Hot upstairs, a cold room over the garage or a power bill that keeps climbing? Spray foam seals the gaps and insulates in one coat.
Spray foam insulation in Durham, NC is foam we spray along the roofline, into walls or under a crawl space floor, where it expands into the gaps, so it stops air leaks and insulates in the same coat.
Most calls start the same way. The room over the garage is cold, the upstairs runs hot, or the power bill keeps climbing even though there's insulation up there. Usually the insulation isn't the whole problem. Air is slipping through gaps around lights, pipes and the attic hatch, and foam closes those gaps as it goes on, which loose fill can't do by itself.
Price comes down to which foam you pick, how much area we cover, how thick it goes, and whether old insulation has to come out first through insulation removal. A tight attic or crawl space takes longer to work in. The schedule turns on the permit check and on how long your household needs to stay out after spraying. The written estimate lays all of that out, and I walk you through each line.
Most spray foam problems trace back to a step someone rushed. These are the things I look at in your attic, walls or crawl space before we price anything.
I measure how many inches you have now and note how old the house is, then look at the condition of it. If the old insulation got soaked or is full of droppings, putting new material over it keeps the problem around, so that comes out first and we find out why it got wet.
Can lights, holes for plumbing and wiring, and the attic hatch are where most air gets through. Foam seals them as it goes on, but only if it actually gets into each one, so we mark them before spraying and check them again before anything gets covered up.
Where the roof meets the outside walls is the hardest spot to reach, and it's where coverage usually comes up short. Thin foam at the edges leaves the outside of the room cold while the middle looks great, so our crew lead checks depth along the edges, not just where it's easy.
National guidance says foam in an attic or crawl space can go without an ignition barrier, a covering that keeps flame off the foam, only when the foam maker has had that exact setup tested and approved. That approval also sets how thick the foam can go, so the maker's instructions for your product decide it.
Here's how a spray foam job runs with us, from the first call to the walk-through at the end, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call (919) 246-8605 or send the form and tell us which rooms or spaces are giving you trouble. We get back to you and set a time for me to come take a look.
I come out, look at the attic, walls or crawl space with you, and explain what I see and what I'd do first. Then you get a written estimate, and I go over it with you.
Our trained installers do the job the way we planned it, with a crew lead on site. Your household is out of the house while we spray, on the schedule we worked out together at the estimate.
Before we leave, we show you what we did, from the sealed gaps to the depth along the edges. You come back inside once the re-entry time, the wait before it's safe to return, is up.
The first thing we settle is open-cell or closed-cell foam. Open-cell is soft and light, closed-cell foam is dense and blocks moisture, and they act differently in a wall, under a floor or along a roof. I walk you through what each does for sound, moisture and your budget before you pick, because the right answer for the attic isn't always the right one for the crawl space.
Here's the trade-off I'll name up front. Foam costs more, and it seals air while it insulates. If your ductwork lives in the attic, that usually makes foam worth it. If it doesn't, sealing the gaps and topping up with blown-in insulation, loose fill we blow in through a hose, usually wins, and I'll tell you so. Our attic insulation page covers that route.
We also plan spray day around your household. Everyone, pets included, needs to be out while we spray and for a while after, so we settle the date, how long you'll be gone and where the crew needs to get in when we go over the estimate. Nobody should find out the morning of that they need somewhere to sleep.
We spray the underside of the roof and seal the attic, so the ductwork up there sits inside the insulated part of the house. It's the bigger job, and the one that makes sense when ducts and equipment live in the attic.
Sometimes only the room over the garage, a knee wall or the crawl space needs foam. We spray there and use loose fill or other insulation everywhere else, which keeps the job smaller.
We reply within one business day to set up your free on-site estimate. I come out, look at the space with you and explain what I'd do, then you get a written estimate with no obligation to hire us.
(919) 246-8605In Durham, permits come from the City-County Building & Safety Department, and the city requires one for any project that includes load-bearing work or runs over $40,000 in market value. Whether your foam job crosses either line isn't something I'd guess at, so before we start, we check with the permit office that covers your address.
Once a job is permitted, the city's inspection requirements say the installers' certification letter must be provided whenever spray foam is used, so ask us for it and the inspector gets it. If you're planning a sealed crawl space, one closed off from outside air, the city says that should be shown on the job site plans, so we settle it before plans are drawn.
I came up on the crews of a big commercial insulation company, spraying foam and fitting board in warehouses, schools and office buildings, and I started this business in Durham in 2013 to bring that care to homes. What I learned there is that most insulation problems trace back to a rushed step, so I'd rather lose a job by being straight with you than win it by skipping one.
Before you hire anyone to spray foam, check their training, confirm their insurance and licenses, and ask for references. In North Carolina, the state licensing board for general contractors has a specialty classification for insulation, and its residential classification covers insulation done as part of a home. We're licensed and insured.
I write every estimate myself, and our trained installers do the work with a crew lead on site. Satisfaction guaranteed. If you'd like someone to explain what's going on in your attic or crawl space before you decide anything, call (919) 246-8605 or use our estimate form.
If your ducts aren't up in the attic, building up the attic floor can get the upstairs comfortable without foaming the whole roofline.
Loose fill is the usual way to finish the rest of the house after we foam the room over the garage or a knee wall.
Durham is home base, and these nearby cities have their own page on our site. They aren't the only places we go, so call if your city isn't listed.
Installing spray foam insulation in Durham usually costs about $2,300 to $9,000 per job. That's the going rate around here, not our quote. Where your house falls depends mostly on the foam type and how much space we cover, and your written estimate shows the number for your job.
Pick closed-cell when you want the most insulation in a tight space, and open-cell when quiet and budget matter more. A Raleigh cost guide puts closed-cell at about twice as energy efficient per inch, at a higher price, and open-cell as a much better sound barrier. Open-cell still blocks air flow well at typical thicknesses.
It can keep a wall from drying out. At typical thicknesses closed-cell foam is a vapor retarder, a layer that holds back moisture, so a frame wall filled with it won't dry well to the outside. Open-cell foam lets vapor through, so it handles moisture differently, and that's part of how we pick foam for each spot.
Plan to be gone at least 24 hours, because federal consumer safety guidance says residents should leave for at least that long. The right re-entry time varies with the product, the type of house, and whether children or older people live there. We check what your product needs and plan the stay with you.
We do, when your job needs one. Where a permit is needed, we handle the paperwork with the city and meet the inspector, so you aren't the one chasing it. The Durham section above covers when the city requires a permit.
Read the product information carefully before you decide, and if necessary, consider a different insulation. Federal safety guidance says that for people with skin conditions, respiratory allergies, asthma or a past reaction to isocyanates, chemicals used to make the foam. Tell me at the estimate and we'll go over the product sheet together.
Clear a path to the attic hatch or crawl space door and move anything stored near where we'll spray, because foam sticks to whatever it lands on. Then line up where the family and pets will stay while you're out. I go over the list with you when we set the date.
Call (919) 246-8605 or send the form with the spaces you want insulated and any health conditions at home, so I come to the estimate ready to talk through your foam choices.
