Does anyone know how much spray-in attic insulation should cost? Home Depot quoted me $1900...

Question

Home Depot quoted me $1900 for a 1700 sq. ft. house. I already have R19 roll-in insulation, but it's still super hot in my house. This quote was to bring the insulation up to R30, but it sounds like way too much to me. Does anyone know how much something like that should cost or who might do the job cheaper? Also, is roll-in or spray-in usually more expensive? Thanks!

Answer 1

I  used to insulate houses for a living and can understand your frustration.  I don't have access to the Home Depot website right now because it's down for updates, but that does seem a little high.  Understand that blow-in insulation creates more of a true R-value in attics than rolls of R-19.  Are you a handy person?  If so, you can save yourself a lot of money by taking that estimate and buying however many bags of insulation they quoted you, and they let you rent the blower free of charge.  All you will need is a ruler and blow the insulation to the required depth to give you the R-value per your estimate.  It's not as bad as you may think.  Just make sure it's even all the way through the house.  You may also need someone to help you load the hopper of the blower.  Again, it's not hard and you can save a ton of money.  

Also.....other things to consider about your attic space.  It's hot, so that means you don't have enough insulation, and it could also mean you attic is not vented sufficiently.  It's important to have air movement through your attic to help remove condensation and excess heat.  One simple way to help this is by putting in "proper vents" or eve vents.  These are stapled to the bottom of the roof sheeting and between the rafters along the pitch and extend into the cavity that is created for the eves.  These don't need to go in every cavity, every other one will do.  This will only work if your soffit is vented on the outside which you can easily see from the outside....it will have slots or a pattern of small openings in it.  If you install these vents, it's important to block off the rest of the opening around the vents and open cavities with a cut piece of fiberglass insulation folded in half.  This prevents the wind from coming up through the unblocked opening and stirring up the blown insulation and creating an uneven R-value.  Also, is there gable or roof vents?  These help with attic ventilation also.  It's important to take care of the attic space and vent it as much as possible so air flows through it to prevent moisture issues and dry rotting.  Feel free to email me with any other questions you may have with this.