Improperly insulated air ducts can waste over 40% of the cool air or heat that passes through them. Non insulated hot water pipes can lose up to 30% of their heat when traveling to the sink or shower. Fixing both of these problems is very inexpensive. These small fixes will explode your NOI!
The biggest benefit an existing complex can have from insulation is not to rip up wall and ceilings to put in new insulations but rather focus on attic and crawl space insulation. The two most common types of sprayed insulation are fiberglass and cellulose. Both have their advantages and, if you will, disadvantages.
Typically, a more effective use of funds is to focus on the insulation of pipes, ducts, and vents. Many times we can insulate very effectively with caulks and sealants in areas that experience separation and cracking. This is a very affordable option!
When insulating, most of us turn to using duct tape. This is actually a very ineffective method of insulating pipes, ducts, and vents. Researchers recommended sealing ducts with mastics, gooey sealants that are painted on and allowed to harden. Metal ducts should be held together with sheet metal screws; flexible duct connections should be secured with metal or plastic bands.
Ducts can leak for reasons as simple as a protruding nail in the attic that snags and tears the duct when it's being installed. Then, too, joints and junctions where two pieces of duct come together may separate over time -- especially if that pesky duct tape we talked about was used to join them.
Contractors even forget to attach ductwork together or to connect it to the vent in the wall. As a result, an open duct wastefully pumps conditioned air into the attic or under the apartment, while the room it is supposed to serve never gets comfortable.
Problems also occur when ducts are blocked or kinked. Just as a pinched garden hose cuts down the flow of water, a kinked duct drastically reduces the flow of air. Kinking can happen when ducts are forced into tight places under the floor or in the attic.
Cool Roofing
The purpose of cool roofing is to reflect heat off of the rooftop so that it is not absorbed into the building. This is a valuable resource to have in hot weather climates in the southwest and throughout the Sunbelt. A cool roof can reduce a roofs surface temperature by up to 100 degrees!
There is a paint on application that is applied with sprayers or rollers that has a UV resistant elastomeric compound. It is a coating product. It is good for metal or cap sheet roofing. Recoating would take place between 5 and 10 years. This maintenance system is 100% deductable in year one.
The second type of cool roof is roll roofing where the rolls are custom fabricated to your specific roof. This type of roofing is considered mechanically attached and has a lifespan of 20+ years. You can choose a 40, 50, or 60 mil pvc application that has a 120 mph wind rating. Custom product can be designed to withstand 200+mph winds, but that product is rarer. I would highly advise against any roofing company trying to sell TPO or hypolon cool roofing. The Cadillac of cool roofing is PVC product with a 15 year no dollar limit warranty. There are very few industrial roofing companies that distribute and install good PVC or maintenance coating systems.
A painted maintenance coated system can run $2.10 to $3.75 per sq. ft. The low end is an easy job on a standard roof. The high end is a nightmare job. A PVC system of the same roof can run $4.25 or more per square foot. The coated system will need to be maintained every 5 to 10 years at the latest. The PVC roof you can forget about for at least 20 years. Your only job will be to keep tree limbs off of it.
