Insulation contractor in Memphis, TN - air sealing first, then insulation
Barrier Memphis Insulation Company is an insulation contractor in Memphis, TN. We seal the gaps in attics, crawl spaces and walls first, then add insulation where it's thin, so the air you pay for stays inside.
Memphis has every kind of attic we insulate
We're based in Memphis, and the calls here cover every age of house. There are older homes on crawl spaces with a few inches of settled insulation left in the attic, brick ranches with the ductwork running overhead, and two-story houses with a room over the garage that never cools down. Property managers and building owners call us about rentals and commercial space too. We do the same work in Southaven and West Memphis, and we see a lot of the same problems there.
That spread is why we don't quote a Memphis attic from the street. An older house usually needs the old material checked and the gaps sealed before anything new goes in, and a newer one with ducts upstairs can change which material makes sense.
What we know from working in Memphis
The permit office we deal with here is Construction Enforcement, part of the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development, which serves both the city and the county. It issues construction permits for work on commercial buildings and covers Memphis, Germantown, Lakeland, Millington and unincorporated Shelby County. Whether a job needs a permit is that office's call, not ours. When yours does, we file the application and set up the inspections, so we settle that before your job goes on the calendar. We're licensed and insured.
What moves the price is how big your attic is and how easy it is to reach, whether the old insulation has to come out first, how many gaps need sealing, and whether the job calls for foam or loose fill. The schedule turns on the same things, plus any permit and any repair I find that has to be fixed before insulation covers it, like a bath fan venting into the attic. Your estimate puts your own numbers on all of that.
Insulation services in Memphis
- Spray foam insulation
- Attic insulation
- Blown-in insulation
- Home insulation
- Insulation removal
- Crawl space insulation
- Wall insulation
- Air sealing services
- Basement insulation
- Closed-cell foam insulation
- Open-cell foam insulation
- Commercial insulation
- Crawl space vapor barrier
- Vapor barrier installation
- Attic air sealing
- Retrofit insulation
Thin attics and open gaps cause most calls here
The most common thing we find is an attic with a few inches of old insulation that's piled deeper in the middle than at the edges. That's backward, because the edges over the outside walls are where heat gets in. Add open gaps around can lights, pipes and the attic hatch, and the upstairs runs hot no matter where the thermostat sits. So we do air sealing first, closing those gaps, and then we build the depth back up evenly without burying the eave vents that let the attic breathe.
Crawl spaces are the other half of it. Cold floors over a crawl space usually mean air is moving under the house, so we look at the crawl space insulation and the ground cover together. If a gas furnace or water heater sits nearby, I check that it still gets the fresh air it needs once the house is tighter.
Get a free on-site insulation estimate for your Memphis home
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time for me to come out to your Memphis home or building. The estimate is free and done on site, and there's no obligation to go ahead.
What happens when you call us in Memphis
Call or send a message
Call (901) 203-1514 or use the form and tell us what you're noticing, like a hot upstairs or cold floors. Clearing a path to the attic hatch before I come out makes the visit go faster.
I look at the house
I come out myself and check the attic, crawl space or walls, plus the furnace, water heater and anything else that burns fuel. If something has to be fixed first, I show you before we talk about insulation.
You get your estimate
It lays out what we'd seal, what we'd add and anything that has to come out first. You decide from there, on your own time.
We take care of permits
If the job calls for a permit, we file the application and set up the inspections with the office that covers your address. Work starts once that's in place.
Installers work, I check
Our installers seal the gaps and put the insulation in, and before we leave I go over the finished job myself. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
Attic and crawl space work
Memphis insulation questions we hear
How much does it cost to insulate an attic in Memphis?
Your attic sets the price, so I give it to you on site, not over the phone. Pulling out old insulation and choosing foam push the price up. A dry attic that only needs sealing and a top-up keeps it down.
How long does attic insulation take, and when can my kids and pets come back?
With blown-in insulation, the loose fill we blow in through a hose, most families stay home while we work because nothing has to cure. Spray foam is different. The foam maker sets the re-entry time, the wait before people and pets go back inside, and we tell you what it is before the day. How long we're in the attic depends on its size and how much sealing it needs.
Is spray foam or blown-in insulation better for a Memphis attic?
For most Memphis attics, sealing the gaps and topping up with blown-in is the better buy. Spray foam insulation costs more but seals air as it insulates. That's worth paying for when your ductwork runs through the attic, and I'll tell you which one your house needs once I've been up there.
How do I know if my old attic insulation needs to come out?
It needs to come out if a roof leak soaked it or it's full of rodent droppings, because new insulation on top just hides the problem. Dry, clean insulation that's only thin can usually stay, and we seal around it and add to it. When it does have to go, we handle the insulation removal first.
What building codes apply to insulation work in Memphis?
Memphis and Shelby County share one set of technical codes, enforced by their joint office. It includes the residential, existing building, energy conservation, mechanical and fuel gas codes. The same rules apply whether your house is in the city or in unincorporated Shelby County.
Do I need a permit to insulate a commercial building in Memphis?
Under the local code, ordinary repairs need no application, but a job that cuts into walls or touches wiring or mechanical work doesn't count as an ordinary repair. Changes to electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing systems need a permit, applied for by the owner or an authorized agent. I look at what your job touches during the estimate, and we handle the application when one is needed.
Have us look at your Memphis attic
Call (901) 203-1514 or send the form, and one visit tells you whether your attic needs sealing, a top-up or removal first.