The right time for you

style homes were built using concrete-block construction. This is actually a wonderful way to build a home. Masonry homes are sturdy structures often built with real plaster walls.

But there was no effective way to insulate them back then.

Now there is — an insulation company can drill holes in the joints and pump in foam insulation to fill all voids in the blocks. Afterward, they cover up the holes.

Generally, this process can raise the R-value of your walls from an R2-R3 level to R11.

The dry resin foam-inplace product that is used seals against air infiltration. Contractors can add an antimold and mildew material to the foam for a slightly higher price. It’s a class 1/class A fire-rated product as well.

Blowing foam into walls in frame-construction homes is also possible. But some foam contractors say they don’t arbitrarily advise homeowners to do that because it is a costly process.

Foam can help marginally in a frame house, but homeowners may not have a big net gain in savings on their

energy bills.

We’re getting close to the end of the year, and there is still a small tax credit available from the federal government for installing insulation. Some utilities, such as SRP and APS, offer rebates for improving insulation as well. So this is a good time to redo insulation. Who knows how long that tax credit and those rebates will last?

On the other hand, if someone is trying to sell you insulation of as much as R-60 in the Phoenix or Tucson areas, you won’t save enough money on power bills to make the expense worthwhile.

Too much insulation is never the right answer to reducing your energy bills in increasing your comfort.