FAQ
INSULATION
Air Chute
Styrofoam baffle used as an retrofit product where cardboard insulation stops are not in place. The air chute is mounted to the underside of the roof deck from within the attic. It allows fresh air to carry in from the soffits and over the attic insulation.
IC Rated Pot Light
IC or “insulation contact” rated refers to the housing, or the fixture itself that is installed inside the ceiling and contains the lamp holder. IC housings must be installed wherever insulation will be in direct contact with the housing. If installing spray foam insulation the foam must remain a minimum of 1.5″ away. Our process is to cover the pot light with fiberglass batts and spray foam over top.
Non IC Rated Pot Light
Non-IC rated pot light housings are used in the same situations as the IC rated housings, only they require that there be no contact with insulation and at least 3 in (7.6 cm) spacing from insulation.
Weather Stripping
Weather stripping should be installed at the base of the Attic access hatch. It helps prevent air movement in an area that can be repeatedly opened and closed. If your attic hatch is not sealed with the aid of weather stripping it can lead to excess moist air escaping into the attic space.
Loose-Fill Fiberglass Insulation
Formaldehyde free fiberglass insulation that is mulched in a hopper and blown through a house into the attic. It is a cost effective alternative to Batt insulation and is used in the wide majority of attic insulation projects in Alberta. Anthony Insulation proudly installs Climate Pro by Johns Manville in the majority of our installations.
Cellulose Insulation
Recycled paper coupled with a fire retardant installed in a very similar fashion as loose-fill fiberglass. Has been on the market longer that loose-fill Fiberglass but due to the reduced material costs is no longer a benefit versus.
Climate Pro
Johns Manville blow-in, loose-fill fiber glass insulation is designed for open attics and hard-to-reach locations like corners, nooks and crannies. It is noncorrosive and noncombustible. Climate Pro® insulation is for professionals using large truck-mounted high volume production blowing wool machines.
Vapor Barrier
A plastic membrane that resists diffusion of moisture through wall, ceiling and floor assemblies of buildings.
Soffit
Material forming a ceiling from the top of an exterior house wall to the outer edge of the roof, i.e., bridging the gap between a home’s siding and the roofline, otherwise known as the eaves. When so constructed, the soffit material is typically screwed or nailed to rafters known as lookout rafters or lookouts for short.
Soffit Ventilation
In sloped roof construction the Soffit area must be vented to allow fresh air intake from the Outside. This air is drawn in through the soffits, circulated through the attic space and vented out through the output vents installed near the top of the roof line. It is imperative that soffits vent properly or else they must be compensated for with lower roof intake vents.
Roof Output Ventilation
Vents installed along the upper edge of the roof line designed to allow air to escape from within the attic space while preventing the elements from entering into the attic. Examples include the traditional Turtle style vent, Whirly Birds, Phoenix vents (also known as Monster vents) and Ridge venting.
Poly & Tape Seal
Used to seal over penetrations and voids by tying new poly to existing vapor barrier and sealing with tape.
Hilti Foam Seal
Cans of foam installed by hand to spot-install foam. Used in small applications particularly electrical and plumbing penetrations. Not used for large volume areas.
Roxul Batts
ROXUL’s line of fire-resistant insulation for residential use includes both thermal and soundproofing products:
ROXUL ComfortBatt®
Thermal insulation for use in exterior walls, attics and crawlspaces. It provides indoor comfort and energy savings all year round.
ROXUL Safe’n’Sound™
Soundproofing insulation for use in interior walls, ceilings and floors to help create a quieter home.
Poly Boot
A pre-formed plastic cover used to seal around a pot light and to the ceiling vapor barrier from within the attic. It is installed in conjuncture with the pot light and ensures that warm, moist air cannot penetrate the attic through or around the pot light.
Attic Space
An attic is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building (also called garret, loft or sky parlor). Attic is generally the North American English term for it.[1] As attics fill the space between the ceiling of the top floor of a building and the slanted roof, they are known for being awkwardly shaped spaces with exposed rafters and difficult-to-reach corners.
Soffit Vents
For most residential single family homes the soffit area is the main source of intake ventilation for the roof / attic space. Older homes used plywood for soffit material that often had very few vent holes. To improve the intake ventilation in the attic we can cut new vent holes and cover them with milled aluminum soffit vents. This allows for more air intake and hence better air circulation in the attic.
Spray Foam
Spray foam is a type of insulation that is sprayed in place through a gun. Polyurethane and Isocyanate foams are applied as a two-component mixture that comes together at the tip of a gun, and forms an expanding foam. Cementitious foam is applied in a similar manner but does not expand. Spray foam insulation is sprayed onto concrete slabs, into wall cavities of an unfinished wall, against the interior side of sheathing, or through holes drilled in sheathing or drywall into the wall cavity of a finished wall.
