A cold outside wall or a drafty bedroom usually means an empty wall. We pack it full of cellulose through small holes.
Yes. Wall insulation in Durham for an existing home means packing cellulose into the empty spaces inside your walls through small holes, so the room stops feeling cold next to the outside wall and less outside air leaks in.
Most calls start with one room. The back bedroom never warms up, you feel a chill standing near the outside wall, and the power bill keeps climbing. In a lot of houses that's an empty wall. We fix it with dense-pack cellulose, which is blown in through a hose and packed tight, and for a finished house it's the type of cellulose that fits the job.
The price mostly comes down to how much wall we're filling, whether we go in from inside or through the siding, and how much patching or trim work follows. The schedule turns on what's already inside your walls, because older wiring, a chimney or recessed lights all take checking before we drill. You get the estimate in writing, and I walk you through each line.
Dense-pack goes in through small holes, so where we drill decides what's left to fix afterward. Here's how each side works and how the mess stays contained.
When insulation is blown in from inside, the holes go through your drywall or plaster. Afterward they get patched, or a chair rail, a strip of trim run along the wall about chair height, covers them so you don't see them. Inside work makes sense when your siding is staying put and you'd rather not disturb it.
From outside, the holes go through the siding, and every one gets plugged and sealed. Many walls also have a drainage plane, the layer behind the siding that sheds water, and where yours does, it gets repaired so rain can't get into the wall. That repair matters more than the plug you can see.
Inside work makes dust, so the floor under the work area should be covered and the area closed off with a containment enclosure, a plastic barrier that keeps dust and debris from spreading. Before any crew starts, ours included, ask how they'll protect your floors and keep dust out of the rest of the house.
Here's who does what from the first call to the last walk-through. I do the looking and the explaining, and our crew does the work we planned together.
Call (919) 246-8605 or send the form and tell us what you're noticing, like a cold room, a drafty wall or a high bill. If you know your home's age or what wiring it has, mention that too.
I come out myself and look at the walls with you. I explain what I see and what I'd do first, then you get a written estimate, and I go through each line with you.
Our trained installers do the job the way we planned it, with a crew lead on site. Wiring, heat sources and the access holes get handled the way we talked through at the estimate.
Before we leave, we show you what we did, which walls are filled, how the holes were closed and anything we left alone and why, so you understand your own house.
For walls that are already closed up, we dense-pack cellulose through small holes. Before any hole gets drilled, I find out what wiring runs through those walls and where any chimney or recessed lights sit. That's because one cellulose maker's guide keeps insulation out of stud runs, the spaces between wall framing, that hold heat sources like a fireplace, recessed lights or a chimney.
If you're already redoing siding, that's the easiest time to do it. National guidance says that when siding comes off an uninsulated wood-frame wall, the empty cavity should be blown full before the new siding goes on. The wall is already open, the holes end up under new siding, and you're not paying to get into the wall twice.
Filled walls do their best work when the leaks around them are closed too, so a lot of wall jobs pair with our air sealing services, where we close the gaps air sneaks through. And if the cold seems to come up from below, the walls may not be the whole story, so basement insulation is worth a look while I'm there.
If your siding is in good shape, we go in from inside or outside through small holes and close them up after. It's the right call when the cold room can't wait for a siding job.
If new siding is already on your list, fold the insulation into that project. The walls are open, there's nothing to patch, and the siding crew and ours can work in order.
We reply within one business day. Then I come out, look at your walls with you and explain what I'd do first. You get a free written estimate with no obligation.
(919) 246-8605In Durham, building permits come from the City-County Building & Safety Department, and they're required for any project with load bearing work or exceeding $40K in market value. Before we start, we check with the permit office that covers your address, and where a permit is needed, we handle the paperwork and meet the inspector.
The city's insulation inspection list has two items that touch wall work. When spray foam insulation is used, the installers' certification letter has to be provided. And all required air barriers, the layers that stop air leaks, have to be installed. Our wall work is usually dense-pack cellulose, but if foam goes in anywhere on your job, that letter comes with it.
Durham has plenty of older houses mixed in with newer ones, and the older ones are where we most often find empty walls and wiring worth a careful look. We do the same wall work in Chapel Hill and Raleigh, where we check the local permit rules the same way.
I started Sealcraft Durham Insulation Company in 2013, after years on commercial crews spraying foam and fitting board in warehouses, schools and office buildings. What stuck with me is that most insulation problems trace back to a step somebody rushed. So I come out to look at the job and write the estimate myself, and our trained installers do the work with a crew lead on site.
In North Carolina, insulation work on homes falls under the state licensing board's residential contractor rules, which include an insulation specialty. We're licensed and insured. Our work is satisfaction guaranteed. I'd rather tell you a wall shouldn't be filled than fill it and leave you a problem. If you want me to look at yours, call (919) 246-8605 or send the form.
Full walls hold heat better when the gaps around pipes, outlets and the attic hatch aren't leaking air right past them.
Cold floors over a basement can make a room feel drafty even after the walls are full, and that cold often starts below.
We're based in Durham and work in Durham and the cities around it, including Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Cary and Burlington. If you're not sure we come to you, just ask.
Yes, dense-pack cellulose goes into closed walls through small holes, from inside or outside. Wet-spray cellulose seals better, but it isn't the kind used to retrofit existing walls, so for a house that's already built, dense-pack is the one that fits. It also cuts down the outside air leaking indoors.
Properly installed cellulose can work well for decades. Packing is what keeps it working, because dense-pack settles very little, while loose fill dropped into a wall can settle and leave a gap that lets heat through. That's why we pack it tight instead of just filling the space.
Yes. One cellulose maker's guide calls for no insulation in any house that uses knob and tube, an early style of wiring run on porcelain knobs. If your house is older, find out what wiring you have before you plan the job, and we can look at it together at the estimate.
Installing blown-in wall insulation across the US usually costs about $4 to $4.50 per square foot. That's the national going rate, not our price. Yours depends on the things covered above, mainly how much wall we fill and which side we drill from, and the written estimate spells it out.
Pull furniture and wall hangings away from the outside walls we'll be working on, so the crew has room and nothing gets bumped. If we're drilling from outside, clear anything stacked against the house. I'll tell you which walls we're doing when I'm out for the estimate.
That turns on how many walls we're filling, whether we go in from inside or outside, and what we find in the wiring. A house with old wiring or a chimney in an outside wall takes more checking before we drill. I'll tell you what your schedule depends on when I see it.
Have your home's age, the type of wiring and any siding plans handy when you call (919) 246-8605 or send the form, so I come out ready to look at the right things.
