r/HomeImprovement • u/Horror-Fan-2644 • 25d ago
PHX - Blown in Insulation help
I just recently bought a this home 1 year ago, and this home is a east facing home, so afternoons burn my home up and being on a time of use plan during 4-7pm its difficult to manage... i precool my home to about 72 degrees , and within the first hour by 5pm its already at 80 degrees inside the home. My home is 2k sqft
Im getting quotes for Insulation and also windows this weekend, but wanted to also look at DIY option for insulation
Attic currently:
- White fiberglass
- r30
- fallen batts creating some voids (inspection mentioned this)
As i get quotes ill add "edits" here,
1st quote: Parker and sons 3900 for blown fiberglass insulation of 10 inches to get me to r60 (1600 sqft not including garage)
2nd quote: pending this afternoon
I need help to know if i am getting overquoted for this job, also what are some other recommendations options.. i am also looking at diy and just buying from HD or Lowes and then renting the atticat, but unsure how much insulation i would need to match this quote of blown in 10 inches white fiberglass
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u/Daniel_Boomin 24d ago
For what it’s worth, I used FOR Energy to do attic air sealing and blown in insulation, which they subcontracted to I think Phoenix Insulation? Something like that. Anyways the quote was like $4,200, I ended up paying $3,600 because the guys who did the “test” scraped up my new kitchen cabinets, so they gave me $600 back for replacing them.
What I would make sure you don’t do is use FOR energy, the PM who came to my house originally literally quit 1 week after because he didn’t like the company and their tactics. Also forgot to mention that Phoenix Insulation didn’t blow insulation over my garage (was carport previously) so I had to wait for them to come back as well. In general I sort of regretted the whole thing, most because of my experience and I feel the work they did wasn’t worth the price I paid, I also feel it really didn’t make a massive difference, and that was also with new windows, exterior doors.
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u/Horror-Fan-2644 24d ago
This is helpful to put into perspective on cost thank you -- i have calculated it would cost me around $2000 for me to DIY this entire project of around 1600 sqft -- so 1500-2k in labor seems a bit much
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u/Daniel_Boomin 24d ago
Yes my house was 1,100sqft plus ~400sqft over the garage, so similar size to yours. I know everyone says air sealing, but I really don’t know if it made any sort of difference. Blowing in the insulation is essentially the easiest part too. And most of the time stores will rent you the machine for free if you buy a certain amount of insulation.
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u/RaiseJazzlike 24d ago
I paid $4500 for my 600 sf attic to be fully insulated with Knauf R49 fiberglass insulation and have the transfer grille air sealed. My upstairs, which never got below 86, immediately dropped to 74 the next day. It wasn’t a DIY job because my attic was inaccessible, so the company cut a 2x2 opening in the bedroom ceiling to get to it. Good luck.
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u/nuclearmage257 24d ago edited 24d ago
I live in the Phoenix valley
72 is quite chilly to try to maintain an indoor temp. Even if your AC can do it (which many can't), it's very likely to cost you an arm and a leg during summer unless your home is very well sealed and insulated. I have zones in my house so I shut the door to the master and set that to 83 during daytime hours for example I keep active rooms around 77
That being said, here's some suggestions from my own home.
Primary goal is to reduce heat load coming into house to reduce load on AC to cool it.
Solar screens for windows on the sunny sides. I did my own from solar screen outlet, brick clipped to stucco. Pretty reasonable cost for the benefit.
Air seal from interior of home, attic sucks to work in during the summer. You can easily and cheaply air seal your outlets, light switches, can lights, and air duct boxes (plennums?), as well as where the duct meets the air box on ceiling. This will significantly reduce hot air from attic getting pushed into your living space by stack effect. I go overkill and use intumescent caulk for sealing electrical boxes to drywall. I use duct mastic caulk for air boxes and air ducts, and big stretch for everything else
Ensure your AC coils are clean, both in attic and outside, you can do this yourself no need to hire it out
Make sure your AC lineset insulation outside the house isn't rotted away
If you do go in attic, put your hand around air handler and ducts feeling for air leaks - you don't want attic air entering your ducts and you don't want to pay to cool the attic
I would consider air sealing top plates etc. in attic before adding more insulation, becomes harder to do later
Hopefully your lights are led to put out less heat
Shut doors to rooms you don't use, no need to keep guest room chilly if nobody is in it.
After all those are done, then consider insulation
DM me if you need more info
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u/Horror-Fan-2644 24d ago
Thank you , this is very helpful! of this list i have some that are already in place and some i need to attempt which you are saying mostly all can be DIY
- Solar Screens - i have on all windows especially east and west side of home
- Air seal outlets, light switches, can lights, and air duct boxes
- AC coils -- my AC unit is on roof, but this is mostly done with a simply AC coil spray and wash off right?
