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 |  | Roof Insulation: $1,000-$3,500 |  | Complete Home Insulation Average: $2,500-$5,500 |
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Warm air naturally flows toward a cooler space. Insulation resists that flow, slowing the flow of hot air from indoors to outdoors during the cold months, and doing the opposite when temperatures climb outside. Effective insulation can reduce a home's heating and cooling costs.
Typical costs: | - In order to buy materials or talk to contractors, you need to determine what level of R-value, or thermal resistance, you want to achieve in a given space. The more effective a material is at insulating, the higher its R-value. According to the US Department of Energy, contractor's quotes[1] for installing a specific R-value of insulation in a home can vary by 100 percent or more.
- There are a lot of variables that impact the total cost, but a rough estimate for having a contractor insulate an open attic to modern standards is $0.50-$2.25 a square foot depending on local climate and the desired R-value of the materials. That's $400-$1,800 for an 800 square foot space, with a typical attic insulation averaging $750-$1,100. Do-it-yourself materials for roll-out batting in an open attic can run $100-$500, depending on R-values, attic size and other factors.
- A rough estimate for hiring someone to blow insulation into a flat roof, cathedral ceiling or wall cavities is $2-$3.50 a square foot, or $1,000-$3,500 for filling 1,000 square feet of empty wall or roof space.
- A complete insulation job on a typical family home can run $2,000-$10,000 or more, but averages $2,500-$5,500, depending on materials, the regional climate and the local economy.
- Input information about your existing house and the US Department of Energy's ZIP-Code Insulation Program[2] provides a list of specific insulation recommendations and estimated per-square-foot costs.
Related articles: Replacement Windows, Attic or Whole House Fan, Central Heating, Central Air Conditioner, Crawl Space Encapsulation
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What should be included: | - First, weatherize your home. There's no point in insulating if you haven't already sealed any and all air leaks. The US Department of Energy provides tips for sealing air leaks[3] .
- Adding insulation is recommended when a home has little or no existing insulation, or if attic, floor or wall cavities will be exposed during an extensive remodeling project.
- The US Department of Energy provides insulation t ips[4] . The department also outlines factors to consider[5] in deciding how much insulation might be needed in an existing home or when building a new home.
- The federal government's Energy Star program provides a chart of recommended R-values[6] based on an existing home's construction, heating system and regional location.
Discounts: | - Many utility companies offer rebates or other programs to encourage the use of effective insulation; check to see what's available in your area, and which projects might qualify.
Shopping for home insulation: | - Major manufacturers include CertainTeed[7] , Icynene[8] , Johns Manville[9] and Owens Corning[10] . SustainableSources.com[11] discusses environmentally-friendly insulation materials and methods.
- Contractor referrals are available through the Insulation Contractors Association of America[12] and the National Insulation Association[13] .
- Get several estimates, making clear what is (and isn't) included in each quote. Request and check references; ask about the contractor's length and type of experience; and be sure they're properly bonded, insured and licensed in your state.
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What People Are Paying - Recent Comments |
| Posted by: Kennath in Long Beach, CA. | Posted: January 13th, 2014 08:01AM |
I recently bought 1040 Sq. Ft. House which did not have any insulation in attic. This is 1947 built and had a new shingle roof in 2010. What would be my cost for this including material and labor? |
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| Posted by: very warm in lenox Ma in lenox, MA. | Posted: December 18th, 2012 05:12AM |
Had R-49 installed in our ranch, approx 2400 square feet with airsealing. Contractors were neat, in and out. |
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| Posted by: Earth man in Austin, TX. | Posted: May 30th, 2012 06:05PM |
Was introduced to 1 inch thick EcruosA technologies NASA blanket through an engineer at University of Texas. The 1" thick blanket has a R200 value and is fireproof to 2900 degrees F.rnit is just now being made public and should change the industry. Covered 1500 sq ft roof on earthship. My home has now became a pilot of great interest. |
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| Posted by: Pbuc in Knoxville, TN. | Posted: January 31st, 2012 11:01AM |
I tried to do it myself and fell through the drywall:(
I took out some recessed lights during the debacle.
