Wall insulation for existing homes
We fill empty or thin wall cavities with dense-pack insulation through small holes, then plug and patch every one. Your walls stay right where they are.
Free estimates. A firm price before any work starts. Georgetown line: Williamson County.
- 1Drywall, with fill holes plugged and patched
- 2Fill tube
- 3Dense-pack insulation, filled top to bottom
- 4Fire block: a fill hole above and below
- 5Stud, 16 inches on center
- 6Wiring, dashed where it runs inside the insulation
- 7Sheathing
- 8Lap siding
How dense-pack works
Every space between the studs is its own cavity. We drill one hole per cavity, plus one more above and below any blocking, and insert a fill tube.
Insulation is blown in under pressure until the cavity is packed tight. Packed at the right density, it fills in around wiring and pipes, and it won’t settle.1
- Method
- Drill and fill
- Material
- Cellulose, or blown fiberglass when it fits your walls better
- Access
- From inside or outside, depending on your walls and siding
- Holes
- One per cavity, plus one more at any blocking
- Density
- Packed tight, so it fills the cavity and won’t settle
- Finish
- Every hole plugged and patched
Signs your walls need insulation
- Outside walls feel cold in winter or warm in summer when you touch them.
- Rooms along the outside walls never match the thermostat.
- Your home is older and you’ve never seen what’s inside the walls.
- You’re replacing siding, which is the easiest time to insulate from outside.
- An energy audit found empty or thin walls.
How we do it
Check
We look inside your walls through an outlet box or a small test hole, and check for old wiring.
Drill
One small hole per cavity, from inside or outside depending on your walls.
Fill
We dense-pack each cavity until it’s full, top to bottom.
Plug and patch
Every hole gets plugged and patched.
Clean up
We clean the work area and walk you through what we did.
Old wiring comes first. Before we fill any wall, we check for old knob-and-tube wiring. The National Electrical Code doesn’t allow insulation packed around it while it’s in use,2 so we only fill walls where the wiring is safe to insulate. We’ll show you what we found.
Questions about wall insulation
Will I need to paint afterward?
If we work from inside, the patched holes will need paint to match your wall. We’ll talk about that before we start.
Do you drill from inside or outside?
It depends on your siding and your interior walls. We’ll show you where the holes go before we start.
Cellulose or fiberglass?
Cellulose is made mostly from recycled paper, and it’s our first choice when it fits. When blown fiberglass fits your walls better, we’ll tell you why.
My walls already have some insulation. Can you add more?
Sometimes. Old batts can block the fill and leave gaps, so we check first and tell you honestly whether it’s worth doing.
How long does it take?
It depends on how many walls we’re filling. You’ll get the timeline with your price.
Wall insulation in Georgetown and Williamson County
We also insulate existing walls in Georgetown, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Hutto, and Taylor, with the same old-wiring check before any wall is filled. Duct cleaning can be added to the same visit.
Call Georgetown (512) 610-8077Other services
Find out what’s in your walls.
Call for a free estimate. We’ll check your walls and give you a firm price before any work starts.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Energy, Building America Solution Center: Blown Insulation for Cavities of Existing Exterior Walls, and the Framed Wall Insulation checklist.
- National Electrical Code (NFPA 70), Section 394.12, concealed knob-and-tube wiring.
Results vary by home.