FAQ · The #1 technical question I get
Why isn’t an R5 batt an R5 in my roof?
Because an R-rating only counts with no gaps, and batts always have gaps. The R5 on the packet is the lab number for a perfectly-fitted batt, not the result in your gappy roof. Pumped cellulose fills every inch, so what you pay for is what you get.
This is the single most important thing to understand before you buy batts, and it’s the question I answer more than any other. People assume R3.0 in one product equals R3.0 in another. It doesn’t. The rating is what the product does in a lab; the result is what ends up in your roof, and that depends entirely on the gaps.
Real reviews, real jobs
What our customers say
Genuine Google & hipages reviews from Comfort Zone customers across SE Queensland.
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Angela M.
SE Queensland
“The fact that I can't even tell it's 6 degrees outside when I wake up in the morning speaks for itself. Have wasted so much money attempting to heat and cool an uninsulated home. Worth every $.”
- Phipages
P Peter
Alstonvale, 2024
“Connected with Comfort Zone Insulation and would recommend them”
- J
Jessa B.
Brisbane
“It dropped about 4 degrees straight away, and we added another 3 with the second job. I appreciate Peter's honesty, and the team showed pictures before and after.”
- Nhipages
Nola M
Birtinya, 2024
“They were courteous and competent.”
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Iain V-B.
Brisbane
“Quick and polite service. Great follow-up advice and photos sent for our records. Above and beyond what we expected. Would highly recommend.”
- Jhipages
Jennifer's E
Upper Caboolture, 2024
“Excellent customer service. Highly recommended. Has a profound knowledge of insulation products and has the best interest of his customer.”
- G
Gerry S
Fitzgibbon, 2023
“I used Comfort Zone and they have a done an excellent job.”
- Jhipages
Jennifer
Upper Caboolture, 2024
“Excellent customer service. Highly recommend. Has a profound knowledge of insulation products and has the customer best interest.”
- J
Jung K
Riverhills, 2023
“An experienced family operation. Highly recommend. Thank you for the great job!”
- Dhipages
Diane A
Ormeau, 2024
“Peter and crew did a great job I would definitely recommend them”
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David H
Sunshine Coast, 2021
“Completed the job as quoted and to a high standard. Great personal service. Would highly recommend Comfort Zone for ceiling installation work.”
- Thipages
Timea
Highland Park, 2023
“I was extremely satisfied with the service they provided. They gave a very thourough explanation of the materials used, the way the work will be carried out and the price I had to pay was the exact amount quoted, no hidden costs included. They arrived on time, well prepared and workwas carried out exactly how they said it would be, they were super efficient, well prepared and were kind enough to even clean up after themselves. The services they provided was second to none! I don't hesitate to recommend them for any insulation job!”
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Benjamin H
Carseldine, 2019
“Very good explanation about their works. Advice of existing problems with the roof. Clean work. Very professional.”
- Mhipages
Mark
Pottsville, 2017
“Michelle, we are done - Peter from comfort zone insulation was very helpful. very honest with his recommendations - in fact he told me that the product my daughter had if installed correctly was superb. Thanks Peter you are a champion and i would recommend you to any person that was wanting professional advice and old school service.”
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Ian G
Burnside, 2019
“Good information, communication and professionalism.”
- Jhipages
Jessica
Pottsville, 2016
“This business offers a fantastic product that other businesses did not. Pump in ceiling insulation. Knowledge of the industry second to none.”
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Danny D
Boondall, 2018
“He explained everything he was going to do and the different types of insulation they used. He talked through the different options but made a recommendation for the one most people use, which is the one I chose. He was very understanding towards what I needed and not about himself.”
- Jhipages
Jack
Pottsville, 2023
“Excellent communication and informative. Professional.”
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Graham R
Riverhills, 2018
“Comfort Zone. Turned up ahead of time, completed in about 2 hours, cleaned up. All good. Very motivated installation team.”
- Thipages
Tony P
Redland Bay, 2023
“Very knowledgeable about insulation”
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Alex B
West Ipswich, 2018
“Fast, friendly, efficient.”
- Shipages
Steve
Redland Bay, 2017
“Excellent job and reasonable price.”
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Luke D
Mcdowall, 2017
“Peter did a good job. It was a quick and clean service. I'm happy to recommend!”
- Bhipages
Bruce H
Kuluin, 2023
“Prompt and efficient quoting.”
- B
Brendon
Brays Creek, 2016
“Peter supplied and installed roof insulation for me. He was very informative and provided good advice.”