½ Pound – Open Cell
Open-cell foam is porous, allowing water vapor and liquid water to penetrate the insulation. It typically has R-values of 3 to 4 per inch (RSI-0.53 to RSI-0.70 per inch). Open-cell foam is soft when cured, with little structural strength. It requires trimming after installation, and disposal of the waste material.
2 Pound – Closed Cell
Closed-cell foam is non-porous, and not moisture-penetrable, thereby effectively forming a SEMI-permeable vapor barrier. Closed-cell foams are superior insulators; it can attain R-values of 5 to 8 per inch (RSI-0.88 to RSI-1.41 per inch). It is very strong, and structurally reinforces the insulated surface. Unlike open-cell foam, closed-cell foam rarely requires any trimming, with little or no waste.
Icynene
Established in 1986, Icynene Inc. offers a complete portfolio of high-performance spray foam insulation solutions. In the past 25 years, more than 3 billion board feet of Icynene spray foam insulation has been installed in more than 300,000 residential and commercial projects.
Off Gassing
Outgassing (sometimes called off gassing, particularly when in reference to indoor air quality) is the release of a gas that was dissolved, trapped, frozen or absorbed in some material. Outgassing can include sublimation and evaporation which are phase transitions of a substance into a gas, as well as desorption, seepage from cracks or internal volumes and gaseous products of slow chemical reactions.
Cantilever
A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is forced against by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.
Frost Wall
An interior wall construction from wood framing designed to create a warm space between the interior conditioned living space and the exterior concrete foundation wall. This area is often insulated using Spray foam due to its ability to insulate tight and complicated spaces.
Joist End
The end of a floor joist is often a tricky place to insulate. It can sometimes be efficiently insulated with a fiberglass batt. Quite often spray foam insulation is best due to the limited space and access.
Rim Joist
In the framing of a deck or building, a rim joist is the final joist that caps the end of the row of joists that support a floor or ceiling. A rim joist makes up the end of the box that comprises the floor system. The header is to a rim joist what the top or bottom wall plate is to an end stud.
What Is JM Spider?
JM Spider® is a formaldehyde-free™, spray-in fiber glass insulation system that fills new and existing cavities without gaps or voids in the insulation coverage, for superior thermal and acoustical performance. Our unique design enables the fibers to more effectively fill tight spaces around pipes, wires and electrical boxes. Anthony Insulation for both retrofit and new construction, JM Spider® is naturally fire-resistant and does not promote the growth of mold and mildew. The insulation also installs faster and easier and does not settle over time.
Where Do I Use JM Spider?
JM Spider is best suited to insulate wall cavities.
Fiberglass Batt
Unfaced insulation is a lightweight thermal and acoustical fiber glass insulation made of long, resilient glass fibers bonded with an acrylic thermosetting resin. Unfaced batts are effective when controlling heat flow to the exterior, unwanted noise in internal walls, and to assist with moisture control, a separate vapor retarder can be applied.
Poly
Plastic barrier most commonly used as a vapor barrier in exterior walls and ceilings. Is installed between framing and drywall. Also used in attics to seal over penetrations such as framing voids.
Caulk
Acoustical sealant used to bond poly to framing and seal poly to itself.
Superseal
Upgraded caulk product used for
ROOFING
4 Nail
Fastening the field shingle to the roof deck with 4 nails per shingle instead of 6.
6 Nail
Fastening the field shingle to the roof deck using 6 nails. This is standard business practice in Alberta.
Laminate Shingle
A newer design of fiberglass asphalt shingle, called laminated or architectural, uses two distinct layers which are bonded together with asphalt sealant. Laminated shingles are more durable than traditional 3-tab shingle designs. Laminated shingles also give a more varied, contoured visual effect to a roof surface.
Organic Shingle
Organic shingles are generally paper (waste paper) saturated with asphalt to make it waterproof, then a top coating of adhesive asphalt is applied and ceramicgranules are then embedded.
Felt
Plain felt consists of a resilient, high-strength cellulose fiber mat that has been saturated with premium waterproofing bitumen resulting in a superior building material used specifically as a residential roofing underlayment.
Synthetic Felt
Synthetic felts are lighter and easier to handle than Organic felt making it faster to install. The synthetic, non-breathable material provides a superior slip resistant surface and won’t crack, peel or delaminate.
Soffit Vents
For most residential single family homes the Soffit area is the main source of intake ventilation for the roof / attic space. Older homes used plywood for soffit material that often had very few vent holes. To improve the intake ventilation in the attic we can cut new vent holes and cover them with milled aluminum soffit vents. This allows for more air intake and hence better air circulation in the attic.