Cold floors and drafts coming up through the house? We insulate under the floor so the cold below stops pulling heat out of your rooms.
Crawl space insulation in Chico usually means insulating the floor above your crawl space with batts, the pre-cut blankets of insulation, or spray foam, or both. The insulation sits in full contact with the subfloor, so the cold air under the house stops pulling heat out of the rooms above.
Most of the calls I get about this start with cold floors or a power bill that climbs every winter. The bigger question is whether to insulate the floor and leave the vents open, or close the crawl space up. In dry Western climates like ours, research found both kinds held up fine for humidity and energy use, but only when the ducts weren't running through the crawl space.
Closing a crawl space takes more than blocking the vents, because sealing them alone can raise the moisture down there. If a gas furnace or water heater that vents on its own draft sits under the house, sealed vents can make it unsafe to run. That's why closing up gets planned for the whole space, and never as a quick fix.
The price moves with the size of the floor, how much room there is to work, what has to come out before anything goes in, and whether we're insulating the floor or closing the whole space. The schedule turns on the same things, plus any repair another trade needs to make first. If the job needs a permit, we handle that too. My written estimate gives you the number for your house.
A crawl space job is mostly about what you can't see from inside the house. These are the things that decide what we do and what a fair quote should include.
The rim joists are the band of framing that sits on top of the foundation around the edge of the house, and air slips in there easily. Sealing and insulating them, usually with rigid foam or spray foam, is a key part of a floor job, so check that every quote you compare includes them.
Fresh insulation over batts that got soaked or fell down just hides the problem, so anything like that comes out first. Older crawl spaces can also have asbestos wrap on ducts and pipes. If I find any, a certified asbestos abatement firm has to inspect it and decide how it's handled before we go further.
Some crawl spaces give you room to kneel, and some barely let you slide through on your back. Low clearance, tight corners and pipes or ducts in the way all slow the crew down, so they shape the plan and the price as much as the size of the floor does.
From the first call to the walk-through at the end, here's who you'll deal with and what each step gets you. Nothing goes in until we both know what's down there.
Call (530) 399-1513 or fill out our contact form with your address and a few words about what you're noticing, like cold floors or drafts. We get back to you to set a time that works.
I come out myself, get under the house, and note anything that has to be fixed before insulation goes in. Then I write up an estimate that spells out the work, including the rim joists and any prep.
Our crew lead and installers handle the install. If another trade needs to fix something first, like a plumbing leak, we wait for that to be done rather than insulate over it.
Before we call it finished, I check the work myself. Then we walk you through what we did, what we found down there and anything worth keeping an eye on.
Before I talk about closing anything up, I check where your ducts run and whether any gas equipment sits under the house, because those two things decide whether the floor or the whole space is the right target. Then our crew seals the holes in the subfloor around pipes and wires, since insulation over an open hole just sits in a draft.
Next we seal and insulate the rim joists. Then we fit the insulation snug against the floor, with no gaps, squashed spots or voids, because it only does its job when it's tight to the floor above. If the room over the crawl space still feels drafty, our air sealing services track down leaks elsewhere in the house, and wall insulation is the next place to look when the outside walls feel cold too.
Foam costs more than batts, but it seals air while it insulates. On a floor where we've already sealed the holes and the rim joists, tight batts are usually the better buy, and I'll tell you so. When your ducts run through the crawl space, closing the space and using foam starts to earn its price.
This is the usual choice when your ducts don't run under the house. We seal the subfloor and rim joists, fit insulation to the floor, and the crawl space stays vented the way it is now.
This is a bigger project that makes sense when the ducts live down there. It means planning for moisture and any gas equipment before a single vent gets sealed, so it starts with a careful look at the whole space.
We reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out. I look under your house and write up a free estimate on site. There's no obligation to go ahead with it.
(530) 399-1513Which office handles your permit depends on where your address sits. Inside Chico city limits it's the City of Chico, and in unincorporated areas like Durham, Forest Ranch and Cohasset it's Butte County. The city's building division issues permits for additions, alterations and repairs to homes, and its list names decks but not crawl space insulation, so the list alone doesn't settle your job.
That's worth getting right, because in Chico, starting work that needs a permit without one brings an immediate stop work order, fees up to triple and finished work opened back up for inspection. If your job needs a permit, we handle the application and inspection with the city or county office that covers your address, and we'll tell you which office that is.
We're based in Chico and work in the cities around it, and a lot of what we see is older houses with vented crawl spaces and floors that were never insulated well. If you do close the space, the California Energy Commission's guidance says a sealed crawl space must have a vapor retarder, a plastic sheet over the dirt floor, to keep moisture out and protect the insulation from condensation.
I grew up on a farm where you fixed things right the first time. I learned insulation on other contractors' crews, and I started this business in Chico in 2020. I'm the one who comes out to look under your house and write the estimate. If something down there needs another trade first, I'll tell you and wait rather than cover it up.
Our crew lead and installers do the work, and I check it before we're done. We're licensed and insured. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job. When you're ready, call (530) 399-1513 or send us a message and I'll come take a look.
Worth a look when the room over the crawl space has outside walls that feel cold to the touch in winter.
Closes the gaps that let drafts in around the house, so the insulation you paid for isn't fighting moving air.
Besides Chico, we do this work in Durham, Oroville, Paradise, Thermalito and other cities nearby. If you don't see yours on the list, give us a call and ask.
Usually not, if your ducts don't run through the crawl space. In our dry Western climate, vented and closed crawl spaces both hold up fine for moisture and energy use when the ducts aren't down there. Blocking the vents alone can raise moisture and is unsafe around gas equipment that vents by natural draft, so I look at the whole space before suggesting it.
The city's permit list doesn't answer that one, because it names decks and other work but not crawl space insulation. Inside city limits the City of Chico decides, and outside them Butte County does. If your job needs a permit, we handle the application and inspection and tell you which office covers your address.
Crawl space insulation across the US usually costs about $3 to $6 per square foot. That's the market's usual range, not our price. Where your house lands depends on batts or foam, how tight the space is, whether old material has to come out first and whether we're closing the whole space. My on-site estimate gives you your own number.
California's Contractors State License Board lists a C-2 Insulation and Acoustical Contractor classification for this kind of work. Ask any contractor you're comparing which license they carry, and get it on the estimate before anyone goes under your house.
The time on site turns on the size of the floor, how much room there is to work and what has to come out first, so I lay out the plan at the estimate rather than guess. Clear a path to the crawl space access and move anything stored near it. For batt work under the floor, you can usually stay home.
Mention whether ducts or a gas appliance sit in your crawl space when you call (530) 399-1513 or use the form, because that one detail shapes the plan before I even get there.
