Can I Install Insulation Myself?

Somewhere in your home needs insulation. It might be your attic or your crawl space. You want to insulate that area, but you aren't sure if you can install the insulation yourself. Are some projects too big to handle on your own? Do you need to choose a particular insulation product?

South Central Services has installed spray foam insulation in hundreds of homes. We understand that you have a lot to consider about your insulation, including your budget and what insulation you want installed. Homeowners must decide whether to handle their projects independently or invest in professional work.

This article will help determine if DIY insulation is a good idea for your situation. When you finish reading, you will know:

• Which insulation products are DIY-friendly
• Which home insulation projects are DIY-friendly
• How to choose your insulation product
• If you want to install insulation yourself or hire a professional

Should You Install Your Own Insulation?

The question really isn't if you can or cannot install insulation yourself. Many capable homeowners do thorough research and complete DIY home improvement projects regularly.

What you need to know is if installing insulation yourself is a financially responsible decision in your situation. And the truth is that depending on your project, product, budget, and goals, hiring a professional may be a better financial move.

Which Insulation Products Are DIY-Friendly?

To help you decide what you should do in your case, we'll evaluate insulation products and home insulation projects for their DIY-friendliness.

There are 5 types of insulation homeowners commonly try to install themselves.

1. Fiberglass
2. Cellulose
3. Can foam
4. Foam board
5. Spray foam

Let's examine each of these in more detail.

1. Fiberglass Insulation Is Moderately DIY-Friendly.

Fiberglass insulation is often selected as a DIY insulation by homeowners. If fiberglass is used frequently in DIY applications, why would we say it is only moderately DIY-friendly?

Fiberglass has become commonplace, but the difficulties of installing it are not common sense. If you purchase faced fiberglass batt insulation from Lowe's, you may not buy it based on the size of the cavity it will fill at home. If anything, you may have researched the R-value you need and bought fiberglass batts based on the R-value.

R-value is a great start, but fiberglass is not so foolproof to insulate properly when stuffed into a cavity. Fiberglass is a budget insulation option–another reason it is popular as a DIY–but that means that you want to maximize the effectiveness of the fiberglass. For fiberglass to operate at its best, it must fit the cavity it fills snuggly with no gaps. Any gaps or holes make the fiberglass essentially useless.

2. Cellulose Insulation Is Moderately DIY-Friendly.

Cellulose insulation is available for homeowners at Home Depot and Lowe's stores. In theory, cellulose is simple to install. If you want to insulate your attic with cellulose insulation, you can. For a successful DIY, you'll start by buying bags of cellulose and renting a blower machine.

Unfortunately, blown-in insulation like cellulose is more complex to install correctly. To effectively insulate a space, you need to insulate to the appropriate R-value. Unlike batt insulation, which has a consistent R-value printed on its facing, blown-in insulation's R-value changes based on how much insulation is installed. You will have to calculate how many bags of cellulose it will take to reach the necessary R-value.

Blowing cellulose insulation with a rental machine is also a time-consuming process. If you don't mind spending a day or two loading bags of cellulose into the machine, you won't have any issues. Some DIYers may find the time commitment for blown-in insulations frustrating.

3. Can Foam Is DIY-Friendly.

Can foam was made for DIY applications. There are several brands of can foam. The most popular is Great Stuff by DuPont, which has many variations for different applications.

Can foam is easy to use. You will not have to rent any equipment or do any math. The only drawback to can foam is that it is designed for specific purposes. Can foam is useful for small air-sealing projects but cannot be used to insulate a large space.

4. Foam Board Is DIY-Friendly.

Foam board, like can foam, is DIY-friendly for homeowners. While foam board has specific uses and applications, homeowners can easily install it themselves. The most complex aspect of installing a foam board is taking accurate measurements.

5. Spray Foam Insulation Is Not DIY-Friendly.

If you stop by Lowe's or Home Depot, you may find DIY spray foam insulation kits for sale. If such kits exist, how can spray foam not be a DIY-friendly insulation product?

