Spray foam costs more up front than fiberglass batts, but it seals air leaks, fills irregular spaces completely, and in its closed-cell form resists moisture, which fiberglass can't do. Fiberglass is inexpensive, easy to find, and works fine in the right places if it's installed carefully. The better choice depends on the part of the building, your moisture risks, your budget, and how long you plan to own the place. We install spray foam, so we have a bias. That's exactly why

Insulation slows heat moving through your walls, attic, and floors, while air sealing stops heated air from physically escaping through gaps and cracks. They solve two different problems, so a home with plenty of insulation can still feel drafty, and a well-sealed home with thin insulation can still lose a lot of heat. Iowa homes need both, and spray foam is one of the few materials that does both jobs at once. Think of it like winter clothing. A thick wool sweater is great i

R-value measures how well a material resists heat flowing through it, and higher numbers mean better resistance. Closed-cell spray foam is roughly R-6 to R-7 per inch, while open-cell spray foam is roughly R-3.5 to R-3.8 per inch. But R-value only tells part of the story, because it doesn't measure air leakage, and air leakage is where many Iowa homes lose the most heat. When you're comparing insulation quotes or reading product labels, it helps to know what the number does a

Rim joist insulation is often the best return on a small insulation project because the rim joist is a short band of framing that leaks a surprising amount of cold air into the basement. Spraying closed-cell foam into each joist bay seals the air leaks and insulates the wood in one step, and it avoids the condensation problems that fiberglass stuffed in those bays often causes. For most Iowa homes with an unfinished basement, it's a one-day job or less. If your basement feels

The clearest signs your home is losing heat are rooms that never warm up, drafts you can feel near outlets and baseboards, a furnace that runs almost nonstop, and a heating bill that jumps more than the weather explains. In Iowa, frost that melts unevenly on the roof and icicles along the eaves are two more giveaways. Most of these trace back to air leaks and thin insulation in the attic, rim joists, and walls. October is the right time to look. The furnace is just starting t