Our Attic Insulation Process

Seal first, install cleanly, check coverage, and leave your home tidy.

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What Happens During Attic Insulation

Most people think attic insulation means piling more material up there and calling it done. That's half the job. Skip the first half—sealing gaps—and you'll waste money on a project that doesn't fix the problem.

We start by sealing the gaps. Around your attic door, light fixtures, pipes, anywhere air sneaks through. Then we blow insulation to fill your attic evenly. After that, we check everything, clean up, and show you what we did.

The order matters. Pile insulation on top of gaps and warm air still leaks out in winter. Hot air still pushes in during summer. Your furnace and air conditioner work harder, your bills stay high, and some rooms never feel right.

Seal gaps first, then add insulation, and homes use about 15% less energy for heating and cooling. ENERGY STAR has tracked this across thousands of homes—the savings are real.

Here's what happens during a typical project:

Check what's already there — How much insulation you have, where the gaps are, what needs fixing

Seal air leaks first — The step that makes the biggest difference for comfort and energy bills

Protect your house and set up equipment — Cover floors, position the blower outside, keep vents clear

Blow insulation evenly — No thin spots, no piles, just consistent coverage across your whole attic

Final check — Make sure vents stay clear, coverage is even, nothing got missed

Clean up and walk through — Show you photos, explain what we did, answer questions

Want to see the types of insulation we use? Check out our blown-in insulation page for material details and options.

What Do We Check in Your Attic First?

Before we start, we go up to see what's already there and look for anything that needs fixing.

We measure how deep your current insulation is. Older homes often have insulation that's settled over time. What was thick 20 years ago might be half that now. And it's rarely even—some spots thick, others thin, and the areas around your attic door or along the edges often bare.

While we're up there, we take photos of the obvious problem spots:

Gaps around your attic door

Openings where pipes or wires drop down into your walls

Light fixtures that aren't sealed

Water stains or signs of roof leaks

We won't add insulation over problems. If your roof is leaking or there's moisture up there, that gets fixed first. Covering it up just makes things worse.

Why Do You Seal Air Leaks Before Adding Insulation?

Insulation and air sealing do different jobs. Insulation slows heat moving through your ceiling. Air sealing stops air from leaking through gaps.

Add insulation without sealing gaps and heated or cooled air still escapes. Your furnace or AC keeps running to replace that lost air. Energy bills stay high. Rooms feel drafty even with thick insulation above them.

Here's where air leaks out and what we do about it:

Light fixtures in your ceiling: Recessed lights—the kind that sit flush with your ceiling—usually have a gap around them that lets air leak straight into the attic. We cover those fixtures with a box or cover that stops air from getting through.

Your attic door or pull-down stairs: The door itself is usually just a piece of wood or drywall sitting in a frame. Air leaks all around the edges. We add weatherstripping around the frame and put an insulated cover on top.

Pipes and vents: Every spot where a pipe, vent, or wire goes up into the attic leaves a gap. Small gaps get caulk. Bigger gaps get foam. Either way, we seal them.

Where your walls meet the attic floor: Inside your house, where your walls meet the ceiling, there's often a gap between the drywall and the framing. These gaps run along every interior wall and add up fast. We seal them before covering them with insulation.

Seal gaps and add insulation together, and homes use about 15% less energy for heating and cooling. ENERGY STAR has tracked this across thousands of homes—the savings are real.

How Do You Prepare the House and Attic?

Once the gaps are sealed, we get ready to blow insulation. This step protects your home and makes sure air can still flow through your attic the way it's supposed to.

Protect your floors and walls — Drop cloths from your front door to the attic; corner guards for tight spots

Set up the blower outside — Equipment stays outside (usually the driveway) so it's not running inside your house

Cover anything stored in the attic — Boxes get covered so insulation doesn't get all over them

Keep vents clear — Small pieces of rigid foam or cardboard along the edges where your roof meets the attic floor keep insulation from blocking soffit vents

That last point matters. Your attic isn't supposed to be airtight. The living space below—where you heat and cool—needs to be sealed. But the attic itself needs to breathe so moisture doesn't get trapped and cause mold or rot.

How Do You Install Blown-In Insulation?

With everything sealed and prepped, we blow insulation to fill your attic evenly. The goal is consistent depth across every part—between the beams, around pipes and wires, in all the corners.

Blown-in insulation is loose material that flows into spaces batts can't reach. It fills gaps, wraps around wiring, settles into corners. That's one reason it works better than rolls of insulation that leave voids wherever they don't fit perfectly.

We use rulers stuck into the insulation every few feet so we can check depth as we work. Most homes around here need about 16 to 20 inches for good energy performance. We make sure every spot hits that target.

Here's how it works:

Start at the far end — Work toward the door so we're not walking through fresh insulation

Check depth every few feet — If a spot looks thin, add more

Make it even — Blown-in material settles a little right after install, so we account for that before finishing

No piles in one spot, no thin spots in another. Even coverage means even performance.

What Happens After Insulation Is Installed?

Before we leave, we check everything one more time.

Check vents and coverage: Make sure the vents along the edges are still clear. Look at your attic door to confirm the weatherstripping is in place and the cover sits tight. Walk the attic one more time to spot any thin areas.

