At Advanced Insulation we believe that there are hundreds of thousands of homes in Arizona that need to have their attic insulation repaired and re-blown.

Why So Many Insulation Problems?

If you’ve got significant insulation problems and want an explanation as to why, this portion of the web site provides an explanation.  If it is any comfort, you are not alone.  At Advanced Insulation we believe that there are hundreds of thousands of homes in Arizona that need to have their attic insulation repaired and re-blown.  These attics were not insulated correctly when the homes were constructed.

For decades the insulation industry huge quality control problem.  Up until the recently very few builders, utilities and government agencies have spent any time or resources policing and inspecting insulation.  As a result, over the years we have found that attics done to a high standard of quality are the exception and not the rule.  Right up into the late 90’s and early 2000s, seeing attics missing as much as 20% to 30% of the blown insulation was not unusual.

The insulation industries problem is well documented, if you know where to look.  In 1994 a report published by the Insulation Contractors Association of America’s released A Plan to Stop Fluffing and Cheating of Loose-fill Insulation in Attics.  The level of candor in this document is surprising.  The first sentence of the plan reads, “Whatever one calls it, it is fraud.”   The plan goes on to say that “cheating is prevalent throughout the United States” and that “this pattern of fraud has persisted since day one.” 

“Whatever one calls it is fraud.”   How else can you describe the work in the photographs taken below?   Out of control also works.  Although these two houses represent extreme examples, we are used to seeing houses that have significant problems.

   
Prescott House built in 90s        Phoenix House built in 70’s

As we have said in other sections of this website, that it doesn’t take much missing or poorly installed insulation to dramatically undermine you attic insulation’s R-value.  This type of work is a reflection of low expectations, low levels of accountability and quality control and the low bid mentality.  The result is that many insulation companies put out an inferior product for decades and no one seemed to notice. 

Low Expectations

The building industry historically has built for appearance and not for performance.  At Advanced Insulation when we say performance, we mean building for comfort, healthfulness, efficiency and building durability.  A lot more time and attention is spent on finishes (systems you see like flooring, cabinets, trim, paint…) and not on systems like insulation.  Since its inception the insulation has been an undervalued system.  It gets installed, covered up and then forgotten. 

We understand that insulation also has to compete for the home owner’s attention, which is a tough prospect.  Homeowner’s are faced with a daunting array of decisions regarding their new home and home performance is typically given a very low priority, if any.  We know more about an automobiles performance than we do our new homes.  Neither the Federal or State government nor our utilities are telling consumers what their utility bills should be, which is unacceptable. 

Lack of Accountability

Insulation is treated more like a commodity than an integral system in the new construction process.  As a country we have not demanded that the insulation be installed correctly.  We’ve paid lip service to the importance of insulation, little more.  If we cared about insulation we would be doing thorough inspections on every home. 

How do I know no-one has been inspecting attics for decades?    When inspecting an attic I either find out what year the house was built or make an approximate determination and then make an observation about the amount of traffic in the attic.  Attic insulation is like fresh snow in the sense if someone steps in it you’ll see a foot print.  I’ve been in hundreds of attics that have never been inspected.

During boom periods construction superintendents have often been too busy to actually go up into attics to inspect attic insulation.  I’ve spoken to superintendents who would simply drive by a house and if they saw insulation from their pick-up they would call for sheet rock.  They would not even get out of the truck and inspect the job because they were either too busy, weren’t told to, or didn’t care.

Other sub-contractors have more consequence for installation failures.  When a roof leaks the roofer is called.  When a plumbing fixture leaks the plumber is called.  When a light doesn’t come on or breaker keeps tripping an electrician is called.  Concrete and stucco crack prematurely if they are not mixed correctly.  The consequences of sloppy or fraudulent insulation work are not nearly obvious as these types of failures.  The consequence of missing or poorly installed insulation is a less comfortable house and a higher utility bill. 

Low Price

We are in a market driven economy and price is king.  In new construction it is often the low bidder who gets the job, which is understandable as long as the playing field is level.  Unfortunately the playing field has not been level, due to the lack of quality control.  If quality is not an issue then low price and low quality dominate.  In this environment there is a temptation to install less material. 

Some insulation manufacturers are also to blame for the insulation industries problems.  They’ve either labeled their product in such a way that we cannot get proper coverage or they’ve manufactured it is such a way that is can be manipulated it so it can be fluffed.  I wrote an article in Home Energy Magazine that deals with these manufacturer problems in detail.  Link to Home Energy Article, The Insulation Industries Dirty Secret. 

Another way to be the low bidder is to pay your crews less.  In new construction insulation installers get paid by the square foot of installed material.  The lower the piece rate the faster a crew has to produce work to make a reasonable income.  This emphasis on quantity is often at the expense of quality.  In Arizona the piece rates in new construction are too low and the result is that we don’t have a balance between quantity and quality. 

In retrofit work Advanced Insulation pays our crews hourly, so they take the time to do a quality job.  We realize that working in a home is occupied by a customer is much different than new construction.  This is why we do not pay piece rate in existing homes.  We also want our crews to take the time to be careful in our customer’s homes and hourly pay helps accomplish these objectives.

An Evolving Industry

At Advanced Insulation we want to make it clear that the problems we routinely see our not insulation industries alone, they are very much a reflection of our society and building industry.  Up until recently, we were a society that hasn’t valued energy conservation and insulation for decades.  The building community and consumers have put a premium on low price.  Couple these forces with a lack of quality control and inspections, and this market forces may explain why you your attic needs to be repaired and re-blown.

The good news is that the insulation industry is changing.  It is changing in response to construction defect litigation.  It is changing because builders are also being held more accountable by third party independent and home inspectors who are paying more attention to insulation than they did in the past.  It is changing because some builders simply care more about insulation today than they did a decade ago. 

We recognize the fact that the insulation industry is changing doesn’t help you, the existing home owner.  Advanced Insulation has put together this web site to help you make sure you get your insulation done correctly the second time around.  This web site helps us because it levels the playing field by putting out standards, processes, and expectations that we want to be benchmarked against.