Houses that have been divided, added to, or converted rarely behave as one building. Utah County has a great many of them: older homes carved into units, back additions, garages turned into living space, basements finished for renters. The added part almost never received the same treatment as the original, which is why one end of a house can be comfortable while the other is not. We connect Provo homeowners and landlords with insulation contractors used to sorting this out. Call 801-644-9000.
The seam between old construction and new is where things tend to go wrong. The original exterior wall is now an interior wall, sometimes still insulated and sometimes not. The attic above the addition may be a separate space with no connection to the main attic, which means it needs its own access, its own ventilation, and its own coverage. Rooflines that change direction create small pockets nobody can reach. Floors that extend out past the foundation sit over open air and are frequently left with nothing in them at all.
When the addition is the cold part of a house, those junctions are where we look first. Is there anything at the band where the new floor meets the old? Is the attic over the addition actually accessible, or was it framed and closed up? Did anyone insulate the short wall where the new roof meets the old one? None of these are exotic details, but they are easy to miss during a remodel and much easier to correct once somebody has identified which one is open.
Garages that became bedrooms, basements finished for a rental, attics turned into a third bedroom: all of these were once spaces that nobody expected to hold a temperature. The slab underfoot was never meant to be a floor for living on. The old garage door opening was framed in, and what went into that new wall depends entirely on who did the work and how carefully. Basement walls are often finished directly over bare concrete, or with a thin layer that was never sealed along the top where it meets the framing above.
If you own a rental here, this is usually where the complaints originate. It is also worth knowing that finished space below grade brings moisture into the conversation. If a basement wall shows staining, a white mineral bloom, or a musty smell, insulating over that traps the problem instead of solving it. Deal with water first, which usually means grading, gutters, and whatever else is letting it in, and insulate afterward. That order costs less in the long run than doing the work twice.
Old windows are blamed for a lot of discomfort, and sometimes fairly. But the draft people feel near a window is often air moving through the gap between the window frame and the rough opening, or through the wall cavity around it, rather than through the glass itself. That gap can usually be sealed for very little money. It is also common to feel cold radiating off a large area of glass and call it a draft when the air in the room is not really moving at all.
We would rather tell you this plainly than sell you something. If the complaint is one cold room, attic work and air sealing come first, because they cost less and typically do more. If the complaint is condensation between panes, failed seals, or sashes that no longer close, that is a window problem and insulation will not touch it. Sorting out which one you actually have is worth an hour of somebody's time before you spend money in either direction.
Additions frequently have a small attic of their own with no access, insulation that simply stops at the seam with the original house, and a floor built out past the foundation with nothing beneath it. Any one of the three makes the space behave differently from the rest of the house. The correction is usually specific and fairly modest once someone identifies which junction is open, so start by having those transitions inspected.
Between tenants is the easiest time to do it, since attic and crawl space work is disruptive and often means moving belongings. Whether it is worth doing depends on the condition of what is already there. Have the attic inspected and ask for a description of what is missing rather than a general upgrade pitch. If the existing coverage is intact and continuous, the money is better spent somewhere else.
In most older homes, sealing and insulating the ceiling comes first, because it costs less and affects more of the house at once. Windows are worth replacing when they are failing: broken seals, rot, sashes that will not close or lock. If the complaint is a draft along the trim, that is often an air sealing repair rather than a replacement. Have someone tell you which of the two you are dealing with.
Cold rooms, drafts, ice at the eaves, or an attic you have never been in. Any of it is a place to start.