy usage, there are probably no significant duct leakages or similar problems. I am saying that based on the fact that the HVAC system I installed in 2007, SEER 16, was considered pretty high efficiency at that time (6 years ago); plus I have added R-38 insulation since then. Yet your energy consumption is not much more than mine. Sounds like you are doing pretty well.
Our electric bill last month was $72, but it was a cool month, and we didn't run the AC much at all. Our highest bill last year was August, which was about $155. so I don't think we are doing too badly, but perhaps could do better.
You are not doing bad at all, in August our bill was $161 for Elec. and we have a "bird room/sunroom" with lots of glass on 3 sides where we keep two parrots. It sucks energy. I suspect your HVAC is not as old as you think, at the very least is it doing pretty well. I expect you already have double paned insulated glass windows, so.... You might benefit more for the cost of adding some good sized shade trees around your house if you have some hot exposures, west side especially.
I only have experience with having put one roof on, and that was in CA - a rock coated steel roof that looked like shingles. In that case, the light tube had to be put in before the roof when on - its apparently not easy to do it afterward. The steel roof was put on top of a lattice structure and two sheets of fire retardant material that went over our shake shingle roof. It was a big deal, but I am really not sure I want to do that again. It cost a lot. We were in a very fire prone area at the time, but I'm pretty sure we really didn't get our money back on that. It was a very quiet roof, but there were a lot of layers between the roof and the house. If I were wanting to spend some extra on the roof now, I think I would rather put some integrated solar roof shingles in an asphalt shingled roof.
I agree, it sounds like there are better areas where you can spend your money and get a greater payback.
Attic vents, shade trees, and solar if you expect to live there much more then 10 years. Most solar that I have looked into had a 10+ year payback. Solar shingles maybe less, I have not examined it. It is simple math. If the solar shingles save you $X per year, how many years does it take to break even on the investment (the payback time). 10+ years pay back means it takes over 10 years to break even.
So it will take you 10+ years before you start saving any money.
OK, so I am the OP of this thread, and now, several months later, I have gotten one estimate, and have another next week. I've been looking into "cool" shingles, and it seems that people are frequently not sure about their benefit. They seem to cost a lot more than regular shingles (sometimes nearly twice as much) and make only small percentage gains in the coolness of the attic, which will translate into even smaller reductions in air conditioning, so I am doubting whether they are worth the extra money. It seems that the best thing would be to select a light colored shingle, then get your energy savings from more insulation in the attic. But I would like to hear if anyone has had a really good experience with "cool" shingles.
Also, the ridge venting won't work on my house because the roof is sort of pyramid shaped, and there isn't any main ridge to speak of. So the last guy estimating (Henry Meyer Roofing) suggested that I just add a few more "mushroom" vents. He also suggested that I get a new skylight. We love our skylight, but it is original, and is just one layer, and probably is very energy inefficient. He suggested that an upgrade to a double paned, argon filled skylight would only cost $200 if combined with the roofing job. Sounds like a good idea to me.
By the way, I have abandoned the idea of a metal roof (too expensive) and I probably will have my gutters just screened rather than those "slide off" gutter covers.
And also, does anyone have suggestions for insulation companies? I just want to beef up the attic insulation.
OK, so I am the OP of this thread, and now, several months later, I have gotten one estimate, and have another next week. I've been looking into "cool" shingles, and it seems that people are frequently not sure about their benefit. They seem to cost a lot more than regular shingles (sometimes nearly twice as much) and make only small percentage gains in the coolness of the attic, which will translate into even smaller reductions in air conditioning, so I am doubting whether they are worth the extra money. It seems that the best thing would be to select a light colored shingle, then get your energy savings from more insulation in the attic. But I would like to hear if anyone has had a really good experience with "cool" shingles.
Also, the ridge venting won't work on my house because the roof is sort of pyramid shaped, and there isn't any main ridge to speak of. So the last guy estimating (Henry Meyer Roofing) suggested that I just add a few more "mushroom" vents. He also suggested that I get a new skylight. We love our skylight, but it is original, and is just one layer, and probably is very energy inefficient. He suggested that an upgrade to a double paned, argon filled skylight would only cost $200 if combined with the roofing job. Sounds like a good idea to me.
