Insulation Contractor in Eden Prairie, MN - Fewer Drafts Upstairs and Over the Garage
Apple Valley Insulation Company insulates and air seals homes in Eden Prairie, MN. We find where the heat is getting out of your attic, walls, basement or room over the garage, then seal and insulate it.
Eden Prairie houses with bonus rooms and big attics
Most of the calls we get from Eden Prairie come from two-stories and split-levels with a finished basement, an attached garage with a bonus room over it, and an attic broken up by vaulted ceilings and a roofline with a lot of angles. Plenty of these houses already have a fair amount of insulation. The complaint is that one bedroom stays cold, the upstairs runs hot, or the room over the garage never feels like the rest of the house, and the power bill shows it.
We see the same kinds of houses in Bloomington and Farmington, and the fix is rarely just more on top. The trouble usually sits at the edges, around the hatch, the can lights and the walls of that bonus room, so the work here is mostly sealing and filling the spots that are hard to reach.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Insulation work we do in Eden Prairie
Attic air sealing
A hot upstairs bedroom in these two-stories usually traces back to gaps around can lights, plumbing pipes and the attic hatch, not a shortage of insulation. We do air sealing first, closing those gaps before anything goes on top, so the insulation isn't fighting a draft.
Attic insulation
A lot of attics here are deep in the middle and thin out at the eaves where the roof comes down low, which is backward. We measure how many inches are already up there, fill the thin edges with blown-in insulation, loose fill sent up through a hose, and keep the eave vents clear so the attic still breathes.
Open-cell foam insulation
The bonus room over the garage is one of the calls we get most here, because its floor, knee walls and sloped ceiling are tight spaces that loose fill can't cover well. When those cavities are open, open-cell foam insulation fills them and seals the air at the same time.
Basement insulation
Finished basements here often have the rim joist, the band of framing sitting on top of the foundation wall, covered with thin batts or nothing at all, and that's where cold air comes in at the floor. We seal and insulate the rim and the walls we can reach, after checking for damp spots so we don't cover one up.
Insulation removal
Old fill that got soaked by a roof leak or is full of mouse droppings has to come out, because new material on top keeps the smell and the moisture right where they were. We vacuum it out and clean up the attic before anything new goes in.
Wall insulation
Some of the older houses here have exterior walls with little in them, and you feel it as a cold wall or a draft at the outlets. We can blow insulation into closed walls through small holes and patch them, so you don't have to tear out drywall.
Permits, licenses and price in Eden Prairie
Permits in Eden Prairie go through the city's Online ePermits portal, where a contractor has to log in to apply and you can log in as the owner if you want to follow along. Whether your job needs a permit is the city's call, so if you'd like to ask them directly, Eden Prairie Building Inspections answers questions at 952-949-8342. When the city does ask for one, we check with the building office, handle the paperwork and set up the inspections, and the wait on those is usually what decides the start date. The state's Department of Labor and Industry licenses residential contractors, so you can check a contractor's license with the board before you sign, and a licensed contractor's number has to go on every permit application they file.
When I come out, I go up into the attic or down into the basement and look at what's actually there before we talk materials, the same way we do in Edina. What moves the price is how many inches are already up there and what shape they're in, whether old insulation has to come out first, how many gaps need sealing, how hard the attic is to get around in, and whether loose fill does the job or foam is worth it. Those same things decide how long we're at your house, and your own number comes from the estimate I write after that visit.
Get an insulation estimate for your Eden Prairie house
Call or send the form, and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I come out to your Eden Prairie house myself, look at the attic, walls or basement, and write you a free estimate with no obligation to go ahead. If you hire us, our installers do the work and I look it over before we finish.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Insulation photos for Eden Prairie homeowners
Eden Prairie insulation questions
How much does insulation cost for a house in Eden Prairie?
The biggest difference in cost comes from whether we're sealing and topping up an attic with loose fill or spraying foam, and whether old material has to come out first. Foam costs more and seals air while it insulates, but for most attics, sealing the gaps and adding blown-in does the job for less, unless your ductwork runs through the attic. I'll give you a number after I've seen the house, so call (651) 268-6025 to set that up.
Who issues electrical permits in Eden Prairie?
The state does, not the city. Eden Prairie's permit portal says electrical permits are obtained through the state, and the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry lists them for both contractors and homeowners. That comes up on insulation jobs when can lights get swapped or a bath fan gets rewired before we seal around them, which is electrical work separate from ours.
Who schedules inspections for a permitted job in Eden Prairie?
Whoever applied for the permit schedules the inspections, and the city requires the approved, stamped plans and inspection records to stay on site for each one. When we're the ones who applied, we set up the inspections and keep that paperwork at your house for the inspector.
How do I know if an insulation contractor needs a Minnesota license?
A contractor working directly for you on a one-to-four-unit home needs a residential building contractor or remodeler license from the state if they do more than one kind of specialty work, while one who does only a single specialty needs no state license. A small residential contractor taking in less than $15,000 a year from residential work can hold a Certificate of Exemption instead. Ask which one they hold and check it with the state licensing board before you sign, and we're licensed and insured if you want to go over ours.
How long does attic insulation take, and do we have to leave the house?
With blown-in insulation you can usually stay home, because the crew works up in the attic and the hose runs in from outside. Spray foam is different, since you'll need to be out while it goes in and until its re-entry time, the point when it's safe to come back with the kids and pets. How long we're there turns on whether old insulation comes out first and how much sealing there is, and I'll tell you both when I look at the job.
How do I insulate a basement in Eden Prairie if it's been wet before?
Find and fix where the water comes from first, then insulate, because new insulation over a damp wall just hides the problem. Being outside the high-risk flood zone doesn't mean a basement stays dry, since a flood-map site's count of Hennepin County flood insurance claims shows a sizable share were on properties rated outside FEMA's high-risk zones, though the zone each was rated under may not match today's map. I look for water signs on the walls and floor before we pick a material, and if the wall needs a fix we don't do, I'll tell you.