The most common attic upgrade
Blown-in insulation is the workhorse of attic jobs. A machine blows loose fibers across your attic floor. The fibers pile up into a thick, even blanket. That blanket slows heat from moving in and out of your home.
Two materials do this job. Cellulose is made from recycled paper treated to resist fire and pests. Fiberglass is made from spun glass. Both work well. We help you pick based on your attic and your budget.
Most Waldorf homes we see have too little of it. The old batts are flat. The corners are bare. Blown-in fills all of that in one visit.
Why blown-in beats batts in most attics
Batts are the pink rolls you may have seen. They work fine in a perfect attic. But few attics are perfect. Wires cross the floor. Pipes poke through. Old boxes sit in corners. Batts leave gaps around all of it.
Blown-in has no gaps. It flows around wires and pipes. It fills odd corners. It covers the whole floor the same. That even cover is what keeps heat where it belongs.
Batts also lose their loft over time. They sag and thin out. Blown-in settles a little too, but we blow extra to account for it. The end depth is what counts.
Cellulose or fiberglass?
Homeowners ask us this a lot. Here is the honest answer. Both insulate well when blown to the right depth. The difference is in the details.
Cellulose packs tight. It slows air a bit more than fiberglass. It is often the better pick for attics with lots of small gaps. The fire treatment also makes it resist pests.
Fiberglass does not absorb water. If your attic has had a small roof leak, fiberglass dries out better. It also does not settle as much over time.
We look at your attic and tell you which fits. There is no wrong answer here. Depth matters more than the material.
How it works
1. Free inspection. We measure your attic and check what is there now. We look for air leaks, bad vents, and old damage.
2. Prep. We seal the big air leaks first. We make sure vents are clear. We put up rulers so we can prove the final depth.
3. Blow day. The machine stays outside or in the garage. A long hose reaches your attic. We blow the insulation to the target depth, section by section.
4. Check and clean. We measure depth in several spots. We take photos. We vacuum the work path and haul away the trash.
What we check before we blow
Blowing insulation over problems just hides them. So we check first. We look for roof leaks and water stains. Wet insulation must be fixed first. We check that soffit vents are open, not blocked. We look for knob-and-tube wiring in very old homes, which needs an electrician first.
We also check your attic access. Some homes have a tiny scuttle hole. We can still work through it. It just takes a bit longer.
Signs you need a top-up
You can see the tops of the wood joists. That means less than a few inches of cover. Your upstairs is much hotter than downstairs in July. Your heat runs often in January. Your bills rise each year. Ice forms at your roof edge in winter. Any one of these means your attic is thin.
The day of the job
We park the blower truck near your home. The hose runs to your attic hatch. The work is loud for a few hours. Dust stays in the attic. We seal the hatch area with plastic so your home stays clean.
You do not need to leave. Pets should stay in a closed room away from the hatch. When we finish, we show you the depth markers and the photos.
How deep is deep enough
Federal guidance suggests R-38 to R-60 for attics in our area. That is just a number. What it means is simple. You want a thick, even blanket with no thin spots.
For blown cellulose or fiberglass, R-38 is about 10 to 12 inches deep. R-60 is about 14 to 16 inches. We blow to the depth your home needs. We set rulers in the attic so you can see the depth yourself.
More is not always better. Past a point, each extra inch adds less. We tell you where that point is for your home. No upsell. Just the right depth.
What about the garage attic
Many Waldorf homes have attic space over the garage. It often has no insulation at all. Heat pours through it in summer. Cold sinks through it in winter.
If a bedroom sits over the garage, that room suffers most. It never matches the rest of the house. We insulate garage attics with the same blown-in process. It makes a big difference for rooms above or beside the garage.
Every project is different — contact us for a free written estimate.
Call (301) 679-9193 for a free attic inspection.