Insulation contractor in East Los Angeles - attics sealed before they're filled

That call belongs to LA County Public Works, which issues building permits across unincorporated areas like East Los Angeles and has an East Los Angeles Building and Safety Office. Its permit list names alterations, repairs and mechanical work but doesn't call out insulation on its own, so it's worth asking before work starts, and even work that's exempt from a permit still has to meet the Building Code. We check with that office for your address, and when a permit is needed, we handle the paperwork and line up the inspection.

Yes, if the job needs a building permit, uses any additional workers or comes to $1,000 or more in labor and materials, under the rules of the Contractors State License Board. The board licenses businesses and people who build or alter structures in California, and a contractor has to be licensed before submitting a bid. Ask for the license before you take any bid seriously, and know that we're licensed and insured.

The price comes down to what's in your attic right now, so I only give you a number after I've been up there. Old insulation that's soaked or full of droppings has to come out first, a cramped attic over an add-on takes longer to work, and foam costs more than loose fill. The first thing I do is measure how many inches are already up there, because sometimes sealing and a top-up is all a house needs.

Usually, sealing the gaps and topping up with blown-in fill beats foam for an older attic here, and it costs less. Foam seals air while it insulates, which earns its higher price when your ductwork runs through the attic, since it brings those ducts inside the insulated space. I'll tell you straight which one your house needs, even when it's the cheaper one.

With blown-in fill you can usually stay home, but spray foam means everyone, kids and pets too, stays out until the foam maker's re-entry time has passed, which is the wait it sets before you come back inside. How long we're in your attic turns on its size, how easy it is to move around in and whether old material comes out first. I'll talk you through what that looks like for your house when I come out.

Usually it's air slipping through gaps the old insulation never covered, or insulation that's thin right where that room's ceiling meets the roof. Rooms over a garage and add-ons built later are the usual suspects, because their ceilings often tie into the main attic badly or not at all. I trace where the air is getting in before suggesting anything, since more insulation over a leak won't fix it.