FAQ about Cost, Payback, & Process

The proper way to get a price

The right way to determine the cost to improve or repair your existing attic insulation is to have a professional inspect your attic and put together an estimate on what your home actually needs.  We have outlined a process for consumers to Shop for Retrofit Insulation.

Crew working on a retrofit job in Phoenix

We put together this existing home website for two reasons.  First is we wanted to educate consumers and about existing home insulation and Advanced Insulation.  The second is to level the playing field.  Many consumers tell us they want to make an “apples to apples” comparison in price, but aren’t armed with the proper information to do so.  See how do I evaluate attic insulation? and then shop. 

We know from firsthand experience that there are many attics that were insulated incorrectly the first and second time.  Think about it, most consumers don’t or can’t inspect a retrofit job when a company is done.  Most consumers don’t appreciate how challenged the insulation industry is.  For an explanation as to why your home wasn’t insulated correctly in the first place, visit the following section on this website:  Why so house with problems?   

What does it attic insulation cost?

We realize our potential customers would like to be able to create a budget prior to committing to an insulation estimate.  We provide some general guide lines to make consumers make a determination about the approximate cost of retrofit insulation.

The cost of a job obviously depends on the extent of the problems and the size of the house.  In order to help consumers determine if blown in attic insulation is something they can afford, we have provided this table and some approximate guidelines for the cost of blowing in additional insulation.  This guide is for homes over 1000 square feet. 

The actual cost of the job will be determined by a variety of factors including where the attic access is located, the complexity of the house, how tight the attic is. If we have to work on kneewalls and install missing fiberglass batts the price per square will increase.

How competitive is Advanced Insulation?

Advanced Insulation’s pricing is competitive.  Advanced Insulation does not gouge customers – period.  We were featured as a consumer advocate and insulation expert on a Dateline NBC expose because we are considered to be both honest and knowledgeable. 

You can compare our prices against the price Home Depot’s posts on their website.  According the pricing they were posting in May 2008 and they’ll sell you retrofit insulation at $0.99 a square foot.

How much can I save by putting more insulation in my attic?

A reasonable way to think about attic insulation and payback periods is this way – “no problems, no savings.”   Another way to phrase this is that if “you know there are problems, you’ll know there are savings.”   Many of the questions that we are routinely asked can only be answered correctly after an attic is thoroughly inspected.  We can’t tell if you have a problem without having performed an inspection. 

Every house is like a puzzle and it is our job to figure if there are any problems how a repair will impact the comfort level and your utility bill.  We are not interested in misleading consumers; this is why we’ve provided so much information. 

The potential for savings is different for every house.  The bigger the problems the greater the opportunity to help consumers reduce their energy bills.  If your house only has marginal insulation problems, you may not benefit from additional insulation, and this is what Advanced Insulation will tell you.  We are not interested in selling consumers insulation if they don’t need it. 

At Advanced Insulation we are energy pragmatists – not energy purists.  We are interested in bringing value to our customers and this means solving problems that have an impact on their level of comfort and utility bill.  In some cases we will tell customer that there are only minor issues that could be repaired, but may not have the payback.  Our intent is to arm people with the best information, so they can make informed purchase decisions regarding insulation repairs. 

If I have Advanced Insulation repair my attic insulation how will we know if the job is done correctly?

We have taken many measures to ensure that we deliver a quality job.  Advanced Insulation pays its installers on an hourly basis and not a piece rate basis.  They are paid to take their time and do the job correctly.  We also have an extensive training program. 

Advanced Insulation only spot checks retrofit attics.  We cannot afford to inspect every retrofit job because the pricing is so competitive.  If you are more comfortable with your salesman returning for an inspection, we are happy to roll that into the bid.  On complex jobs we often have a superintendent on the job at the start and at the completion of the job.  Link to our guarantee

If I choose to go with Advanced Insulation how long does a typical job take?

A typical 2000 square foot house takes us about three hours from the time we start prepping until the time we complete cleaning up after the attic is blown.  If the attic access is in a closet, this will take additional time to prep all the clothes with plastic so we don’t risk getting any dust on clothes. 

Is there anything we need to do in advance of the job?

We don’t want the air handler on while we are blowing attic insulation.  There is a chance we will have return leaks on the air distribution system that could suck dust into the house when the attic is being blown.  We also need room to be able to set up a ladder at the attic access.