Cathedral Ceilings - Eliminating Energy Loss With Spray Foam Insulation

Cathedral Ceilings & Spray Foam Insulation 

A cathedral ceiling is a great way for an architect to make a room appear or feel bigger then it actually is.  Cathedral ceilings are made by actually using the underside of the roof line as the finished ceiling of the room or space they are in.  Just as with any ceiling, designers can pick a number of different coverings and materials to go on the wall, from tongue and groove decking to expensive stained hardwoods, however the most commonly used material in most homes is Sheetrock.  By creating this beautiful look in a home, no matter what wall covering the designer decides to choose for a cathedral ceiling, it creates a insulation nightmare for a lot of contractors and homeowners.  What homeowners and contractors both fear when insulating a cathedral ceiling space, is the little air space created by traditional fiberglass insulation bats, that ultimately lead to condensation.  This tricky area to insulate can often lead to homeowners and builders leaving it uninsulated, instead of looking into the product options available to take out that nightmarish word to homeowners called condensation.  By leaving the wall cavity empty, or under insulating, poorly insulated cathedral ceilings can lead to huge energy losses, especially in homes or buildings where they take up a large areas of heated and cooled space.  With a large area of your ceiling exposed directly to the temperatures that the roof is taking, especially the extreme summer heat in the Carolina's, your spending a fortune cooling your home in the summer.  What we intend to do in this blog is to educate homeowners and building owners on the insulation products available to be installed in a cathedral ceiling space, and eliminate the one factor that condensation needs, and that is air, leading to an airtight insulated cathedral ceiling.  Most products can be retrofitted into existing cathedral ceiling spaces, making rooms feel more comfortable, while lowering power bills at the same time.

First, lets talk a little more about condensation first. 

What is Condensation?

Condensation is the opposite of evaporation. It takes place when water vapor in the air condenses from a gas, back into a liquid form.  Sometimes in your ceiling if you have insulation with a vapor barrier on it.

By knowing what condensation is, we can come up with a solution that if we can eliminate the air in that space, then we can eliminate condensation as well.  The problem with most homes is its not that the builder didn't know about products that could be used in cathedral ceiling spaces, its that the products that insulated the best in those situations were really expensive, up until about a decade ago when major technological breakthroughs and tax credits, leading the way to lower material prices.  Cathedral Ceilings is also becoming another popular topic on home improvement shows, with second story rooms with cathedral ceilings being victims of huge energy losses, not to mention being very uncomfortable to live in.  With this knowledge, and more availability to lower cost superior insulation systems like spray foam insulation, builders and home designers can incorporate these breakthroughs in insulation technology into their building design. 

But what about the current homeowner with cathedral ceilings with hot rooms losing energy? 

Good News!  Foam Insulation, in addition to a number of other products can be retrofit in between the finished ceiling surface and the plywood decking of the roof.  Injection Foam, and other advanced insulation methods can not only reduce homeowners energy bills, but also make rooms with cathedral ceilings much more enjoyable to live in as well.  If your reading this article and live in North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia then  you know how hot the summers can get.  With foam insulation it will make your A/C finally feel like its working again.  There's no comparison to the feeling we get when we see a homeowner or business owners A/C go off for the first time on a hot summer day.  By eliminating the energy loss, not only did we eliminate the heat coming in from the roof, we have also encapsulated the cool air into the living space, making for a much more energy efficient building envelope. 

Now to most homeowners, some of this may sound confusing.  So its best to call your local spray foam insulation contractor.  A quality insulation contractor also knows that this is the best option as well, and can often get a better rate for spray foam insulation then the average homeowner.  If  your a homeowner or business owner looking to lower your utility bills in North Carolina, South Carolina, or the Augusta, Georgia area then call MBS Construction Co. today at 706-951-0158.  We are networked throughout the southeast and get the lowest rates on spray foam insulation materials in the region.  Also be sure to visit us on the web at our website link below.

