Berlin, N.H. home suffers serious Water Damage

11/4/2019 (Permalink)

Soaking wet fiberglass insulation

This Berlin home suffered a very significant water loss.

Water leaked through the roof and saturated the insulation in the attic.

With all of the strong winds and rain that we've been having lately in N.H., more homeowners are facing water issues just like this one.

A question we get frequently is, "Is my insulation still effective or able to be saved?"

Let's take a look at the two most common types of insulation:

Cellulose loose-fill

• Cellulose loose-fill, made of pulverized particles of paper and cloth, absorbs a large volume of water and compacts, losing the fluffy characteristics that make it an effective insulator.
• Soaked Cellulose insulation will simply retain water and is very resistant to drying. Generally, wet cellulose is not salvageable and will need to be replaced.

Fiberglass

• Fiberglass AKA "The Pink Stuff" is technically waterproof. Inside an enclosed attic the thick batt retains moisture which degrades its thermal resistance properties.
• Saturated Insulation typically loses at least 40% of its insulating R-value.

Chances are you're going to want to replace the affected insulation because MOLD sets in very quickly.

It is NOT recommended that you attempt to dry the affected area on your own due to the likelihood of contamination by the spread of mold in the drying attempt.

If you are concerned about your insulation or just have some questions, give us a call at 603-298-6942 and we'd be happy to help.

Like it never even happened