Clean up: Pick up drop cloths, sweep paths, haul out packaging. The blower and hose get packed up. If insulation dust settled anywhere near the attic door, we wipe it down.

Walk you through what we did: Show you the before-and-after photos. Explain where we sealed gaps. Show you the depth markers if you want to go up and look later. Answer any questions.

Blown-in insulation doesn't need maintenance—just don't crush it by piling heavy stuff on top, and try not to disturb it when you're in the attic.

You'll also get paperwork that explains what we installed, how much area we covered, and warranty details. Our Lifetime Workmanship Warranty and Gold Standard Protection Plan cover installation problems for as long as you own the home.

How Does Attic Ventilation Work with Insulation?

Your attic needs insulation and airflow—both work together. A well-insulated attic still needs air moving through it to stay dry.

Air comes in through vents along the edges of your roof, rises as it warms, and goes out at the top. This keeps your attic temperature close to outside temperature, stops moisture from building up, and helps your roof handle hot summers better.

Your living space below stays sealed. That's what all the gap sealing accomplishes. You don't want heated or cooled air leaking into the attic. But the attic itself needs to breathe.

What happens if vents get blocked:

In winter — Warm air that leaks into the attic melts snow on your roof; water runs down and refreezes at the edges (ice dams)

In summer — A poorly ventilated attic gets really hot and radiates heat down into your house

Year-round — Trapped moisture leads to mold, rot, and structural damage

We install those small foam or cardboard pieces at the edges before blowing insulation to keep the airflow path open. Small step that prevents big problems later.

How Long Does Attic Insulation Take?

Most projects finish in three to five hours for an average-sized attic. Bigger homes or attics with tricky access take longer.

What makes a job take longer?

Size — A small ranch goes faster than a big two-story

Number of penetrations — More light fixtures and pipes to seal means more time

Vent blockers — Installing them adds time but helps performance long-term

Access — A wide, easy-to-reach attic door makes things faster than a narrow opening in a tight hallway

What you need to do on install day:

Clear the path — Move furniture or anything blocking the route from your front door to the attic

Move fragile items — Relocate breakables or electronics near the attic door temporarily

Be home for the walkthrough — We'll show you what we did and answer questions (or we can do a phone/video call if you can't be there)

We've done this thousands of times across Ohio and Michigan. In Ohio, we've been at it for 25 years through cold winters, humid summers, and everything in between. In Michigan, we've applied that same approach for three years with the same methods that hold up reliably in similar conditions.

How Do You Budget for Attic Insulation?

Attic insulation costs money up front but pays you back through lower energy bills and a more comfortable house. We offer payment plans so the project fits your monthly budget without a big cash outlay.

Most financing approvals happen within 24 hours. You can review payment options before committing to a timeline, and we'll walk you through costs so you know exactly what you're getting.

Tools to help you plan:

Cost calculator — Get a rough estimate based on your attic size and what's already up there → Use the calculator

Financing page — See monthly payment plans and what's required to qualify → Explore financing

We don't push extras you don't need. If your attic already has decent insulation and just needs more to hit the target depth, we'll tell you exactly how much more you need and what it costs. If gap sealing is quick because your house is newer and already tight, we'll note that too.

Why Choose Integrity for Attic Insulation?

Our crews are trained employees, not subcontractors. They follow our protocols and answer to us, not to someone else.

Torch Award for Ethics winner — Better Business Bureau recognition for consistent, transparent practices. Not every contractor can say that.

Lifetime Workmanship Warranty — Our labor guarantee doesn't expire. Installation issues show up years later? We address them at no cost.

Gold Standard Protection Plan — This goes beyond warranty coverage. Clear project timelines. Cleanup standards. Communication benchmarks. You know exactly what to expect from start to finish. We don't just promise quality—we define what quality looks like and hold ourselves to it.

25+ years in Ohio, 3 years in Michigan — In Ohio, we've worked through decades of cold winters, humid summers, and freeze-thaw cycles. In Michigan, we've applied that same expertise across residential projects since 2022 with materials and methods that hold up reliably in similar conditions.

Ready to Insulate Your Attic the Right Way?

High energy bills? Rooms that never feel comfortable? Second floor always a different temperature than the first? Proper attic insulation—starting with sealing gaps—makes a real difference.

We've completed insulation projects for over 10,000 customers across Ohio and Michigan. Our crews follow the same process every time: check what's there, seal gaps, protect your home, blow insulation evenly, check coverage, and clean up before the final walkthrough.

Our Lifetime Workmanship Warranty covers installation problems for as long as you own the home. The Gold Standard Protection Plan includes project timelines, cleanup standards, and clear communication so you know what to expect from start to finish.

Get a Free Estimate See Financing Options

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Leading exterior home remodeling experts serving Ohio and Michigan with quality craftsmanship since [Year].Leading exterior home remodeling experts serving Ohio and Michigan with quality craftsmanship since [Year].

Toledo

2852 South Ave Toledo, OH 43609

(419) 495-8598

Farmington Hills

23941 Research Dr Farmington Hills, MI 48335

(248) 290-6843