Attic insulation in Petaluma CA - an upstairs you can actually sleep in
Hot bedrooms, drafty halls and a climbing power bill usually trace back to the attic. We seal the gaps, then insulate it evenly.
Get your attic checked before you insulate
We pick up until 11 PM on weekdays and 10 PM on weekends, so you can call (707) 238-6044 after the kids are down.
What does a good attic insulation job in Petaluma include?
Attic insulation in Petaluma is the layer on your attic floor that slows heat moving in and out of your house, and it does its job best when the air leaks underneath it get sealed first.
Most of the attics I climb into here belong to older houses with a few inches of gray, flattened insulation and gaps around the lights and pipes nobody's touched in decades. The price turns on how big the attic is, how many inches are already up there and whether they're clean enough to keep, how much sealing it needs and whether anything has to be fixed first, and the schedule turns on those same repairs and on whether the city wants a permit. I'll go up, look around and give you the number for your house, and if the cold floors are coming from below too, our home insulation work looks at the rest of the house.
Why Petaluma homeowners call Evergreen Petaluma Spray Foam Insulation about their attics
The owner writes every estimate
I climb into your attic myself, look things over and write the estimate, then come back at the end to check the work with you. You hear it all from one person.
Raised in Petaluma attics
I grew up handing my dad tools in attics and crawl spaces around Petaluma, then started this business in 2017. He taught me to do the work in the right order, and we still do.
Licensed and fully insured, every job
We're licensed and fully insured, so you aren't taking on the risk of a crew working over your ceilings. That counts for a lot when people are stepping between joists above your bedrooms.
On an attic, the order of the work matters more than the material, and I'd rather tell you a job can wait than sell you one your house doesn't need. Set up a visit and I'll tell you which it is.
How we handle attic insulation, start to finish
Before anyone opens a bag of insulation, I look for what needs fixing first, like a roof leak or a bath fan blowing damp air into the attic, because new insulation over a wet spot just hides the problem until it's worse. We'll also talk about moving the stored boxes before the crew shows up, so nobody's crawling around your grandmother's china. Old insulation that's soaked or full of droppings comes out instead of getting buried. Then our crew does the air sealing, which means closing the gaps around can lights, pipes and the hatch so the new layer isn't fighting a draft, keeps the eave vents clear so the attic can still breathe, and fills out to the edges, where attics are usually thinnest.
Seal and top up with loose fill
This suits most attics we see, where the old layer is dry but thin. Sealing the gaps and blowing fresh fill over the top usually gets you the most for your money.
Spray foam at the roofline
This suits attics where the ductwork lives up there. Foam costs more, but it seals air while it insulates and keeps those ducts inside the comfortable part of the house.
Pull it out and start fresh
This suits attics with insulation that's wet, smells musty or is full of droppings. Putting new material over that keeps the problem in your house, so it comes out first.
How do you know your attic needs more insulation?
Upstairs is always hot
The bedrooms bake by late afternoon and the AC runs all evening trying to catch up. That's usually thin insulation or open gaps letting heat pour down, and it costs you every month.
Drafts and cold floors
You feel a draft in the hall, or the room over the garage has cold floors. Air is usually sneaking past gaps around lights, pipes or the hatch, and the heater pays for it.
You can see the joists
Poke your head through the hatch and the framing sticks up above the insulation. The layer has settled or was always thin, and the power bill carries it every season you wait.
Stains, smells or droppings
Water marks on the ceiling, a musty smell or droppings in the old insulation mean something's wrong up there. Waiting lets it spread, and it has to be fixed before new insulation goes in.
What happens when you call about attic insulation in Petaluma?
Call and set up a visit
Call or send the form, and we set a time for me to come out. I go up in the attic, explain what I see in plain words and give you an estimate.
Our crew does the work
Our crew lead and installers handle the repairs, sealing and insulation once the stored stuff is out of the way. Before they start, I'll tell you whether you need to step out.
Check it together at the end
When the crew wraps up, I check the attic with you before we call it done, so you can see the sealing, the clear vents and the even layer yourself.
Attic insulation questions we hear
Here's what Petaluma homeowners ask me most about attic insulation. If your house has something odd going on up there, call or send the form and ask about your own attic.
How much does attic insulation cost in Petaluma?
The cost comes down to your attic's size, how much insulation is already up there and whether it can stay, how many gaps need sealing and whether repairs come first. Stored boxes, a tight hatch and old insulation that has to come out all add to it. I give you the number for your house after I've been up there.
Why should you air seal an attic before adding insulation?
You seal first because insulation slows heat but doesn't stop air, and a federal attic guide puts sealing ahead of insulating to get the most out of it. That guide works in order, with combustion safety and indoor air first, then durability and attic ventilation, then sealing, then insulation. It covers big holes and open soffits, the boxed-in areas under the eaves, with solid blocking, puts metal collars around hot flues, covers can lights that aren't rated to touch insulation, and gives the hatch a gasket and an insulated cover.
What happens if my attic has vermiculite or old knob and tube wiring?
Those get dealt with before anyone seals or insulates the attic. The federal guide says vermiculite, the gray-brown pebbly stuff, may contain asbestos and has to be tested first, starting with professional advice and a call to the State Department of Health, and it lists active knob and tube wiring alongside the bath fans and roof leaks I mentioned as things to fix ahead of the insulation. If I spot any of it, I'll point it out calmly and we'll build the fix into your plan and budget.
Who do I ask about a permit for attic insulation in Petaluma?
Petaluma's Building Division answers permit questions at building@cityofpetaluma.org. Its list of work that needs a permit names new bathroom exhaust fans, ducting and ventilation systems but doesn't name attic insulation, and the city says all work, permit or not, follows the California Building Standards Code and city codes. We find out what the city wants on your job and handle the permit when one's needed, and if we're not sure, we ask the city's building office before we start.
Who is allowed to install attic insulation in California?
California's contractor license board defines an insulation and acoustical contractor as one who installs any insulating media for temperature or sound control, which is exactly what attic insulation is. The state's minor work exemption lets someone without a license take a job under $1,000, but only when it needs no permit and that person has no employees. As I said above, we're licensed.
What is the best way to insulate an attic that has floorboards?
The floorboards come up before the air sealing so the crew can reach the gaps underneath. If those boards are doing a structural job, the federal guide has braces like collar ties, boards that tie the rafters together, take over that job first. I'll check what yours are doing when I'm up there and tell you how we'd handle it.
Get a free attic insulation estimate
Tell us what's stored in the attic, where your bath fans vent and whether you've seen pebbly vermiculite up there. We reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out, and the on-site estimate is free with no obligation.
Attic insulation, up close
Other work that goes with it
Blown-in insulation
Loose fill blown through a hose fills around wiring, framing and odd corners, so it's usually the easiest way to bring a thin attic back up to depth.
Learn moreHome insulation
When the cold floors and drafty rooms aren't all coming from above, we look at the walls and crawl space and plan the house as a whole.
Learn more