Drafty rooms, a hot upstairs or a power bill that keeps climbing? We find where the air gets in and close it off.
Air sealing services in Chico find and close the gaps where air slips in and out of your house, so rooms stop feeling drafty, your heating and cooling don't have to strain as hard, and you quit paying to condition air that leaks away.
Most people call us about a cold room, a hot upstairs or a bill that keeps going up, and air leaks are often a big part of it. At Professional Chico Spray Foam Insulation, we treat sealing as the step that comes before anything else goes in, because insulation can't do much while air is moving straight through it.
The price moves with how many leaks there are, how easy your attic or crawl space is to get into, how much old insulation has to be pulled back to reach them, and whether we add insulation afterward. The schedule mostly turns on what I find first, like something another trade has to fix, and whether the job needs a permit. Your estimate lists what I found and what has to happen first.
Every house leaks in its own places, and a few things decide how much work sealing takes and what order it happens in. These are the ones I look for first.
In most attics the leaks that matter sit around recessed can lights, the holes where pipes and wires come up through the ceiling, and the attic hatch itself. Each needs its own fix, since a can light runs warm and a hatch still has to open, so the number of them shows up on the estimate.
One attic checklist holds insulation work until active knob and tube wiring, the old wire strung on porcelain knobs, is replaced or properly boxed in. It also stops work if the insulation is vermiculite, a pebbly fill that may contain asbestos. If I see either one, I'll tell you, and that gets handled before we start.
Air leaks can bring moisture in along with the heat or cold, and over time that can warp wood and lead to mold. That's also why sealing has to leave the attic able to breathe, because burying the eave vents just traps moisture in the framing instead.
Here's how a job goes from your first call to the walk-through at the end, including who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call (530) 399-1513 or use the contact form, and we'll get back to you to set a time. It helps to tell us your home's age, how you get into the attic and whether you have a gas water heater or furnace.
I come out myself and look over the attic, walls and crawl space. I note anything that has to be fixed first, like old wiring or appliance venting, and put it all in a written estimate.
Our crew lead and installers do the work. If the job needs a city permit, that comes first, and while some simple jobs get one on the first visit, most wait on plan review before it's issued.
I check the work before we call it finished. Then we walk you through what we sealed, what we found along the way and anything worth keeping an eye on.
We find the leaks first, the small hidden ones included, instead of guessing where they are and caulking whatever's in reach. I'd rather know where your air is actually going before anyone spends money closing gaps that weren't the problem. I'll also show you which leaks around doors and pipes you can seal yourself, because there's no sense paying a crew for a tube of caulk.
Order matters on this job. Sealing goes in before any new insulation, because insulation laid over an open gap just has air moving through it. If the old insulation is soaked or full of droppings, it comes out instead of getting covered, and when coverage goes back on, it goes on even out to the edges rather than piled deep in the middle.
Leaks aren't only overhead. Gaps where the house meets its foundation are common down low, and if you're finishing a lower level, sealing those first lets basement insulation do its job. Where a space needs a seal and insulation at the same time, closed-cell foam insulation, a dense foam that also blocks moisture, does both as it goes on.
For most attics this is the one I'd pick. We seal the gaps by hand, then blow in loose fill, insulation blown through a hose, to bring coverage up evenly, and it costs less than foam.
Foam costs more, but it seals air while it insulates. When your ductwork lives up in the attic, that extra cost usually earns its keep, so that's when I'd point you toward foam.
We reply within one business day to set a time. I come out, look over your house and write up a free estimate, and there's no obligation to go ahead. If your message mentions your home's age, attic access and any gas appliances, I'll know what to look for before I get there.
(530) 399-1513In Chico, the Building Division issues permits, and city code requires one to alter, improve, repair or remodel any building or its service equipment. Whether your sealing job falls under that depends on what it includes, so I don't assume either way. If it needs one, we handle the application and inspection. Work that changes duct work, heating or venting comes under the city's mechanical permit.
Contractors who pull a Chico permit need a current city business license and a current California contractor's license, and the state's insulation classification covers installing insulating material, which matters when a sealing job adds insulation. On jobs around Chico and out in Durham and Oroville, we see plenty of older houses with gas water heaters, can lights and attic hatches nobody ever sealed.
I grew up on a farm where you fixed things right the first time, learned insulation on other contractors' crews and started this business in Chico in 2020. I'm the one who looks at your house and writes the estimate, and I check our crew's work before we're done, so nothing gets covered up that should have been caught.
We're licensed and insured. We back the work with satisfaction guaranteed on every job. If your house is drafty or the power bill keeps climbing, call (530) 399-1513 or send us a message, and I'll come take a look at what's going on up there.
If your lower level stays cold or clammy, insulating its walls once the gaps are closed keeps that space comfortable.
When a spot needs a tight seal and moisture protection in one layer, dense spray foam is worth a look, especially around ductwork.
We're based in Chico and work in the cities around it, including the ones listed here. If you don't see your city, give us a call and ask.
The price comes down to how many leaks your house has, how hard they are to reach and whether insulation goes back on afterward. A tight crawl space or an attic packed with old insulation takes more labor than an open one. I'll give you a written figure after I've looked, since a guess over the phone doesn't help you.
Yes, for the obvious ones. Sealing by hand works on leaks around door frames and where pipes, vents and wires pass through walls, but it misses the small, hard-to-find leaks. Attic leaks in an existing house often sit under layers of insulation, which puts them past a simple home project.
Home energy assessors use a blower door test, a fan set in a doorway that pulls air out so leaks show themselves, and an infrared camera that picks up where air is sneaking in. Starting from testing means the leaks that get sealed are the real ones. Either way, we find your leaks before we seal anything.
It can be, once how those appliances vent is part of the plan. In some cases, sealing can make naturally venting gas appliances back-draft, pushing combustion gases back into the house, which is unsafe. That's why I look at your water heater and furnace venting during the estimate, before any sealing starts.
The city's Building Division issues building permits in Chico. Whether your sealing job needs one depends on what it includes, and I'll sort that out when I look at it. When it does, we take care of the application and the inspection so you don't have to.
Clear a path to the attic hatch or crawl space entrance and move anything stored right under it. How long the crew is up there depends on how many leaks there are and how much old insulation has to move, and I'll tell you what to plan for when I come out.
Knowing what's going on in your attic before you spend anything means you pay for the fix that matters, so call (530) 399-1513 or send us a message.
