Insulation Contractor in El Segundo, CA - Cooler Rooms and Sealed Attics

The city's Building Safety Division decides that for your job, because it issues a permit whenever a building is altered, repaired or improved, and its list doesn't name insulation by itself. It also requires permits for re-roofing and for plumbing, mechanical and electrical work, so if we find wiring or ductwork that has to be fixed first, that part needs one. When a job needs a permit, we pull it and set up the inspections with the city.

Ask for two things, a California contractor license from the state licensing board and a City of El Segundo business license number. The state requires that license when a job needs a building permit, uses any workers beyond the contractor, or adds up to $1,000 or more in labor and materials. The city requires every contractor and subcontractor to hold a valid business license number while working there, and we're fully licensed and insured.

The price comes down to what's up there now and what has to happen before new insulation goes in, so I give it to you in writing after I've looked. Old material that's soaked or full of droppings has to come out first, gaps need sealing, and a cramped attic with a small hatch takes longer to work in. Spray foam costs more because it seals while it insulates, but for most houses I'd seal the gaps and top up with blown-in, which is loose fill blown through a hose, unless your ductwork runs through the attic.

Usually not for air sealing and blown-in insulation, since we close off the work area and keep the dust in the attic and along the path to it. Spray foam is different, because it has a re-entry time, the wait before people and pets can come back inside. I'll tell you what that is for the product we're using before the day, so you can plan for the kids and the dog.

It's usually thin insulation and air leaking through the ceiling, not a weak air conditioner, and I spent years in heating and air work before I got into this. In older attics the insulation has packed down, it's often thinnest at the edges, and gaps around lights, pipes and the hatch let attic heat straight into the rooms below. Buried eave vents make it worse because the attic can't breathe, so we check all of that before we add anything.

Yes, and we look at what the noise work left in place before we add anything. El Segundo has been treating homes for airport noise for decades, so if your house was part of that program, tell me when you call. That work may have touched the ceilings or attic, and I'd rather know before we start than find out halfway through.