Retrofit insulation in Memphis TN - an older house that stays comfortable year round
Hot upstairs, drafty rooms and a high power bill in an older house? We add insulation where it does the most good first.
Should I insulate the attic or the walls first?
Retrofit insulation in Memphis means adding insulation to a house that's already standing, usually the attic and then the walls, so your rooms hold the temperature you set and your heating and cooling don't run nonstop. Most older houses get the attic done first, because it's the easiest to reach and often has the least up there.
Most calls start the same way. The upstairs is hot by mid-afternoon, a few rooms feel drafty in winter, and the power bill keeps climbing in an older house with a thin layer of insulation up top and little or nothing in the walls. The price turns on how big the attic is, how many inches are already up there, how many gaps need sealing and whether old material that's soaked or full of droppings has to come out first through insulation removal. The schedule turns on the same things, plus whether the walls are part of it and when any new siding is going on. I'll give you your own figure once I've been up in your attic.
How we do retrofit insulation on an older house
On an older house I look at the attic and the walls together, so I can tell you which to do first instead of selling you both. In the attic I check how many inches are already there and whether any of it is soaked or full of droppings, because fresh insulation over a bad layer just buries the problem. Before we tighten anything, I look at the furnace, water heater and anything else that burns fuel, and at how the house gets fresh air, because a tighter house still has to be safe to breathe in. Then our installers do the air sealing, which is closing the gaps in the attic floor around pipes, wires, the hatch and the can lights, and they put metal blocking around hot flues and covers over can lights that aren't rated to touch insulation. That sealing is written into your quote so you can see it's part of the job. We keep the eave vents clear so the attic can still breathe, then blow in loose fill, which is insulation blown through a hose, and carry it full depth out to the edges where older attics usually come up thin. For walls, your siding helps decide whether we go in from inside or outside, and if new siding is coming up, that's a good time to talk about it.
When the attic is the main problem, the job is really our attic insulation work done on an older house. If your ductwork or air handler sits up there, I'll usually steer you toward spray foam insulation on the underside of the roof instead.
Air sealing and a blown-in top-up
This suits most vented attics with open floor space and no ducts running through them. It costs less than foam, and once the gaps are sealed it usually does the job, so it's where I start on most older houses.
Foam on the roof deck
Foam costs more, but it seals air while it insulates, and that matters when the ducts and equipment live in the attic. Bringing that equipment inside the insulated space is the case where I'll tell you foam is worth the money.
Walls filled from inside
Working from inside leaves the water barrier behind your siding alone, so this suits a house whose siding is staying and still in good shape. The trade-off is patching and touch-up paint on your interior walls instead of outside.
Walls filled from outside
This suits a house getting new siding, because the old siding is already coming off. Going in from outside cuts through the water barrier behind the siding, so it has to be patched or replaced, and that fits right into a re-siding job.
Retrofit insulation permits and older houses in Memphis
Construction Enforcement is the office that issues construction permits and inspects building work for Memphis, Arlington, Germantown, Lakeland, Millington and unincorporated Shelby County, so it decides whether a retrofit on your house needs a permit. If you want to check for your own address, you can ask Construction Enforcement directly. When a job calls for a permit, we handle the application and set up the inspections with the office that covers your address.
A lot of the older Memphis houses we get into have a thin, settled layer in the attic, ductwork in the hot attic and walls nobody ever filled. We run into the same mix on jobs in Bartlett and Germantown.
Retrofit insulation at work
Why call us for retrofit insulation
I do your estimate myself
I come out, go up in the attic, look at the walls and give you the estimate, and our installers do the work. The person pricing your job is the one who saw your house, so the quote matches what's really there.
Heating and cooling before insulation
I spent years on furnaces and ductwork before I started this business in 2021, which is why I check fuel-burning equipment and fresh air before we tighten anything. A sealed-up house has to stay safe to live in, and that comes first on my list.
Licensed and insured for attic work
We're licensed and insured. That matters when people are walking joists over your ceilings and drilling into your walls, because you shouldn't be the one carrying that risk.
Based in Memphis, working three states
We're based in Memphis and work across the cities around it in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. You get the same approach whether your house is in town or across the state line.
On an older house, the order of the work matters more than the material, because insulation laid over open gaps keeps fighting a draft. Tell us about your house or call (901) 203-1514 to set up a visit.
(901) 203-1514Find out whether your attic or walls come first
We reply within one business day, then I set a time to come out, look at your attic and walls together and give you a free estimate on site. There's no obligation, so you can take the figure and think it over.
Questions about retrofit insulation in Memphis
How much does attic insulation cost in Memphis?
Full attic insulation in Memphis usually runs about $1,800 to $3,800 per job for an average single-family home. Where yours lands depends on what I find in the attic, so I'll give you your own number after I've been up there.
Can I get help paying for attic insulation in Memphis?
You may, through MLGW's Share the Pennies program, which gives weatherization grants to low-income homeowners and counts attic insulation as an eligible repair. You need to be 18 or older, own and live in a Shelby County home in your name, have the MLGW account in your name and meet income guidelines based on federal poverty levels. Check with MLGW for the current application steps.
What is the best way to insulate the walls of an older house?
For most older houses, the least disruptive way is drill and fill, where small holes near the top of each wall cavity let us blow insulation in, and then we patch them. The holes go in either the inside or outside wall, depending on your siding. Before we drill inside, we cover the floor below and close off the area so dust doesn't spread.
Can you insulate under a floored attic or the room over the garage?
Yes, when you want the attic floor left alone, the spaces under it can usually be reached from below through the ceiling, and garages are where that works best. It means patching a few ceiling openings instead of pulling up your attic floor.
Do we have to leave the house while you add insulation?
For blown-in work in the attic, most families stay home, since the work happens up there and we cover the floor under the hatch. With foam, the foam maker sets the re-entry time, which is when you, the kids and the pets can come back inside, and I'll tell you that before we schedule.
How do I check that my walls actually got filled with insulation?
A heat camera, called an infrared scan, is the usual way to see whether insulation fills the wall cavities. Gaps show up best when it's much warmer or colder outside than inside, so ask any crew when they plan to scan.
Book a retrofit insulation look at your attic and walls
Call (901) 203-1514 any day from 8 AM to 9 PM, and have your home's age, attic type and siding plans handy.