By the way, I have abandoned the idea of a metal roof (too expensive) and I probably will have my gutters just screened rather than those "slide off" gutter covers.
And also, does anyone have suggestions for insulation companies? I just want to beef up the attic insulation.
Thanks!
I came to the same conclusions about "cool shingles", not worth the extra cost.
The skylight is probably worth it if it needs to be replaces anyway, otherwise the small area probably won't amount to all that much energy savings.
In regard to ridge vents, my roof is similar to yours, there are ridge vents made to be installed on the hips, the sloping ridges. http://www.airvent.com/professional/...hipridge.shtml That website is slow to load, be patient. Otherwise, additional mushroom vents can accomplish the same thing if you can get enough area in them without your roof looking like a mushroom farm.
Insulation, I recommend this guy. His people did a really good job, installed thick layers of insulation and covered all of the ducts with additional insulation. He can work with Austin Energy and SU Gas to get you an additional energy rebate to help pay for some of the cost. Make sure your ducts are in good condition and any additional lights, electrical, etc. in the ceiling is done before you add the extra insulation as it makes the ceiling harder to get at on the attic side later. I had some additional wood decking added in the attic from our attic stair to the hot water heater and HVAC equipment, before having extra insulation added to the remaining areas.
Quote:
Frank McCarthy
Home Energy Conservation
(512) 784-4246
Gave me price to add insulation to attic.
paid 6-15-2011 $1,700 R-38
An added benefit to your house after the insulation is added is it will be a lot quieter, you will hear far fewer outdoor sounds afterwards.
While I respect Henry as a roofer, I would take his recommendations in some other areas with a grain of salt. He once suggested I add two "wind turbine" vents on my first house years ago, where they could not be seen from the street. And they started making terrible squeaking sounds after the first year (no grease or lubricant I found helped much). I later had him replace them with mushroom vents at a discount. He admitted I wasn't the only customer who had regretted that recommendation and he no longer recommended them. We all make mistakes. On the positive side wind trubine vents do extract a lot more air as the breeze helps them rotate, and a little squeaking doesn't matter on a barn or shed but it can be annoying on your house.
I went up into the attic and noted a few things. There was both batting and blown in isulation, but some of the batts have peeled away from the sides ofthe skylight well, so there are areas that aren't insulated at all. Also, the area above the garage isnt insulated. I know it isn't an air conditioned space, but wouldn't the garage be more comfortable in the summer if it had some insulation from the attic heat? The HVAC actually appears to be original from when the house was built, in 1996. I say that because all the instructions and documentation on the unit were just sitting up there. There is no date of purchase or installation on anything, but the manuals all have dates of 1996 or 1994 on them. I assume a newer HVAC would have newer manuels. It states that the efficiency of the unit is 86%, which I assume can be beaten by modern units. It all seems to be working well, but I guess I should not be surprised if I have an HVAC emergency fairly soon. The ducts all seem to be well insulated. So even though I don't think I have major insulation needs, I still think I will have someone out to take care of the few problems I see. And I am interested in thoughts about garage ceiling insulation.
Yes, I could really use a hail storm sometime in the next year to help me with paying for a new roof! It could happen. My mom once had a mini tornado damage her roof so badly that insurance paid for a new one - one month before she had a roof replacement already scheduled! And no one else in the area had damage. Jackpot! Of course, I wouldn't wish any damage on my neighbors, so it can be just a one-house hail storm.
Yeah, that's what we did. It was 2007 I think, a bunch of roofs were replaced in my neighborhood (ours included).
Oh, yeah, forgot to mention insurance savings, although the one they talked to us about was the reduced risk/extent of fire damage.
About that insurance savings on the metal roof......if you take the insurance premium discount on your metal roof, it will only be replaced if it gets a hole punched in it. What this means is (when the hail storm comes) you will have to look at the roof on your house with dents all over it until you sell it or replace it on your own.
Please ask your agent about this. They will likely tell you they will have to talk to the underwriters and get back to you later. Make sure they get back to you before you sign up for the "discount".
Lem
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.