MBS Construction Company
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
Phone: 706-951-0158
http://www.scroofingcontractors.com

Energy Efficient Roofing Systems | Spray Foam Insulation | Wall Foam Insulation | Crawl Space Encapsulations | Solar Energy Powered Hot Water Heaters | Solar Energy | Energy Monitoring | Standing Seam Metal Roofs | Tile Roofs | Slate Roofs | Historic Home Retrofits |

Pineapple Strawberry Almond Pie

What makes you crave for desserts/sweets?? I guess u don't have to have any reason ...he he. The day I made this dessert was like that. I was so tired and didn't wanna do anything, but just craved for something that I had no idea about. I opened the freezer and here I see this pie crust, gosh I completely forgot about it. I saw that it's going to expire soon, hmm so something I have to make, but still keep it simple and concentrate on the ingredients to add more fruits and keep it healthy as well.

I cannot do anything more to the pie crust...but add more fruits and guess what...i decided to add some nuts too. I went to check my pantry, i remembered that I have a can of strawberry pie filling, hmm looked around and found a can of pineapple slices/rings. So here you go these ingredients makes this beautiful and yummy pie in minutes. :)

Ingredients:

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1 pkg Pie Crust (thawed)

1 can Strawberry Pie filling

1 can Pineapple Slices/rings chopped to desired size

1/2 cup Almonds (Blanched and powdered coarsely)

Method:

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1. Preheat oven to the desire temperature as per the package instructions.

2. Spray the bottom part of a pie pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with one sheet of the pie crust.

3. Now add the strawberry pie filling in between the pie crust, add the pineapple (without the juice), mix lightly and then sprinkle the powdered almonds.

4. Now layer the other pie crust, fold and pinch the edges gently and press with a thumb on one side and press in the opposite direction too get the wave effect.

5. Now with a knife draw slits, so that the steam comes out easily.

6. Bake it until done or until the top of the crust is golden brown.

7. Serve it hot or warm with a scoop of ice cream or whipped toppings or with some more fresh fruits.

You Might Also Like:

	Mixed Berry Cake
	Oats Strawberry Bars
	Strawberry Mango Popsicle

Egg Fried Rice

One of my cousins called me and said she wanted to come home to meet me and she asked me to prepare steamed rice and this chicken gravy.  I accepted to do so as she is coming home after a long time. I prepared everything as per her wish list. But at the last moment, she has got some other commitment and she was not able to make the dinner. So, I sent the chicken gravy to her home, so that she can prepare only rice and eats it with chicken gravy what I sent. After sending the gravy, I ended up with a big bowl of cooked rice. I stored the bowl inside refrigerator and used it for making egg fried rice for the next day. Now a days, all the leftover rice from my kitchen are turning out to fried rice.

Basic Information:
Preparation Time: 15 minutes ( excluding 20-30 minutes to cook rice )
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Rice -  2 and 1/2 cups ,  cooked and cooled
Egg - 3-4 nos
Onion / Bottom part of the spring onion - 1/4 cup, finely chopped
Oil - 5 teaspoons
Carrot - 2 nos, finely sliced
Beans - 10 nos, sliced

Soy sauce - 1 and 1/2 teaspoon
Pepper powder - 1 and 1/2 teaspoon
Salt - to taste
Spring onion - 4 nos, finely sliced

Method:

1) Take a pan and pour 1 teaspoon of oil and spread it evenly.
2) Break the eggs and pour them to the pan. Wait for 30 seconds and start scramble it using a ladle. Add little salt as per the egg quantity.

3) When the eggs are not sticking to the pan, transfer the scrambled eggs to a plate. Keep it aside.
4) In the same pan, heat the remaining oil.

5) When it is hot, add the bottom part of the spring onion. If you don't have the spring onion, you can use the normal onion. I used both here.

6) Toss it well and add vegetables. Toss well in high heat. Make sure the vegetables are crisp and at the same time cooked.

7) Pour soy sauce, pepper powder and salt. Toss well so that soy sauce will mix well with the vegetables.
8) Add the rice and eggs. Toss well in low flame. Make sure the rice, egg and vegetables are mixed well.

9) Taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish with spring onions and serve hot.

Note:
1) The taste of the fried rice differs based on the quality of soy sauce you use. So try to use only good quality soy sauce for correct taste.
2) Few brands of soy sauce gives salty taste, so after adding soy sauce, add salt as per your taste.
3) Increase or decrease the soy sauce and pepper quantity as per your taste buds.
4) If you are using uncooked rice, use 1 cup for the above said quantity. Wash the rice 2 or 3 times and cook it as per the instructions given in the pack.Once the rice is cooked, transfer it to a wide plate and allow it to cool. Cooked and cooled rice will workout very well for this fried rice.