Frequently Asked Questions

An insulation inspection includes a walkthrough of your attic, walls, basement rim joists, and crawl space if you have one. We check insulation depth, look for gaps, moisture, mold, and pest activity, and run a blower door test when possible to measure how leaky the house actually is. The blower door number is the key: it tells us how many air changes per hour your home experiences, and it tells us what to seal first. You'll get photos, readings, and a written summary of what we found. The inspection is free, and it's the only way to know what you actually need.

A blower door test measures how much air leaks out of your home in an hour. We mount a calibrated fan in an exterior door frame, depressurize the house, and read the airflow at a standard pressure. The number tells us your air changes per hour, or ACH. Chicago homes built before 2000 often test between 8 and 15 ACH. A tight home should be under 5 ACH. After we seal and insulate, we run the test again and publish the before-and-after number so you can see exactly what you bought. No other insulation company in Chicago does this as standard practice.

The process starts with the free inspection and blower door test. Then you get a written quote with a flat price and a written scope. Once you approve, we schedule a window, send a named technician, and text you when they're on the way. On job day, the crew air seals first, then insulates, then runs a final blower door test. You receive photos, the before-and-after readings, and a written warranty. Every step is documented. That's the Haven Standard, Clauses 3 through 4: verified crews and evidence on every job.

Most attic air sealing and insulation jobs in Chicago take one full day. Air sealing alone takes four to six hours. Adding blown-in insulation on top takes two to three hours after that. Spray foam jobs can run two days because the foam needs time to cure before we run final readings. If we're doing rim joists in the basement plus the attic, expect two days. You'll get a real time window before we start, and a text when the crew is on the way. No open-ended "sometime this week" scheduling.

You don't need to be home for attic work, as long as we can access the attic and the electrical panel. Most Chicago homeowners go to work after we arrive and come back to a finished job. We'll text you photos and readings when we're done. For basement rim joist work, someone does need to be home because we'll be inside the main living area. If you can't be there, we can schedule for a weekend. Our hours are Monday through Friday 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM.

Insulation reduces noise, but it won't eliminate it. Blown-in cellulose and fiberglass knock down some sound transmission through ceilings and walls. Spray foam does more because it seals air gaps that carry sound. For real noise control between rooms, you want dense-packed cellulose or rock wool in interior walls. The biggest noise reduction most Chicago homeowners notice after insulation is from outside traffic, especially if we seal attic penetrations that let street noise leak into the house. We'll tell you honestly what insulation can and can't do for your specific noise problem.

We install Owens Corning, Johns Manville, and Rockwool products, selected for the specific application. For blown-in attic work, Owens Corning fiberglass and Johns Manville cellulose both deliver consistent coverage and reliable R-value. For mineral wool applications, Rockwool gives excellent fire resistance and sound control. For spray foam, we use closed-cell and open-cell products from established manufacturers. The brand isn't the most important variable; the air sealing underneath it is. We'll recommend the right product for your house and show you the specs.

Chicago falls in climate zone 5, which means the Department of Energy recommends R-49 to R-60 in attics, R-13 to R-15 in walls, and R-19 in floors over unconditioned spaces. Most Chicago homes built before 1980 have R-19 or less in the attic, so a top-up to R-49 or R-60 makes a significant difference. If you're doing a rim joist or band board, R-10 to R-19 is standard. We'll measure what you have during the free inspection and build to current code minimums, usually above them.

Both have their place. Spray foam insulates and air seals in one step, and it's the best choice for rim joists, cantilevered floors, and complicated attic geometries. Blown-in fiberglass or cellulose is more economical for open attics and does an excellent job when the attic floor is properly air sealed first. For most Chicago homes, the answer is air sealing plus blown-in material at the attic floor, with spray foam at the rim joist. We'll show you the cost and performance difference for your specific house before you commit.

Yes. Every pro working under our name is required to hold the license and insurance their state and local jurisdiction requires. Insulation work in Chicago and Cook County falls under general contractor and home improvement requirements, and our crews carry the proper credentials. We publish the license number on the job paperwork. Insurance coverage includes general liability and workers' compensation. When you schedule, ask for your technician's license information and we'll put it in writing before anyone arrives. That's Clause 3 of the Haven Standard: verified crews.

Our locations work with trained crews who are held to the Haven Standard regardless of employment arrangement. What you should know: every person entering your home is licensed, insured, and background-checked. We put the technician's name, license number, and arrival window in writing before the job. If anything ever falls short, you have a documented record of who was there and what was promised. That record is the whole point of the Haven Standard.

