Insulation is really important...

When we first moved into this house, we had an energy audit performed. We were told they would tell us the inefficiencies in the home which would allow us to fix them and save on our energy bills. It was kind of a sham and really the people came in and told us we needed to buy new air conditioning units because they were old (Information we already had) and conveniently they also installed the units. It wasn't overly helpful.

After moving in, summer rolled around and we noticed our daughter's room was almost 10 degrees warmer than other areas of the house. We did the best we could to remedy the problem with the information we had. Three years later, it was still the hottest room in the house and we called an insulation company to come in an assess the situation. They concluded we didn't have nearly enough insulation in the attic, so they made the needed change. We waited almost two months to see if we noticed a change - no luck. We had them back out to reassess. One wall in particular, an exterior wall, showed a very high thermal reading. They agreed to blow in new insulation if we ripped out the drywall and removed the old insulation.

Late one night last week, Steve and I got busy cutting a strip of drywall out across the entire length of the room. You can imagine our surprise and frustration when we realized there wasn't insulation in the wall. An east facing exterior wall in Arizona without insulation. What?! I'm not sure how that was not noticed by the builder, the inspector or even the ENERGY AUDIT!



Needless to say, we've taken care of the problem. We've had the insulation blown in. The drywall is now reinstalled, taped, mudded and textured. All that's left is some primer and paint. But if I have to buy new paint - shouldn't I just paint the whole room?! And if that's the case, wouldn't it be best to refresh the color?! Decisions, decisions!