Attic insulation in Apple Valley MN - warmer rooms, with the gaps sealed first
Hot upstairs in summer, cold floors in winter, a power bill that keeps climbing? We seal the gaps and add insulation where your attic runs thin.
Is your Apple Valley attic letting the heat out?
Attic insulation in Apple Valley means adding material in your attic, usually right over what's already there, so your house holds its heat through a Minnesota winter and the upstairs stays cooler in summer.
Most people who call Apple Valley Insulation Company start with a drafty bedroom, a hot upstairs or a power bill that jumped, and the attic is usually the first place I look. The price moves with how much your attic needs, from how many inches are already up there to how many gaps around lights, pipes and the hatch we have to close first, the step we call air sealing. The schedule mostly turns on whether something needs fixing before we start, like a roof leak. Once I've been up there, I'll tell you what I found and what I'd do first, and your number comes from that.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Attic insulation work up close
How we handle attic insulation
I start by looking over the attic with you, because new insulation over a leak or a wet spot just hides the problem. If the old insulation is dry, we usually leave it in place and build on top of it, and if it's soaked, full of droppings or the roof is leaking, we sort that out before anything new goes up. Next our crew closes the gaps around can lights, pipes, wires and the attic hatch, so the new layer isn't fighting a draft. We set baffles, plastic chutes between the rafters at the eaves, so the insulation stays out of the soffit vents and air can still move through the attic. Then we fill, keeping it full depth all the way out to the edges, since thin coverage over the outside walls is where a lot of attics come up short, and we clean up the hatch area before we leave.
Most attics we do get blown-in insulation, loose fill blown through a hose, because it settles around the framing and leaves an even layer where rolls tend to leave gaps. Spray foam costs more and seals air while it insulates, so I usually only point people that way when the ductwork runs through the attic, and otherwise sealing the gaps and topping up with loose fill does the job for less. If the attic is only part of the cold, our home insulation work covers the walls, the basement and the room over the garage too.
Why Apple Valley homeowners call us about their attics
I look at your attic myself
I come out, go up in the attic and write the estimate myself, and I look over our installers' work before we finish. We've been at this since 2021, and I'd rather answer a question three times than have you agree to work you don't follow.
Licensed and insured for attic work
We're licensed and insured, so you aren't carrying the risk of someone working over your ceilings. In Minnesota, residential contractors and remodelers who work for a homeowner and offer more than one skill are licensed by the state Department of Labor and Industry.
Permits checked with the city
Apple Valley's building inspections office issues permits, and its list names other kinds of work, so we check with them before we start rather than guess. If your city does ask for a permit, we handle the paperwork and set up the inspections.
Getting the attic right underneath before it's covered is what matters most here. Call (651) 268-6025 or send us a message, and mention any roof leaks, where your bath and dryer fans vent, whether you've seen vermiculite up there and whether the house is a story-and-a-half.
Get a free on-site look at your attic insulation
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set up a time. I'll come out for a free on-site estimate, look over your attic with you, and there's no obligation to go ahead.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
What happens after you call about your attic
Call or send a message
Call (651) 268-6025 or use the form and tell us what you're noticing, like a cold bedroom or a hot upstairs. We'll find a time for me to come out to your house.
Walk the attic with me
I look over the attic with you, check how many inches are up there and what shape it's in, then tell you what I found and what I'd do first. You'll know what the work covers and what it costs before you decide anything.
Our crew does the work
Once you decide, our installers handle any repairs we found first, then seal the gaps, set the baffles and add the insulation. You'll know ahead of time which parts of the house they need to get through to reach the hatch.
I check before we finish
I go back up and look over the work before we call the job finished. It's backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
Attic insulation questions from Apple Valley
How much does attic insulation cost around Apple Valley?
Installing attic insulation in the Minneapolis area usually costs about $1,800 to $2,600 per job. That's the going range for the area, not our price, and it shifts with how much your attic needs, like how many gaps need sealing or whether old material has to come out first. I'll give you your own number after I've been up there.
Do I have to remove old insulation before adding new attic insulation?
No, not if it's dry. Old insulation can stay unless it's wet from a roof leak or from moisture coming up out of the house, and loose fill, batts or blankets can all go right over it. Wet or droppings-filled material is the exception I mentioned above, and that gets dealt with before anything new goes in.
What should an attic insulation quote include in Minnesota?
It should include air sealing and eave baffles, not just the insulation. The state's attic insulation guide says every project needs the leaks sealed and plastic baffles between the rafters to keep insulation out of the soffits and let the attic breathe, so a quote that lists insulation alone covers only part of the job. That's why both show up in what I write up for you.
What needs to be fixed before insulating an attic?
A leaking roof, any knob-and-tube wiring that's still live, the old kind strung on porcelain knobs, and bath, kitchen or dryer fans that dump into the attic all get fixed first. They cause moisture and fire problems, and they're much harder to reach once they're buried. If you think the attic has vermiculite, a gray-brown pebbly fill, tell us before anyone goes up, because it's best left undisturbed since it may contain asbestos.
What causes ice dams, and will more attic insulation stop them?
Ice dams come from house heat warming the roof deck, and more insulation helps but usually won't stop them by itself. Insulating where you can and sealing the air leaks cuts down a lot of that heat, but neither one can promise a roof with no ice dams. Story-and-a-half houses are the hard case, because the ceiling sits so close to the roof that there often isn't room for enough insulation.
How do I know if my attic needs more insulation?
If you can see the tops of the ceiling joists from the hatch, or the layer gets thin toward the edges, it can use more. Many Minnesota attics have some insulation and most can benefit from more. Drafty rooms, a hot upstairs and a power bill that keeps rising are the signs we hear about most.
Insulation work in other cities we serve
Work that often goes with attic insulation
Blown-in insulation
When your attic layer is thin or patchy, loose fill blown in by hose is usually how we bring it up evenly.
Home insulation
If cold is also coming through the walls, floors or crawl space, we look at the rest of the house, not just the attic.