Most insulation and air sealing work in Chicago does not require a building permit, but spray foam in certain applications can trigger local code review. If your job requires a permit, we handle the paperwork. What we always do is build to current Chicago and Illinois energy code, which means R-49 minimum in attics and proper air sealing at the thermal boundary. We're familiar with the City of Chicago building code and the Illinois Energy Conservation Code. If you have questions about your specific property, call (218) 261-7714 and we'll walk you through it.

We schedule insulation and air sealing jobs around real time windows, and we'll always work to get you on the calendar as fast as possible. Our hours are Monday through Friday 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. If you've had a roof leak or ice dam that soaked your attic insulation, call (218) 261-7714 and describe what happened. We'll triage the urgency and get a technician out to assess the damage. For true emergencies like water actively coming through a ceiling, contact a water mitigation company first, then call us for the insulation replacement.

We can usually get a technician to your home within a few business days for the free inspection and blower door test. The inspection takes about an hour. You'll leave with photos, readings, and a written scope of work. If you need the estimate faster, call (218) 261-7714 and ask about same-week availability. We'd rather do the blower door test and show you the data than guess over the phone. A guess is not an estimate, and a real estimate is the only thing we'll put in writing.

If your attic insulation is wet from a roof leak, ice dam, or condensation, the wet material needs to come out. Wet fiberglass and cellulose lose their R-value, and they create the conditions for mold and wood rot. The longer it sits, the worse it gets. Call (218) 261-7714 and we'll send a technician to assess the damage, remove the wet insulation, and determine whether any framing needs to dry out before new material goes in. We'll document everything with photos. Then we'll air seal and re-insulate properly, so the same problem doesn't come back through the attic floor.

Every insulation job we do comes with a written warranty, and the terms are spelled out in the written scope of work before anyone starts. That's Clause 1 of the Haven Standard: have it in writing, flat price, written scope, written warranty, before we begin. The manufacturers we use, including Owens Corning and Johns Manville, also back their products with their own material warranties. We'll give you both documents. No verbal assurances, no handshake deals. If it's not in writing, it doesn't exist.

We publish the before-and-after blower door number on every job, so you see exactly what changed. That number is the evidence. We don't guarantee a specific ACH target because every Chicago house is different; what we guarantee is that the air sealing work was done, documented with photos, and measured with a calibrated blower door. When you see the before number and the after number side by side, you'll know what you paid for. That's the whole point of the Haven Standard: evidence on every job, Clause 4.

The Haven Standard is our five-part operating code: Have it in writing, Arrive on schedule, Verified crews, Evidence on every job, No surprises. It's the thing we hold every location and every technician to, on every job. Flat price, written scope, written warranty before we start. A real time window, a named tech, a text when they're on the way. Licensed, insured, background-checked crews with license numbers on the paperwork. Photos and readings of what we actually found. No door upsell, no scope creep, no "while we're in here." When we say "The Haven Standard" on a job, that's what we mean.

The difference is the name. The building envelope is the boundary between inside and outside. Most insulation companies sell you material. We seal the envelope first, then insulate. Insulation on top of unsealed penetrations is money in the attic. A blower door technician founded Topside in 2016 because he kept being sent to top up insulation in attics that were leaking air through unsealed top plates and can lights. We refuse to blow insulation over an unsealed attic floor. And we publish the before-and-after blower door number on every job, so you can see what you bought. That's the standard.

We don't offer in-house financing, but many Chicago homeowners pay for insulation work through a home equity line, a personal loan, or a credit card with a promotional rate. Some utility programs through ComEd and Peoples Gas offer rebates for insulation and air sealing upgrades in Chicago, and we can help you identify what applies to your home. The best step is to get the free inspection, see your blower door number, and get a written price. Then you'll know exactly what you're financing. Call (218) 261-7714 to get started.

You can install batt insulation in an accessible attic, but the work that actually matters in Chicago is air sealing, and that's where DIY goes wrong. Sealing top plates, can lights, and chimney chases properly requires understanding building science, not just caulk and a ladder. A poorly sealed attic will still leak, and you'll have spent money on insulation that underperforms. Blown-in insulation requires commercial equipment. Spray foam requires specialized training and protective gear. For safety and results, hire a professional crew. We'll show you the blower door number before and after, so you'll know the job was done right.

Written by Wes Okafor, Owner at Topside Attic Insulation, serving Chicago since 2016.