Now after paying a contractor to fix my ceiling and doing the work I'm at over $4,000 for 1200 sq ft attic |
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| Posted by: roto in Collierville, TN. | Posted: December 29th, 2011 04:12PM |
9" thick for 1,200 square feet in attic |
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| Posted by: cb in Miami in Miami, FL. | Posted: November 8th, 2011 11:11AM |
This was the cost to remove old insulation and add new insulation for 1060 sq ft. |
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| Posted by: cmajor in Nazareth, . | Posted: September 24th, 2011 06:09PM |
received a quote for blow in insulation for 600 sq feet.
no information on type of insulation or R factor was given in quote. 4.50 per sqft seems high. will get additonal quotes.
also, contractor did not want to touch aluminum siding in front of house due to cosmetic concerns. therefore i'm not insulating a major portion of home. would appreciate any feedback to posted e-mail. |
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| Posted by: RenovatingAgain in Schenectady, . | Posted: September 23rd, 2011 05:09AM |
Got quotes from 5 contractors for spray foam insulation in upstate New York. Most gave estimates for closed-cell foam, from $3,200-$5,000. The one open cell foam estimate was the highest bid at $5,200 after he told me it was cheaper than closed cell foam! After checking references on a few of the companies (companies will only give names of satisfied clients), we decided to insulate the traditional way--lava rock batting and radiant reflective vapor barrier. With tight rafters in our 1,500 sf conditioned attic space, the quotes we received for spray foam would not give us a significantly better R-Value. Neither were we sold on sealing the attic vents for a closed vent system on our 1940s cape. We also received a quote for a from a radiant insulation company associated with a warehouse store for $6,820! They could not explain how their insulation separates cold outside air (behind knee wall) and heated inside air effectively. |
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| Posted by: mcpshp in Troy, . | Posted: September 19th, 2011 01:09PM |
R-50 Green Insulation (recycled news paper) blown in with venting installed. With removing all old R-19 pink stuff from 70s. |
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| Posted by: timmyrush in mt vernon, VA. | Posted: September 5th, 2011 11:09PM |
we had home depot do our attic. We only have a 900 sq ft attic on our townhouse. we though we would pay only .99 a square foot for R-19 but according to the ad you must spend a minimum of 1000 to get that price |
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| Posted by: megansmom in Mesquite, TX. | Posted: August 11th, 2011 04:08PM |
This contractor put insulation in my attic and above the garage where an addition had been enclosed. I have 1500 sq ft. I had 4 inches of insulation over the house and he filled it to a depth of 12 inches. I had NO insulation over the addition at all. He also sealed all the vents, the ducts, the windows and doors and fixed gaps in the outlets.
I had a 500.00 electric bill for June. My electric for August was already at 466 before the work was done. Hope my bills get cut by at least a third and I will be extremely satisfied. |
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| Posted by: a user in FT. SCOTT, KS. | Posted: May 24th, 2011 08:05PM |
I have a two story victorian from the 1850's.
my contractor said i have 2500 insulatable square feet on the exterior of my home. I had very little insulation previously as it took 43 bags to insulate my house. The service was clean and professional, good experience!
Would recommend Prime Constructin to anyone. |
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| Posted by: Beverly in St. Paul, MN. | Posted: April 13th, 2011 09:04PM |
Quote to increase R-30 Insulation (1 foot deep) to R-60 Insulation (2 feet deep). $1 per square foot. This is the foundation size of the home. Rocky Mountain Insulation gave the quote. Minnesota EnergyResources (utility) offers 50% rebate, so the price quotes are quite high, as the salesman counts on the price being halved to $525. |
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| Posted by: Irv in Smithville, NJ. | Posted: April 1st, 2011 04:04PM |
When our house was built we opted for blow insulation. We have hot air heating and we find that the blow insulation is very dusty and might even be unhealthy. Can the blow in be removed and replaced with bat insulation. Or is there another way to go |
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| Posted by: a user in Minneapolis, MN. | Posted: January 30th, 2011 12:01PM |
Received energy audit and got duped by salesperson and trainee from Boulder Creek. My advice, get other quotes (based on this website, double of what is should have been). We had a very tight window for end of year tax break, and did not take the time to check out other places. Job was to take 4 hours, done in an hour. We learned a good lesson! Hopefully, you will too! No sympathy from the builder- no referral here. |
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| Posted by: James H in Owatonna, MN. | Posted: November 8th, 2010 03:11PM |
I had a contractor foam my exterior walls with some tri-polymer non-expanding foam. This insulation gives me an approximate R-value of 15 vs what i had before which was a 1in thick aging cellulose insulation between some type of tar paper. My house is a 1 story Ranch with approximately 160' Linear feet of exterior walls including my garage walls. The first floor has an approximate square footage of 1000sqft. |
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| Posted by: Bdubs in Milwaukee, WI. | Posted: October 30th, 2010 11:10PM |
The amount of money to be saved by doing this yourself is enormous. I have a 65yr old ranch with about 900sqft of attic space. The attic had maybe 5" of loose insulation. I blew in 54 bags of green fiber with one helper in about 4 hours. I went from around R10/15 to R60+ Home Depot will beat anyone's price by 10%, which brought the price of 6.26/bag down to 4.94 per bag (Lowes price was 5.48/bag) The machine rental is free with the purchase. Additionally, the tax rebate will take another 30% off the cost bring the total to just under 200 bucks. Fabulous value and the energy savings will pay for the job in no time. This job is easy easy easy to do. If you can water your lawn, you can do this. The only downside? It is very messy. You will be covered from head to toe. I used a leaf blower to clean myself off! |
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| Posted by: Mcgoon in Burnsville, MN. | Posted: October 17th, 2010 10:10PM |
Increase existing fiberglass insulation from R-40 to R-60 equivalent
Seal all attic bypasses (foam penetrations, seal holes, etc)
Approximately 1500 sq feet of space in attic |
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| Posted by: Sandy Mulligan in Waterford, MI. | Posted: September 28th, 2010 08:09AM |
We are going up to R49. Live in Michigan and home is about twenty years old. We used Majic window for our contractor and received superior service. This is OC blown insulation.
