Spray Foam Insulation in Flint, MI

Spray Foam Insulation in Flint usually means working on houses that are 65 to 100 years old. Point2Homes' summary of census data shows 25.5% of the city's homes were built in 1939 or earlier and 31.4% in the 1950s, with only a sliver built since 1990. About 80.6% are detached single-family homes. Wikipedia's 1991-2020 climate table for Bishop Airport shows a January average low of 16.0F, about 52.1 inches of snow a year and a record low of -25F.

Built for Buick and Chevrolet

General Motors was founded in Flint in 1908, and the city grew into a center for Buick and Chevrolet production through the mid-20th century. Neighborhoods like Civic Park, Sugar Hill, Floral Park and the Kent and Elm Parks grew around that work. The houses from that era, frame bungalows, foursquares and postwar ranches, were built with little or no insulation in the walls and a thin layer in the attic.

What we usually find

In the attic, a few inches of old rock wool or fiberglass, gaps around chimneys and plumbing, and an uninsulated hatch. In the basement, bare rim joists with daylight showing in places. In the walls, empty cavities or batts that have slumped. We seal the attic floor and rim first, then decide where blown-in, dense-pack or foam does the most for the money.

Vacant homes and rehabs

Point2Homes counts about 19.7% of Flint's housing units as vacant, and many are being bought and rehabbed. A rehab with open walls and an empty attic is the best time to insulate properly: closed-cell foam in the rim and walls, a sealed and deeply insulated attic, and a house that is cheaper to heat from day one.

Rebates and paperwork

Consumers Energy supplies electricity across Flint, and its insulation rebate page has listed amounts for attics, walls, basement walls and rim joists. Our quotes show square footage and final R-value so the paperwork is easy.

Plaster walls and balloon framing

Many of the oldest Flint houses, have plaster walls on wood lath and balloon framing, where the studs run from the foundation to the roof. That leaves open channels that carry basement air straight up into the attic. Before filling walls we block those channels at the top plate and the sill. Dense-packed cellulose then fills each stud bay tight enough that it will not settle, and the plaster gets patched at the fill holes. In houses where the siding is coming off anyway, we fill from the outside and leave the plaster untouched.

Call (810) 428-0486 or get a free estimate and we will come out, look at the attic and basement, and write up a price.