Cost of adding attic insulation? (roof, Home Depot, heat, ceiling)

[galaxyhi]

I have a 750 sqft attic that only has 2" of batt insulation in it.

Im looking for ideas on cost of adding insulation. I like the idea of batts, but the one home advisor installer who actually came out to do an estimate, said batts are expensive to install as labor intensive. He also never bother to email an estimate, and never gave me a verbal quote for the blown in cellulose he wanted to use instead. I figure if he cant get a quote back to me in a month hes not interested in the job.
No other suggested home advisor contacts even bothered, probably because i mentioned the sqft and if its not 6,000sqft or more, they aren't interested, apparently. But, but there are many "small" attics here!! So that should not be it.

Guess I'll have to start calling around.

Looking to do it in the fall, but want a current estimate so we can work into the budget so we can cash flow it in the fall when it will be done.

Also want a quote for wall insulation, which will have to be blown in. Theres more sqft there, for sure.

So..if youve had insulation added recently, what was tge cost per sqft?

I live in NY, upstate, so looking to reduce the $2500/yr utility bill ( nat gas heat water, cooking and electric lighting and wibdow a/cs ( 4 but all 4 are never in use at the same time) to NYSEG.

Thanks for any pointers and cost ideas.

[turkeydance]

upstate NY prices would outstrip my pointers and any cost ideas.

[Cd225]

For small jobs I’ve run into situations where a contractor will just acknowledge they won’t do anything for less than $1,000 or some such number because they have a crew they have to schedule for it. This attic might be $750 worth of material and then $1,000 labor just to get the contractor to be willing to mess with it. On the other hand, a self-employed handy man might figure he could do it by himself in a day and charge half that.

[K'ledgeBldr]

Cost is relevant to the amount of material- if you want a minimum of R-38, that's about 14" worth of material. But, depending on the way the roof is built you maynot be able to get a full R-38. There's also the question of ventilation; is your attic vented adequately?

As to the "smallness" of the attic and a highly likelihood that the cost for the contractor far out-weighs the amount of work- talk to your neighbors and see where they are in regards to insulation. Perhaps two or three of you could go-in together to get a better deal. Or, you could do it yourself- HD rents blowers. It's a two man operation but it's pretty simple if you take the right precautions and do the prep correctly.

IMPO- don't use cellulose; use fiberglass. All of the "built-in features" of cellulose breakdown rather quickly as opposed to fiberglass' inherent qualities.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Cd225

For small jobs...they won’t do anything for less than $1,000...

^^This.

Hire a blown in cellulose crew (or buy the material and rent the blower and pay some helpers).
But before you do it... be sure the intake and exhaust is a) adequate and b) won't be disturbed

[rational1]

Especially these days with a strong economy it will be difficult to get responses, let alone firm estimates.

You might have a better response for the entire job (walls + ceiling).

If you have access to the attic you can unroll fiberglas yourself. Not as good as a proper installation, but better than nothing. And very cheap.

[galaxyhi]

Originally Posted by rational1

Especially these days with a strong economy it will be difficult to get responses, let alone firm estimates.

You might have a better response for the entire job (walls + ceiling).

If you have access to the attic you can unroll fiberglas yourself. Not as good as a proper installation, but better than nothing. And very cheap.

The attic access is a 2'x2' holeover the landing of the basement stairs.

I cant do it myself being handicapped. So need to hire it done.

Thanks

[Cd225]

Since the goal here is a budget, it seems like you could look at Home Depot prices for the material and assume around $1,000 for labor. A pallet of R-38 batts that cover 512 square feet costs around $500, so budget two of those and you’re at $2,000.

[Bungalove]

I'll throw out a figure here, but it's from my somewhat hazy memory bank. I had our local Perma Treat company add blown-in insulation to the attic of my old bungalow, and I believe the price was around $1200. They also threw in a zippered "tent" that covered the pull-down stairs at the top, which was a really good energy saving measure, as it kept the heat from rising into the attic in the winter. The really expensive attic insulation job was the previous one where I had all the original insulation, which included vermiculite as well as mouse poop and other nasties, sucked out and replaced with new stuff. That cost a pretty sum, but it was well worth it.

[Threerun]

About 6 years ago I added 14" cellulose up in my attached garage attic space (it had none). At about 3.5R factor p/inch that ended up being R40/45 give or take after settling.

Material back then was $1,200 for about 900 sq. ft. I did the work myself though.