But also metal flashing over electrical wires, roof vents, and anti mold spray. Price is national average. So we feel pretty good about this entire job. |
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| Posted by: Jessica G in Columbiana, AL. | Posted: September 25th, 2010 01:09PM |
A company estimated my house to be 1450sqft and said that blow in r19 (which is way under the recommended R factor for my zone) would run $3200 for prof installation. They worked out a discount for $1950 and I'm thinking about it. Tim Carter (the Builder) said he paid $600 for 1500 sq ft! |
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| Posted by: Hollie in Houston, TX. | Posted: September 11th, 2010 02:09PM |
Just had estimate done for attic insulation. 900sq ft + 2 walls, white fiber glass. Still deciding on what to do... |
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| Posted by: stupid in Oxford, AL. | Posted: July 13th, 2010 08:07AM |
I feel totally ripped off.. I should have done my homework but got 1,900 sf of insulation in the attic at the outrageous price of $6,000 |
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| Posted by: a user in grafton, WI. | Posted: April 3rd, 2010 10:04PM |
ENERGY AUDIT!!!! DO ONE!!! March 2010
We live in WI and had ice dams in the valleys every winter, which meant raking the roof and using a heat coil.
We have small water stains on some ceilings from attic condensation and the snow melting and refreezing on the roof.
We had no bath roof vents, so the hot moist air from inside was filling the attic. We had 145 degrees in the attic in the summer. Bad for the plywood and shingles.
Our home was built in 1972; had blown loose-fill fiberglass in the attic. I did my research and found out air sealing is so important. We also had an energy audit done for $300 and found out cold air was going down the walls from the attic because of the way our top plates sat on the walls. My heat bills are about $200 to $280 a month in winter for a 1500 square foot ranch.
Last week a local company air sealed the attic first by spraying a 2 part foam in any openings such as around plumbing stacks, wiring, fans, chimney, vents, etc.
They also sprayed foam in all the drop sofits, and over ALL top-plates including top-plates of all interior walls such as the hall.
They put in 2 bath roof vents and attached insulated round tubes to the bath fans.
They used 3 air baffles for each eave vent then rolled fiberglass batts and put them in-between each 2x4 at top-plate to prevent insulation from blowing into eaves. Then they blew in cellulose to a 50 r-factor. It took a crew of 6 men and about 6 hours.
We won't know the results until next winter but with tax credits and rebates it will surely be worth it. Hope this info helps. |
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| Posted by: Eduardo in Hope Mills, NC. | Posted: February 26th, 2010 02:02PM |
home depot charge me 1152 just to put insulation in the garage area. |
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External Resources: | - www.ornl.gov/sci/roofs+walls/insulation/ins_17.html
- www.ornl.gov/~roofs/Zip/ZipHome.html
- www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/m/air_leaks.html
- www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/m/insulation.html
- www.ornl.gov/sci/roofs+walls/insulation/ins_01.html
- www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_sealing.hm_improvement_insulation_table
- www.certainteed.com/insulation
- www.icynene.com/residential/products/all-products
- www.jmhomeowner.com/insulation.asp
- insulation.owenscorning.com
- insulation.sustainablesources.com/#Consider
- icaa.officialbuyersguide.net/
- www.programs.insulation.org/Scripts/4Disapi.dll/4DCGI/directory/CoMemberSearch.htm...
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