- Ghipages
Gerry S
Fitzgibbon, 2023
“I used Comfort Zone and they have a done an excellent job.”
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Trevor G
Brookside Centre, 2016
“Excellent tradesmen from Comfort Zone Insulation. They were punctual and cleaned up after. Highly recommended.”
- Thipages
Tamara
Underwood, 2023
“Peter is honest, hard-working and came on time. Knew excally what he was talking about and answered my questions. Would 100% recommend”
- J
John G
Beaudesert, 2019
“Peter is an honest person who provided me with the information I wanted then performed a good job with great results for the benefit of myself and my family.”
- Shipages
Sterling G
Ashgrove, 2023
“Comfort Zone were very knowledge with great communication and follow up”
- Ghipages
Graham R
Riverhills, 2018
“Comfort Zone. Turned up ahead of time completed in +- 2 hours cleaned. All good. Very motivated installation team”
- Jhipages
Jung K
Riverhills, 2023
“An experienced family operation. Highly recommend. Thank you for the great job!”
- Khipages
Kathy A
North Lakes, 2023
“We connected with Peter through HiPages and he was prompt, professional and even came back after the job was complete to assist with a question we had. We would highly recommend Peter for further insulation works.”
- Dhipages
David H
Sunshine Coast, 2021
“Completed the job as quoted and to a high standard. Great personal service. Would highly recommend Comfort Zone for ceiling installationn work.”
- Shipages
Sue H
Sunshine Coast, 2021
“Incredible customer service”
- Ehipages
Eileen C
Cedar Vale, 2021
“Quality work, good customer service, prompt”
- Chipages
Craig M
Woody Point, 2021
“Called within 5 minutes of request. Very knowledgeable and explained job in great detail, provide great advice in prior preparation for works required. Very friendly and helpful.”
- Jhipages
Jenny C
Plainland, 2021
“Although I did not hire Peter I was impressed with the initial contact and the knowledge he was willing to impart. I was treated with respect which I appreciated. I would have hired but I received a lower quote.”
- Qhipages
Quinton
Coomera, 2020
“Professional installation without any short cuts. True to their word with high integrity. Response from Comfort Zone Insulation”
- Ghipages
Gary P
West Kempsey, 2020
“Came & Gave a free quote”
The rating is a lab number. The result is what’s in your roof.
The R-value printed on a batt is measured on a single sample, fitted perfectly flat with no gaps, in a lab. That’s a fair test of the material. But it’s not what happens in your ceiling. Your roof is full of odd-sized bays, downlights, pipes, cornices, hips and tight hot corners, and a batt has to be cut to fit every one of them. Every cut and every join is a chance for a gap, and gaps are where the heat sneaks through. So the R5 on the packet is the best-case number for a perfect install, not the number you actually live with.
Here’s the part that surprises people: gaps don’t just cost you the bit that’s missing. A 5% gap doesn’t cost you 5%. Heat takes the easy path, so even a small gap short-circuits the insulation around it and drags the whole ceiling’s effective R-value down. The Australian Government’s yourhome guide puts it plainly: even a small gap can greatly reduce the insulating value and tells you to fit batts snugly with no gaps around ducts and pipes.
How big is the loss?
1% gaps, about 30% gone. A 5% gap drops an R3.5 batt to R2.1.
Choice Magazine’s rule of thumb is that leaving just 1% gaps in your insulation can reduce its performance by around 30%. That sounds extreme until you understand that heat behaves like water finding a crack. It pours through the gap and ignores the insulation either side of it. The mechanism is documented by the Australian Government, not just by us: Sustainability Victoria’s Energy Smart Housing Manual shows the effective R-value collapsing as more of the ceiling is left uninsulated.
The single starkest number in that government manual is about gaps: leaving gaps of just 5% of the ceiling area drops an R3.5 batt to an effective R2.1, about a 40% loss. Think about how many downlights, cornices and pipes are in a modern house, and how easy it is for a rushed installer to leave a fist-sized gap around each one. That R6 you paid for can quietly be performing like an R3.5, and you’d never know. Once the manhole’s shut you can’t see it. (Worth being precise here: the 1% figure is a Choice / building-science rule of thumb, not a number out of the NCC. The government source for the 5% gap figure is the Sustainability Victoria Energy Smart Housing Manual, p.63.)
An R-rating only counts if there are no gaps, and batts always have gaps. So an R5 batt is not really an R5 in your roof. Pumped cellulose has no gaps, so what you pay for is what you get.
