If the upstairs stays hot and the power bill climbs all summer, we blow an even layer of insulation across your whole attic floor.
Blown-in insulation is loose cellulose or fiberglass blown through a hose onto your attic floor, and for most vented attics in Visalia, the kind with vents at the eaves and roof, it's a plain way to slow the heat coming down into your rooms.
Most calls start with a hot upstairs, a room over the garage that never cools off, or a power bill that jumps every summer, and the attic is usually where that heat gets in. I want to know how many inches are already up there, what shape they're in and how old the house is, because that tells me whether we're topping up or starting over.
The price moves with the size of the attic, how many gaps need sealing, whether old insulation has to come out first and how much is in the way, like ducts, wiring and stored boxes. The schedule turns mostly on that same removal question and on whether your address needs a permit, and your written estimate gives you your own number. California licenses insulation work as its own trade, covering any insulation put in for heat or sound.
Here's who you'll deal with and what you'll have in hand, from the first look to the finished attic.
I come out, get up through your hatch, and take photos and notes on what's there, from the old insulation to wiring, gas appliances and anything stored on the attic floor. I started this business in Visalia in 2023 because lived-in houses need that kind of look before anyone blows a single bag.
Then I write an estimate that lays out every step in the order we'll do it and go over the photos with you. If part of the job should wait or belongs to another trade, I'll tell you that on the estimate instead of working around it.
We're licensed and insured, and our trained installers do the work in the order the estimate shows. I check the attic against that estimate before we call the job finished.
Once the gaps in the attic floor are sealed, we set baffles, simple chutes at the eaves, so the vents stay open and the fill can't spill down into them. Before we blow, we check every older recessed light, since some need clear space around them. Then we blow the layer as even as we can across the whole ceiling, out to the top of the outside walls, because the edges are where a rushed job runs thin while the middle piles up.
If the old insulation is soaked, matted or full of droppings, insulation removal comes first, because fresh fill over a problem only hides it. Foam costs more but seals air as it insulates, and I'd usually rather seal the gaps and top up with loose fill unless your ductwork runs through the attic. If the attic is only part of why rooms won't stay comfortable, we can look at the rest of the house as home insulation work.
Blown-in work happens mostly up in the attic, but it still passes through your house, so here's what to plan for.
Move anything stored under the attic hatch or in the closet it opens from, so the crew can set up without shuffling your things. Boxes stored up in the attic itself we'll sort out at the estimate, since fill can't go under them.
The crew lays drop cloths from the door to the hatch and covers what sits below it, because loose fill sheds a little dust on the way up. The hose comes in from outside, so we'll agree on which door or window it runs through.
With loose fill you usually don't need to leave the house, unlike some foam jobs that come with a re-entry time, a wait before you can go back in. We do ask that kids and pets stay clear of the hatch while the hose is running.
We vacuum the path, close up the hatch and pack the hose out. I show you photos of the finished attic so you can see the layer reaches the edges and the eave vents are open.
Tell us where your attic hatch is and whether the ceilings below have recessed lights, and we'll reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out. The estimate is free, done on site and comes with no obligation. You can also call (559) 409-1169.
(559) 409-1169For an open attic floor, usually yes, because blowing loose fill usually costs less than laying batts and gives better coverage, though installed cost varies from house to house. Blown cellulose and blown fiberglass both work on a vented attic floor, so ask which one a quote uses, and whether its depth means fresh or settled, since cellulose can sit thicker the day it's blown than after it settles.
The openings through the attic floor get sealed first, with caulk, one-part spray foam or rigid blocking depending on the gap, and the insulation goes in after. That order matters to me, because fill laid over an open gap around a pipe, a light or the hatch still has a draft running through it.
Not right against them if they aren't marked ICAT, meaning rated for insulation contact and airtight, because insulation touching those older fixtures is a fire hazard. The fill has to stay at least 3 inches back all the way around, which usually leaves about a square foot of bare ceiling at each light. Let us know at the estimate how many you have.
The City of Visalia issues permits only to the property owner or a state-licensed contractor, and it posts its own mandatory requirements for insulation and roofing projects. Before work starts, we check with the city or county office that covers your address, and when a permit is needed we apply for it as your licensed contractor and meet the inspector on site.
One energy-compliance company places Visalia in California's Climate Zone 13, an extremely hot Central Valley zone with very high cooling loads, and you feel that in an attic that bakes all summer and pushes heat into the rooms below. California's Energy Code also sets efficiency requirements for alterations to existing buildings, not only new ones, so work on a house that's already standing has rules of its own.
We're based in Visalia and work across the cities around it, from Kingsburg and Selma to Hanford, Lemoore and Woodlake. Across those cities we see a lot of older layers that have thinned out or been pressed flat by stored boxes, and the work is the same wherever the house sits. If your city isn't named on the site, call and ask.
We pick up seven days a week, from early morning until 9 PM, so call (559) 409-1169 or use our contact form whenever it suits you.
If you're not sure blown-in is the right fit for your attic, call and I'll come take a look first.
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