Drafty rooms or a hot upstairs? We close the gaps in your attic first, so your insulation stops fighting a draft.
Attic air sealing in Carson City closes the holes between your living space and the attic, starting with the big ones because that's where most of the savings are. It gets finished before any new insulation goes in, so that insulation isn't fighting a draft.
If you've got a drafty bedroom, a hot upstairs, cold floors or a power bill that doesn't add up, the attic is usually where I look first. Air slips through gaps around pipes, wires, light fixtures and the hatch, and piling more insulation on top won't stop it, so we seal first and insulate second.
The price mostly comes down to how much attic there is to work through, how many big holes are hiding under the old insulation, how easy it is to move around up there and whether insulation goes in afterward. The schedule usually turns on whether anything in the house has to be fixed before we start, which I check for on the visit before I put together an estimate for your house.
From the first visit to the last look around, you'll know who's in your house and what they're doing up there.
I traded a desk job for a flashlight years ago, started this business in 2017, and I still do every estimate visit myself. We go through the attic together, I tell you what I see, even when your house doesn't need what someone's been trying to sell you, and I go over it all before you decide anything.
Our installers do the work, with one lead installer in charge from prep to cleanup, so there's always someone on site who knows the plan. We're fully licensed and insured.
When the sealing's done, we clean up after ourselves and I walk you through what we did, because I'd rather explain too much than leave you wondering. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
Before we seal anything up there, I point out the openings that have to stay open, like the soffit, ridge and gable vents and any combustion air duct that feeds a gas appliance, because those are there on purpose and the attic needs that air moving. Everything else that leaks gets closed up, so the house gets tighter without choking the attic. If you're weighing foam, it costs more and seals air while it insulates, but in most attics sealing the gaps and topping up the loose fill is the better buy, unless your ductwork runs up there.
Sealing is usually the first half of the job. Once the gaps are closed, retrofit insulation tops up what an older house already has, and when the ducts live in the attic or you want sealing and insulating in one layer, spray foam insulation is the one I'd look at.
Sealing only works when it's done in the right order, so this is the order we follow once your attic is cleared to go.
We cover the floor under the hatch and the path to it, because attic work drops dust and old fill. Then we pull the existing insulation back so we can see the framing underneath.
We start where leaks are usually biggest, where inside and outside walls meet the attic floor, at dropped soffits, the boxed-in ceilings over cabinets or a tub, and behind kneewalls, the short walls in rooms under a slope. Those large holes are where the savings are, so they get done before the small stuff.
Caulk goes on the small gaps and spray foam on the bigger ones, and near anything that gets hot we use caulk rated for high temperature. Around a chimney or flue we build a fixed dam, a solid barrier that keeps insulation and anything else that can burn away from it.
Once the sealing's done, the insulation goes back down, as deep at the edges as in the middle, without burying the eave vents. Buried vents are how moisture ends up in the framing, so we keep them clear.
Call (775) 227-5588, fill out the form or email hi@carsoncitysprayfoaminsulation.com, and we'll get back to you within one business day, most of the time with me on the phone, to set up a free visit. It helps if you can jot down what you know about the attic's wiring, the kind of insulation up there, where your bathroom fans vent, any roof leaks and which appliances run on gas. There's no obligation, and I'll go over what I found with you before you decide anything.
(775) 227-5588Your attic is ready when there's no live knob and tube wiring up there, no vermiculite, an old pebbly loose fill, and no bathroom fan blowing into the attic, because each of those has to be dealt with before sealing starts. A leaking roof, or an unvented kerosene heater or gas fireplace in the house, puts the work on hold the same way. I check for all of it on the first visit, and if something turns up, you get that fixed first and we book the sealing after.
It can if they aren't venting properly, because a tighter house can let carbon monoxide build up from a gas furnace, water heater or dryer that doesn't vent right. Plan on having a heating and cooling technician check the venting on those appliances as part of the job. Ask me how we handle combustion safety at the estimate, since that's the first thing worth settling.
Not always, but replacing them is the better option. Older can lights that aren't rated for insulation contact can be covered from the attic side with an enclosure made of fire-rated materials, while new ICAT-rated fixtures, built airtight and safe to touch insulation, solve it at the light itself. I'll show you which kind you have when we're up there.
In Carson City, work that alters an existing home calls for submitting documents through the city's online portal, which you'll find through the city's building division. The rules differ between Carson City, the counties and the cities around us, so we check with the office that covers your address, and if your job needs a permit, we take care of the paperwork with them.
We're based in Carson City and work across the cities around it, from Reno and Sparks down to Gardnerville and up to Incline Village, plus plenty of places in between. If you'd rather seal the attic yourself on the house you live in, not one you're selling or renting, you have to apply to the Nevada State Contractors Board for an owner exemption first. And if cost is the hurdle, the city's Planning Division lists the Weatherization Assistance Program among its housing resources, and you can call them at 775-887-2180 to ask about it.
We answer the phone seven days a week, early morning until 9 PM, so call (775) 227-5588 or send the form whenever it suits you.
If you're not sure your attic needs sealing at all, ask me, and I'll tell you straight.
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