The fix
Pump-in cellulose fills every gap a batt leaves.
This is the whole reason I switched to cellulose. Instead of cutting slabs to fit, our pump-in ceiling insulation goes in as one seamless blanket, so it flows into every bay, every corner, around every pipe and downlight, and right out to the eaves. There’s no seam to leave a gap. There are no seams. Full contact across every inch of the ceiling means the R-value you bought is the R-value working in your roof, not a best-case lab number you never actually receive.
And there’s only one way to short you on cellulose, pump less in, and it’s measurable. The depth shows across the whole ceiling. With batts there are a dozen ways to leave gaps and short the R-value, and they rarely get caught once the manhole’s shut. That’s why every job is photographed to the same system and the photos are checked before you’re invoiced, so you can see the finished, edge-to-edge coverage you paid for, including the spots you can never climb up to check yourself. Every job is run by a Comfort Zone franchise owner-operator, trained to one standard and held to a quality standard.
Comfort Zone insulation.team
Family-owned insulation manufacturer, making comfy homes since 1986
The catch
You only insulate once, so you can’t compare.
Here’s what makes this decision different from most. You only insulate your roof once. You’ll never have the same house with cellulose in it one year and fibreglass the next, so you can’t stand in your living room and feel the difference. You just pick and live with it for the life of the house. That’s exactly why the gaps argument matters so much. You can’t go back and fix a batt job full of gaps once it’s in and the ceiling’s shut.
So my advice is simple: get the product that hits its number without depending on a perfect day from a perfect installer in a hot, tight roof, and on who actually turns up to do it. Pumped cellulose fills every gap regardless, and we show you the finished depth in the photos. Whatever R-value is right for your roof, the question isn’t just “what does the packet say?”. It’s “what’s actually going to be in my ceiling once it’s done?” Get the R-value right for South-East Queensland, then make sure it’s installed with no gaps so you actually receive it.
More on gaps and effective R-value
Why isn't an R5 batt really an R5 once it's in my roof?+
Because an R-rating is the lab number for insulation fitted with no gaps, and batts always have gaps. The R5 printed on the packet is measured on a single, perfectly-fitted sample. Once that batt is cut into every odd-sized bay and squeezed into the tight corners of your roof, you get gaps along the seams from day one, and a few percent of gaps wrecks the effective R-value. Choice's rule of thumb is that even 1% gaps can cut performance by around 30%, and Sustainability Victoria's own government nomogram shows the effective R-value collapsing as more of the ceiling is left uninsulated. Pumped-in cellulose lays as one seamless blanket with no gaps, so what you pay for is what's actually in your roof.
How much do small gaps really reduce insulation performance?+
A lot more than people expect. Gaps don't average out, they short-circuit the whole ceiling. Choice Magazine's rule of thumb is that just 1% of gaps can reduce insulation performance by about 30%. The Australian government's guidance agrees with the mechanism: yourhome.gov.au says even a small gap can greatly reduce the insulating value, and Sustainability Victoria's Energy Smart Housing Manual nomogram shows the effective R-value falling steeply once even a few percent of the ceiling is left uninsulated. Their figures put leaving gaps of just 5% of the ceiling area at dropping an R3.5 batt to an effective R2.1, about a 40% reduction. So a batt roof full of little gaps around downlights, cornices and pipes never delivers the number on the bag.
If cellulose and batts are both R3, why pick cellulose?+
Because the rating only tells you half the story. An R3 batt and R3 of cellulose are the same in a lab. But in a real roof the batt has gaps and the pumped cellulose doesn't, so the cellulose delivers far closer to its rated number. Batts are cut to fit, so they leave gaps along every seam and get short-changed in the tight, hot corners where installers take shortcuts. Cellulose is pumped in as one continuous blanket with full contact across every inch of the ceiling, including the eaves and the awkward spots you can never climb up to check. Same R-rating on paper, very different result in your roof. After installing insulation since 1986 it's the only product I'd use in my own home.
I can't compare the two side by side, so how do I decide?+
Here's the catch: you only insulate your roof once. You'll never have the same house with cellulose one year and batts the next, so you can't stand in your living room and feel the difference between them. You just have to pick and live with it for the life of the house. That's exactly why the gaps argument matters. You can't go back and fix a batt job full of gaps once it's in. So get the product that doesn't depend on a perfect day from a perfect installer to hit its number. Pumped cellulose fills every gap regardless, every job is photographed to the same system, and the photos are checked before you're invoiced so you can see the finished coverage you paid for.
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