“Last fall I tore down the ceiling of our garage in our then 4 year old home. The reason was to correct a problem we were having with heating the living space above during the cold weather months. The problem was so severe the furnace would sometimes run continuously all day in an attempt to try to heat the area.

The garage is unheated but the floor of the ensuite located above is heated with hydronic in-joist radiant heating tubes. The heating system was simply inadequate to overcome the extreme heat loss caused by inadequate insulation practices. Once we exposed the structure from below, we discovered why we were having so many problems with frozen pipes and a room that was almost inhabitable on cold windy winter days.

The insulation was fiberglass with no reflective barrier at all. After all, how could a radiant heating system work properly if all the heat was radiating down and into the cold garage below? We pulled out all the useless fibrous fill and installed proper insulation. We used the P2000 1 ½” EPS with reflective foil skin on both faces. We sealed off all the ends and sides with foil tape. We then reinstalled the drywall ceiling.

Winter inevitably came and the results were astounding. Our furnace ran with normal frequency and the ensuite floor was always warm no matter how hard the cold wind howled outside. From January 1 to March 1 2005 we used about 1700 litres of oil. For the same time period in 2006 we used only 1300 litres. Incredible! Granted ‘06 was a milder winter, but not that much warmer. At current oil prices we saved ourselves almost $300 in oil costs! Our little project cost us $600 in total so it will pay for itself by the end of this winter and the best part is the comfort of the room. We used to not even bother trying to take baths in our soaker tub because the floor below was so cold it just drained all the heat from the warm water before we had a chance to use it. Now, we instantly feel the warmth of our floor when the heat goes on and it stays warm for a long time no matter what how cold it is outside.

I would personally recommend the P2000 insulation to anybody who is concerned about energy conservation. It really works!!”

G. McPherson – Halifax, NS