Exterior Wall Insulation in Jasper, AL

Exterior wall insulation matters in Walker County because so many homes are old. Mining-town cottages, mill houses and early post-war homes were often built with little or nothing inside the walls. On a cold January night, an empty outside wall feels cold to the touch, and on a summer afternoon a west wall radiates heat into the room.

Closed walls: dense-pack

For walls you want to keep, we drill small holes, from inside or outside, and blow cellulose into each cavity at high density so it fills the space and does not settle. HomeGuide lists dense-pack at $1.60 to $4.20 per square foot. It slows air movement as well as heat. Blocking, fire stops and old wiring change the plan, so we check before quoting.

Open walls: foam

During a remodel or an addition, spray foam seals around wiring, boxes and pipes. Alabama's code summary lists R-20, or R-13 plus R-5 continuous, for wood-frame walls in zone 3. Closed-cell reaches high values in a 2x4 wall; open-cell costs less per inch and works where wall depth allows.

Old wiring

Knob-and-tube and old cloth-covered wiring turn up in some older homes. An electrician should look at it before insulation is packed around it. If we see it, we tell you before going further.

Cost

HomeGuide lists dense-pack at $1.60 to $4.20 per square foot and blown-in exterior walls at $1,900 to $7,800 for a typical house. Fixr lists spray foam in existing walls at $3.15 to $7.50 per square foot and in open studs at $2.75 to $6.50. Siding type, plaster and patching change the total.

Where to start

If the attic and crawl space have not been done, start there; they usually pay back faster. Walls are the next step, and often the one that makes rooms feel truly comfortable in winter. Get a free estimate