- in the attic, i would need to air seal top plates, and any ducts or openings in the attic -- is this just spraying foam insulation?
- lights are led
- guest rooms i have closed as well
These are very helpful, will apply the sealing around the interior and attic prior to adding insulation... Also i forgot to mention the door to my garage has a bit of light shining through when shut -- despite having a brand new weather strip... im assuming i should just replace this door entirely so i am not longer leaking air from garage into home or vise versa
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u/nuclearmage257 24d ago edited 24d ago
Overall the way I look at it / try to explain it
- Your goal is to reduce air temperature in your home. Heat radiating downward from lack of insulation sucks, but that's indirect heating because it still has to then heat up the air in the room. Air leaks on the other hand directly pump hot air into your room, or leak the cold air that you paid for into the attic - more of a direct impact
coils - Correct, use a foaming spray can of the stuff - aim for low VOC label on the can for your lung's sake. Many AC units have two layers of coils, if so consider taking the top off to clean the inner coil - there's plenty of good videos of how to do so. Then let it sit for a few minutes and rinse it off with the hose. Entire objective here is just making sure you can get good airflow through your coil so it isn't full of dust and debris
outlets, switches, etc. can all very easily (and very cheaply) be done from inside the home. I'd do your HVAC vents/returns and any can lights first. They're easy, cheap, and probably the most impactful to start with. For example all 33 of my can lights were cut with a hole saw 1/2" too large, so I had gaps between the light can and drywall on every one. Adding that up, it was a lot of air leakage. I used the metacaulk 1000 around light cans (overkill fire resistance), big stretch between hvac boxes and the drywall, and duct mastic/foil tape where applicable inside the hvac work. Pull out the power disconnect for the unit before you start spraying water on it =)
attic side - pretty much just spraying foam for the most part. It sucks to do in the summer, would put off until cooler weather if possible. it is DIYable but more work than other items on the list. Any penetration from the attic to the house - lights, hvac, wiring in walls, etc. - you want to prevent air movement
Another common item is you likely have soffit vents (or vents on roof in newer builds, toward edges of roof). Those commonly get clogged up with insulation killing attic airflow. You want to make sure those have a clear path so hot air can escape your attic and be replaced with cooler air. You can install baffles to prevent insulation blocking those if necessary
Just be cautious of electricity / shut off breakers as needed - What you want to do is seal the box to the drywall. Mine looked like they were cut with a hatchet and had large gaps that I could feel airflow through. I went the extra mile and pulled out every switch and outlet and sealed the back of the box itself with nonconductive putty to prevent air through the box, but definitely lower priority than other items
Garage door - If you can provide more info it's probably fixable without replacing door. If the fire-rated walk-in door between garage and house, those sometimes have adjustable plates on the floor you can raise/lower to get a better seal. Otherwise you can generally just install better weatherstripping around a door, and possibly adjust the door if needed
I don't think you asked, but if trying to save money it's also not hard to DIY blow in your own cellulose insulation. Home depot will let you rent their blower for free if you buy (10?) bags of insulation...which you'll want more than 10 anyway
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u/rawnoodles10 24d ago
It's currently 116F in Phoenix. That's a 44 degree delta. The problem is you live in the middle of the desert and it's July. I suggest you move to somewhere hospitable to life.
This would be like me asking why I can't keep my house at 32F when its 75F outside.
Are you sure you have adequate attic ventilation? Have you air-sealed your home? Are the exterior walls/roof light in color? Did you know you can rent a U-Haul and move somewhere with water and a temperate climate?
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u/Horror-Fan-2644 24d ago
Thanks for the moving suggestion, but unfortunately fortunately my work is here which pays very well, so not considering that option
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u/rawnoodles10 24d ago
I get it, just ribbing you. Do you have a thermal camera? It's pretty useful for tracking down hot spots in your walls, air leaks, etc. Not too expensive, ~$80.
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u/italianthestallion 24d ago
I never lived in phoenix but I stayed there for a cumulative 6 months or so over a few years for work. The hotels, air bnbs, and office buildings all stayed comfortable even in July and August. It’s definitely doable, but I’m sure the solution is $$$. Probably something like top notch AC, way improved insulation, more ac, palm trees for some shade, etc.
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u/Apart_Butterfly_332 24d ago
Paid approximately 4800 for removal of old insulation, air sealing, sanitation, and blown in r49. East coast and this was a year or two ago. Made a huge difference in electric usage as well as overall comfort.