Irricana Insulation for Prairie Homes, Garages and Farm Buildings
Irricana is a small prairie town east of Airdrie, surrounded by farmland and wide open to the wind. Its homes, detached garages and the farm buildings around it tend to share one problem: heat escapes and cold air gets in through places that were never properly sealed. We come out from Airdrie to deal with it.
At a Glance
- Permits issued by
- Town of Irricana
- From our Airdrie office
- About 30 minutes east
- Postal prefixes
- T0M
The Homes and Buildings in Irricana
Irricana’s housing is a mix of older small-town homes and newer houses built over the last few decades, with manufactured homes on some rural properties around it. Older houses commonly have thin attic insulation with little air sealing, and in some cases materials that should be checked before anyone disturbs them, such as vermiculite. Rodents are a real factor in a farming community, and contaminated attic or crawl space insulation is handled wet, with respiratory protection and HEPA extraction, because deer mice in Alberta can carry hantavirus. Manufactured homes of any age often have torn belly boards, sagging underbelly insulation and water lines that freeze in cold snaps.
Detached garages and farm buildings are a big part of the building stock here. Many garages were built as cold storage and are now being heated as workshops, which calls for insulation of the ceiling first, then the walls and the overhead door. Steel-clad ag shops and pole barns on surrounding farms sweat under the roof steel in winter, dripping on equipment and rusting fasteners. Closed-cell spray foam direct to the steel, protected by an accepted coating where it stays exposed, deals with both the heat loss and the condensation, and it holds up to birds and rodents far better than exposed batts.
Neighbourhood Notes
Older homes in town
The town’s older houses, often with thin attic insulation, older windows and little air sealing at the ceiling. Air sealing and a top-up are usually the most useful first step, after checking for vermiculite or rodent contamination.
Newer residential streets
Homes built over the last few decades, generally with better attics. The work tends to be at the basement rim joists, in basement developments and in attached or detached garages.
Manufactured and mobile homes
Wind and rodents damage belly boards and underbelly insulation, leading to cold floors and frozen lines. Repairing the belly board, re-insulating and sealing the inside of the skirting cuts the wind without blocking required ventilation or access panels.
Surrounding farmyards
Farm homes, ag shops, pole barns and livestock buildings on the land around town. Condensation under roof steel and insulation damaged by animals are the typical problems; livestock buildings still need ventilation after insulating.
Permits in Irricana
Authority having jurisdiction: Town of Irricana
Properties inside town limits fall under the Town of Irricana, which is the authority for building permits there. A basement development or a secondary suite needs a permit, and the insulation and vapour barrier are part of the inspected work. For other insulation work, the Town decides whether a permit applies. Farms and acreages outside town are generally under Rocky View County, and farm buildings are treated differently under Alberta’s Safety Codes Act, so confirm with the county and your insurer rather than assuming a farm building is exempt.
What Irricana Homes and Buildings Need Most
HEPA Vacuum Attic Insulation Removal
HEPA extraction of contaminated, wet or rodent-damaged attic insulation.
Blown-In Cellulose Attic Top-Ups
Borate-treated cellulose blown over old attic insulation toward about R-60.
Mobile & Manufactured Homes
Belly board repairs, re-insulated floors and sealed skirting for manufactured homes.
Detached & Heated Garages
Full thermal envelopes for detached and heated garages running gas unit heaters.
Pole Barns & Agricultural Shops
Closed-cell foam for post-frame barns and ag shops to stop steel sweating and drip.
Insulation in Irricana: Questions
How far is Irricana from your base?
Mice got into the attic of my Irricana home. Can you just blow new insulation over it?
Do I need a permit to spray foam my pole barn outside Irricana?
Insulation Work in Irricana?
Call or send the details. Airdrie Insulation works from Airdrie, and we will tell you what the job needs before we price it.