Insulation Contractors: Installation and Repair

Insulation in your home affects comfort levels and energy efficiency. Read about hiring a professional insulation repair and installation service today.

One primary function of your home is to keep you and your family comfortable all year long. The insulation in your home is a large part of how well your home functions in this capacity and maintains comfortable living temperatures. Because your home is likely the most valuable financial and emotional asset you own it is also important to hire a professional insulation installation and repair company to assess and satisfy your insulation needs. Read ahead for a guide on insulation repair and installation contractors and the importance of hiring a professional service today.

 

Discussing the Importance of Insulation for Your Home

Energy efficiency not only keeps you and your family comfortable all year long, but it also saves you money. The insulation in your home plays a major role in how well it maintains pleasant temperatures and reasonable energy bills. This is true regardless of where you live in the country and what types of seasonal changes you experience. In the wintertime your furnace runs constantly if your insulation is inadequate, or your home is not properly air sealed. During the summer months your window AC units or central AC also runs constantly or stops and starts dozens of times a day to combat the hot outside air leaking through windows or walls.

Do you walk by windows and feel a draft? Is your floor cold to the touch when walking through your house barefoot or when wearing socks? The floors and walls in your home reflect the outside temperatures when your air sealing and insulation are inadequate. This leads to your HVAC system working harder, which increases energy bills and reduces the system’s functional lifespan. Insulation is important because it helps prevent these issues. In turn, it is equally important to hire a professional service to assess and handle all your home insulation needs.

Overview of Insulation Installation and Repair for Your Home

The definition of insulation is basic, as it merely describes a material used for the purpose of insulating something, which is most often a building. Conduction and convection refer to heat transfer and airflow respectively. Both conduction and convection impact the energy efficiency and comfort levels of your home. Insulation and air sealing are the two most important aspects of maintaining energy efficiency and comfort levels inside a house. Air sealing prevents hot or cold air outside your home from entering it through your walls and ventilation ducts. Insulation blocks the remaining inclement air the air sealing fails to repress.

The first step to upgrading your insulation and the overall energy efficiency of your home is to hire a professional insulation service to conduct a whole-house energy audit. A professional home energy audit, also referred to as an energy assessment, locates the areas of your home where insulation or air sealing is inadequate. The assessment also locates areas where no insulation is installed at all. Before having insulation installed, however, it is vital to first address areas where the air sealing needs improvement.

Air Sealing 101

A professional home energy audit reveals the areas where leaking air is passing in and out of your home through the walls. Air also leaks in and out of your home through common problem areas such as electrical outlets, doors, windows, crawl spaces, rim joints and attics. Dirty markings on your paint and carpet indicate potential locations of air leaks. Dirty or moldy areas of your insulation also indicate leaking air. A professional insulation service will air repair leaks using:

• Caulk.
• Weather-stripping.
• Foam gaskets and other foam sealants.
• New door thresholds and bottoms.
• Double-pane windows.

Why Professional Insulation Services Are the Best (and often only) Choice

To fully understand how well your home conserves energy and improves comfort levels it is vital have a professional service perform a home energy audit. Professional companies know where to insulate your home. Top contractors also know how to:

• Save you money.
• Get you the best deals available.
• Perform the jobs properly and safely.
• Offer warranties and service guarantees.

Insulation Contractors - Top 5 Nationwide Companies (and prices offered)

Pricing for insulation installation varies based on the type of insulation used and how much is required per job. For example, spray foam insulation costs $0.50 - $2.00 per board foot, whereas rigid insulation costs only $0.25 - $1.00 per board foot. Blown-in ($1.00-$2.00), batting ($0.30 – $1.50) and radiant ($0.20 – $1.00) also have their own pricing per board foot. Additional charges are also accrued when old insulation must be removed, air sealing is required, or walls/boards must be repaired. Expect to pay between $700 and $6,000+ for whole-home installation and $2-$7 per foot for replacement or repair. The top-5 nationwide insulation companies today include:

• USA Insulation.
• Insulate America.
• New England Performance Insulation.
• Insulation Northwest.
• USI Southern Foam.

USA Installation is a top nationwide insulation service provider. Exact prices are offered by free quote and estimate only based on various factors. The company website does state how pricing for some spray foam installation projects cost thousands of dollars based on insulation thickness, size of insulated areas and amount of work required of staff. They offer coupons and discounts via email when you sign up for their preferred customer program. Free inspections include air leak detections, attic insulation assessments as well as a wall and crawlspace assessment.

Insulate America has branches in nearly every U.S. state. The company donates to multiple charities and has sponsorships with many popular American sports stars and public figures. Exact pricing is available via direct quote only once an inspection is complete, but Insulate American prices are consistent with national averages. The company focuses on good ethics and integrity as part of its mission statement and is therefore one of the most trusted insulation services by consumers today.

New England Performance Insulation offers spray foam, fiberglass, and cellulose insulation installations. The company also performs crawlspace encapsulation at prices available via direct quote only. This top Northeast U.S. company gets mostly 5-star reviews from customers and is the top service provider choice for New England and the surrounding region.

Insulation Northwest is based out of Puyallup, WA and provides spray foam insulation, blower door diagnostics and attic and crawlspace insulation services. Prices are available after a free estimate is conducted. A convenient online payment portal is provided pm on the Insulation Northwest website.

USI Southern Foam has branches across the U.S. south and southwest regions but also extends into Colorado, Idaho, Maryland, Oregon, Utah, and Washington State. USI provides a free one-hour consultation and a written pricing estimate delivered within forty-eight hours.