Spray Foaming Your Attic with South Central Services: What To Expect

If you’re considering having spray foam installed in your attic, you probably haven’t had it done before. It can be nerve-wracking to start the process when you don’t know what it will look like.

South Central Services has insulated hundreds of homes with spray foam in and around Greencastle, PA. Attic insulation is one of our most popular jobs due to its significant impact on energy savings. We want you to feel at ease about this process and to know what to expect.

What would the insulating process look like if you got a quote from South Central Services and decided to move forward? Let’s examine the stages of having your attic insulated by South Central Services.

Step 1: You Prep Your Attic For Spray Foam Installation.

If you are storing anything in your attic, it must be moved from that space to somewhere else in the home.

South Central Services is not responsible for moving items that you are storing. Storage items cannot be left in the attic because they will block us from spraying. But we also can’t be responsible for moving them because we don’t know where they can be placed in the home.

Where you move the belongings stored in the attic does not matter as long as they are not in the way of the installers.

Step 2: The Spray Foam Rig Arrives.

South Central Services will bring our spray foam rig to your home. Our spray foam rigs consist of either a box truck or a truck with a trailer. We usually park in either the street or the driveway.

Our spray foam rigs are entirely self-sufficient, so we won’t need to hook up to anything in your home.

Step 3: Vacate Your Home.

Spray foam insulation requires residents and pets to vacate the building during installation. Spray foam is not a hazardous product, but its manufacturing process can pose health risks. The evacuation requirement is not meant to be inconvenient but to protect you during manufacturing time.

About 12 to 24 hours after the installation is complete, it will be safe to return home.

The installers who spray the foam into your attic will wear a respirator, gloves, and disposable coveralls to protect their eyes, lungs, and skin.

Step 4: Existing Insulation Is Removed.

If your attic has any existing insulation, our first step on-site will be to remove that insulation. Spray foam cannot be installed on top of existing insulation. Existing insulation is not an appropriate substrate for spray foam to adhere to, and it will compromise its effectiveness.

Depending on the size of your attic, removing the existing insulation could take anywhere between half of a work day and an entire work day.

South Central Services will always complete this step ourselves to ensure the space is appropriately prepared for spraying.

Step 5: Ventilation Is Set Up.

After you vacate your home, our team sets up ventilation inside. Every home is different, so the ventilation will be set up differently in every house. The goal of ventilation is to force the off-gassing fumes outside the home as soon as possible.

Proper ventilation is also necessary to ensure that no fumes would travel to the lower levels of the house and soak into soft fabrics. The better the ventilation set-up, the sooner you can return home.

Step 6: Your Attic Is Insulated.

After your attic is cleared out and ventilation is set up, our crew begins insulating your attic. One lead installer will spray your attic, while one to two other crew members will assist by monitoring the rig and adjusting the spray hose.

Attic jobs generally take 1 to 2 days to complete, with the longest taking 5 days for really large homes.

The length of the job will depend on the size of your attic, the amount of prep work needed, and where in the attic we are spraying. Spraying the roofline to create a conditioned attic space generally takes longer than spraying the attic floor because the square footage is more extensive.

Step 7: You Return Home.

Before this process begins, you will speak with our staff about how long the job will take and when it will be safe for you to return home. After completing your free site visit, we will have seen enough space to estimate the project length and the ventilation requirements.

If anything were to change during our spraying process, we would contact you directly by phone to notify you.

The house will be as clean as you left when you return home. The only trace that a crew was insulating in your home will be the insulation itself.

How To Start the Attic Insulation Process With South Central Services

If you’re ready to have your attic insulated with South Central Services, the next step is to request your free quote and site visit. We will personally visit your home to examine your attic and discuss your best options.

We're headquartered in Greencastle, PA. Our team services areas in southern Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.