If you don’t take the time to select a professional contractor with the expertise to complete your home renovation or installation, you may have to deal with unforeseen consequences. Below is a partial list of problems that can arise if a contractor uses lower-quality products and/or does not complete a professional installation:
- Paying a higher or lower price for a lower quality product and installation resulting in higher annual energy bills and potentially a shorter lifespan requiring another upgrade sooner than anticipated.
- Installation of a heating system that is not working effectively causing comfort issues, higher noise levels in the home, higher energy bills and other issues.
- Installation of a poorly designed heating system resulting in uneven heating, oversized or undersized system, comfort issues, higher energy bills, and/or louder operation.
- Installation of insulation without adequate draftproofing prior to installation potentially causing issues with moisture and mould in your home.
- Installation of insulation that is compressed or with gaps, reducing the effectiveness of the insulation, resulting in home comfort issues and higher utility bills than anticipated.
- Installation of upgrades without resolving underlying issues first (e.g. water leaks), resulting in more expenses later to correct the issues and redo the upgrades.
- Installing products that improve the air tightness of your home without improving ventilation, causing condensation on windows, issues with mould and negatively impacting indoor air quality.
- Installation of the wrong type of South and West facing windows, resulting in overheating, comfort issues and potentially extra energy consumption for air conditioning.
Did you see a building science or energy efficiency term you did not understand? Check out our glossary.