Insulation Contractor in Saint Paul, MN - Older Houses, Fewer Drafts
Apple Valley Insulation Company is an insulation contractor based in Apple Valley, MN, working in Saint Paul. We find where older houses leak air, clear out bad insulation, seal the gaps and insulate attics, walls and basements.
Saint Paul: older houses, layered attics
Saint Paul has a lot of the older houses most of our calls come from, and when I climb into one of these attics I usually find a few inches of old loose fill with batts laid over it years later, plus open gaps around the chimney and plumbing pipes that nobody sealed. Many of these homes have been added onto more than once, so one roof can cover two or three attics with different framing and different problems. We see the same kind of housing next door in Minneapolis, and the same habit pays off in both cities, which is looking before anyone talks about materials.
Story-and-a-half houses come up a lot here, with knee walls, the short walls under the sloped ceiling upstairs, and they're often why the bedrooms up there feel hot or drafty. So a job in Saint Paul usually starts with figuring out what's already in the attic and walls and what shape it's in, because that decides what we add and what has to come out first.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Insulation work we do in Saint Paul
Attic air sealing
Older attics here usually have open gaps around chimneys, plumbing pipes, old light fixtures and the hatch, so warm air from the house slips right past the insulation. We do air sealing, closing those gaps, before anything new goes down, because insulation laid over a draft doesn't do much.
Insulation removal
Some Saint Paul attics hold decades of old material, and some of it has been soaked by an old roof leak or filled with mouse droppings. We do insulation removal on that first and won't lay new material over it, because covering it up just hides the problem.
Blown-in insulation
When the old attic insulation is dry and clean but thin, topping it up is usually the better buy. We use blown-in insulation, loose fill blown through a hose, and keep it full at the edges over the outside walls while leaving the eave vents clear so the attic can still breathe.
Wall insulation
Plenty of older houses here have empty wall cavities, which is why some rooms stay cold no matter where the thermostat sits. We can fill those walls without tearing them open, and I check what's inside them before we decide whether to go in from inside the house or outside.
Spray foam insulation
Knee walls, sloped ceilings and the room over the garage leave tight spaces where loose fill slumps or won't stay put. Spray foam seals the air and insulates in one pass in those spots, so we often use it there even when the main attic gets loose fill.
Basement insulation
In older basements the rim joist, the band of wood sitting on top of the foundation, is often bare, and that's where a lot of cold first-floor floors start. We check the walls for dampness before we seal and insulate, because insulation against a wet wall just traps the water.
What to know before insulating in Saint Paul
Building permits in Saint Paul come from the city's Department of Safety and Inspections, and when a job needs one, the work waits on that permit and on the city's inspections, which can move your start date. Before you hire anyone, check their license with the state's Department of Labor and Industry, because a contractor working directly for you in more than one skilled trade needs a residential building contractor or remodeler license, while one who offers a single specialty registers with the state instead. Saint Paul also requires anyone in the business of building, repairing or installing on a building to hold a license for that business, and it honors the state's residential building contractor license but asks single-specialty contractors for a city license. If the city asks for a permit on your job, we check with the department, handle the paperwork and set up the inspections, so you aren't the one chasing it.
What moves the price is mostly what I find once I'm in the attic, starting with how many inches are already there and whether they're dry and clean. Sealing a lot of gaps, pulling out old material first and working in a low attic or behind knee walls all add time and cost, and the schedule turns on that work, any permit wait and when our installers are free, so the estimate I write after looking around is where you get your own number. We're based in Apple Valley and come up to Saint Paul the same way we go to Eagan or Woodbury, and wherever the job is, I look the work over before our installers finish.
Get a free on-site insulation estimate in Saint Paul
Send the form or call, and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I come out to your Saint Paul house myself, look at the attic, walls or basement with you, and write the estimate, free and with no obligation. If anything in it doesn't make sense, ask, and I'll go over it again.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Photos of insulation work for Saint Paul
Saint Paul insulation questions
Do I need a permit to insulate my attic in Saint Paul?
You might, so we check with the city before we start rather than guess. The city's permit guide says alterations beyond normal maintenance need a general building permit when labor and materials together come to more than $500, or whenever state or city code requires one. Which of those applies to your job is something I can sort out once I've seen it.
How do I get a building permit for insulation work on my Saint Paul house?
On a single-family or two-family house, the city issues the permit either to you as the homesteader or to a contractor Saint Paul has licensed. Whoever holds the permit is responsible for making sure the work meets code and gets inspected by the city, so if we hold it, that's on us and not you.
Can I insulate my own attic in Saint Paul without a contractor license?
Yes, the city doesn't require a license for owners doing their own general building or remodeling. A permit can still apply, and the mistakes I see most are buried eave vents, unsealed gaps around pipes and the hatch, and insulation piled deep in the middle and thin at the edges. If you want a second set of eyes before you start, give us a call.
Can I insulate the walls of a house in a Saint Paul heritage preservation district?
Yes, but work on the outside of the house can need extra approval there. The city says exterior work in a Heritage Preservation District or Site that needs a building permit also needs approval from the Heritage Preservation Commission, so filling walls through the siding may mean waiting on that. We talk through filling from inside when that makes sense, and settle it before anyone drills.
How much does insulation cost for an older house in Saint Paul?
There's no single price, because it turns on what's already in your attic and walls, and I give you your own number in the estimate. Spray foam costs more because it seals and insulates at once, but in most attics sealing the gaps and topping up the loose fill gets you more for the money, unless your ductwork runs up there. Removing soaked or dirty insulation first adds to the cost, and it's the step I'd least want to cut.
How long does attic insulation take in Saint Paul, and when can we go back inside?
With loose fill you can usually stay home while we work, and the length of the job turns on how much sealing and removal the attic needs, plus any permit wait. With spray foam, you, the kids and the pets need to be out of the house until the re-entry time, the wait the foam maker sets before you can come back in, and I tell you that before the day.