Spray foam insulation is created through a complex chemical reaction. Installers must carefully control the chemical components' ratio, temperature, and pressure to arrive at a safe and effective product. DIY spray foam insulation kits are not designed to control these variables.

DIY spray foam kits also do not include the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep homeowners safe during installation. These kits cannot guarantee a good result and are difficult to control, which can create a mess that is a pain to clean up.

Even purchasing separate equipment to supplement a DIY spray foam kit cannot mitigate all these risks. A complicated insulation that requires additional outside research and purchases is not DIY-friendly.

Which Home Insulation Projects Are DIY-Friendly?

You may already have a home improvement project in mind. Maybe you've done some renovations and have walls to insulate. Or you may have noticed a draftiness around your windows and doors. The following sections will address which projects are DIY-friendly.

Insulating Around Doors And Windows Is DIY-Friendly.

You will use can foam to insulate around your doors or windows. Can foam is easy to use and is designed for small air-sealing applications.

The space around doors and windows is also small. The investment costs for this type of project are low. If something were to go wrong, there would be minimal product to replace.

Insulating Attics Is Moderately DIY-Friendly.

Many homeowners insulate their own attic. Whether they choose fiberglass batts or blown-in insulation, attics have many insulation options.

If you want your attic insulation to be functional, you'll want to air-seal your attic space. DIY attic insulations do not offer air sealing capabilities. You will need to invest in a separate air-sealing product before insulating with DIY insulation.

Insulating Basements Is Not DIY-Friendly.

If you search for basement insulation products, you'll find options available for you to purchase. However, we do not recommend attempting basement insulation on your own. Basements are a key area where flooding and water leakage can occur. If you suffer from a leaky basement, you must address that water leakage before installing insulation.

Since basements are below-grade, we only recommend closed cell spray foam for basement applications.

Closed cell spray foam should only be installed by a professional contractor. Pictured below is closed cell spray foam installed by a contractor to prepare for a finished space.

Insulating Crawl Spaces Is Not DIY-Friendly.

Similarly to basements, crawl spaces can have separate issues that complicate insulation. Your crawl space could have mold or structural issues. You may miss addressing an important issue in your crawl space without a professional consultation.

If your crawl space does not suffer from these other issues, we still don't recommend DIY crawl space insulation. The best and most effective method to insulate a crawl space is to encapsulate it.

There are DIY methods, but the average homeowner may find working in the crawl space uncomfortable. The DIY encapsulation method must also be done perfectly to truly benefit from insulating the crawl space.

Consider The Goal Of Your Insulation

You can install insulation yourself. Plenty of insulation products are available in home improvement stores. Even without researching the insulation you purchase, you could install insulation.

Whether or not you should install insulation depends on the project, the insulation type, and the goal you have for your insulation. Why are you looking to install insulation?

Do you have high energy bills? Do you want to improve your indoor air quality? Are your family members uncomfortable in your house during the summer and winter? If your insulation needs to solve a serious problem, you should contact a professional contractor. While you could install the insulation yourself, you'll receive the best results by working with a professional. You'll also recoup more of your investment through energy savings if you work with a contractor.

If your biggest concern is your insulation budget, you should consider installing the insulation yourself. For specific projects and insulations, DIY installation is possible. To maximize the effectiveness of your DIY insulation, research the methods and products you'll be working with.

The Bottom Line About DIY Insulation

Technically, anyone can install insulation as a DIY. Whether or not you should install your insulation yourself hinges on the product, the project, and the reason for insulating in the first place. Budget insulation products do not offer great performance but can usually be installed by homeowners. Premium insulation products are expensive and should be installed by professionals, but they can deliver excellent results.

Now that you know if you'll try installing insulation yourself, your next step is to:

• Estimate how much your insulation will cost
• Learn about the federal tax credit for insulation upgrades
• Discover if you can save money by installing spray foam yourself