Insulation questions

It covers the attic floor so the rooms below lose less cool air. In a vented South Florida attic, the tile roof stays outside. The insulation sits on the ceiling.

Yes. Loose-fill is the material. Blown-in is how it is installed, through a hose, across the attic floor.

Fiberglass is the usual top-up when the old fill is fiberglass. Cellulose is denser and used when the attic can take the weight and the old fill matches it. We say which one after we see it.

R-value is resistance to heat flow. R-38 is Cardinal's blown-in standard for these attics. Florida's code floor for the same attics is R-30.

About 14 to 16 inches of blown fiberglass, depending on the product. Depth markers go in so the number can be checked before we leave.

About 11 to 13 inches of blown fiberglass. That is the code minimum, not our standard.

Four inches of settled fiberglass is often around R-9. The air conditioner is then cooling air that leaks out through the ceiling.

Yes. Top plates, wire holes, pipes, and the hatch are sealed first. Blowing over open holes does not stop the leaks.

A chute that keeps the new insulation from blocking the vent at the edge of the roof. The attic still needs that air path.

The hatch is part of the ceiling. A bare plywood lid stays hot. It gets a cover, or a dam and insulation, so it is not a hole in the R-38.

Yes, if they are dry and not matted. They stay and get credited. New blow brings the total to R-38.

When it is wet, moldy on the insulation, or full of rodent droppings and nests. Blowing over that holds the problem against the ceiling.

No. An active stain is a roof leak until a roofer says otherwise. We do not blow over a leak that is still coming in.

No. We stop when the deck is wet from an open leak. The roofer goes first.

Most single-family attics are one day, including the air seal. A contaminated removal is its own day.

Not for a dry blown-in top-up. The work is in the attic. Pets stay out of the attic. For spray foam, people and pets stay out until that product's cure time is done.

No cure smell. Spray foam does, while it cures. That is one reason a vented attic is usually blown-in, not foam.

The hose stays in the attic. We protect the hatch opening. A little dust at the hatch is normal. The rooms are not the work area.

Often yes. East Boca, beach-side Delray, and older CBS houses have closet and garage hatches. If a person cannot fit, we say so before the job is booked as a normal blow.

Older cans that are not rated for insulation get a dam or a cover so the fill does not sit on a hot fixture. We do not bury an open can.

The duct has to leave the attic, not dump into it. A fan blowing into the insulation wets the fill. We point that out. Replacing the fan is a separate trade if the duct is missing.

The short wall at the edge of a bonus room. It is not fixed by blowing the open attic. The wall and the slope behind it are their own job, often foam or a sealed batt.

If it is open to the house attic, yes, it is part of the same blow. A separated garage attic is called out on its own.

The usual job is the attic floor. Open walls are a different price. We do not sell a wall blow as part of an attic top-up.

Foam on the underside of the roof deck, so the attic is inside the house. The ridge vent has to be closed. You do not foam the deck and leave the attic vented.

A bonus room, a conditioned attic, or ducts you are bringing inside. Not a vented attic over a flat ceiling.

About R-3.6 per inch. It stays vapor-open. A 2x6 bay lands near R-20, not R-38.

About R-6.5 per inch. Two inches is about R-13, an air-seal coat, not a full attic.

Only if it is thick enough and the roof is the boundary. Two inches is not R-38. We will not call it that.

Through the cure time on that product's data sheet. People and pets stay out until then. If it still smells after a normal cure, call. We come look.

Yes. Closed-cell on the metal is the usual job so the building stops sweating. It is priced on its own, not as a house attic.

Yes. Offices, warehouses, and flat-roof buildings. The material follows the deck and the use. Call and say what the building is.

No. Dry batts can stay. The new work is blown-in over them. We do not sell a fresh batt job as the usual attic.

A foil facing the roof deck. It is not a substitute for depth on the ceiling. We do not sell foil as R-38.

A thin, leaky attic makes the air conditioner cool air it already paid for. Air sealing plus R-38 is the usual fix. We do not promise a dollar amount. The bill depends on the unit, the ducts, and how the house is used.

No. If the unit or the ducts are the problem, we say so. Insulation does not repair a dead compressor.

They sit in the hot attic. Insulation on the ceiling still helps the rooms. Wrapping or moving the ducts is separate. Foam on the roof deck is how some people bring the ducts inside.

A treatment of the bare deck after a contaminated removal. It is not mold remediation for the rooms below, and it is not a reason to skip the removal.

The soiled insulation comes out. Sealing the holes they used is part of the job when we are already in that attic. Trapping the animals is a separate call if they are still living there.

Soffit gaps, tile ends, plumbing vents, and the fascia. Palm trees and tile roofs are the usual path in Palm Beach County. We seal the attic openings we can reach. We do not promise a house with zero wildlife.

No. Droppings and nesting mean the fill comes out first.

Dusty and dry is a top-up. Dust is not the same as droppings or a wet mat.

No lab. If the insulation is moldy, it comes out. If the stain is on the roof deck, that is a roof conversation.

It holds water and gets heavy. We do not install it where the deck is wet. A later roof leak can ruin either material.

Some, in the first months. The installed depth is set so the settled R-value is still the number we sold. We do not fluff it and call thin coverage R-38.

Depth markers face the hatch. You can see the depth. If it is short, call. We come back.

Yes, of the before, the seal, and the finished depth, when the attic allows a photo. You can have them.

A photo is a planning range. The bid is the number after someone sees the attic. Removal and foam change the price.

A planning range, not a bid. An 1,800 square foot attic with about 4 inches of settled fiberglass, brought to R-38, is about $2,100 to $3,350 in blown fiberglass or $1,750 to $2,650 in cellulose. Removal and foam are separate.

Attic size, how much is already there, hatch access, removal, and whether the roof deck is the job. Two houses on the same street are not the same bid.

Call first. Most attic looks that turn into a job are part of the bid. If you want a written look with no work, ask before we roll. We will say if there is a fee.

It depends on the week. Call (561) 654-7698 for Boca Raton and Delray Beach, or (754) 253-9607 for Jupiter and West Palm Beach. We give a day, not a guess on this page.

Some Saturdays. Ask when you call. Sunday is not the normal install day.

Clear a path to the hatch. Move cars if the truck needs the driveway. Tell us about a pull-down stair that sticks, and about pets.

An adult needs to let us into the attic. You do not have to stand in the attic.

Cardinal Insulation of Boca Raton LLC carries general liability for the work. Ask for the certificate if a property manager needs one. We send it.

A straight attic top-up usually does not. A job that changes the roof assembly or a commercial job may. We say which one it is before we start.

Cardinal Insulation of Boca Raton LLC. The Boca listing is Cardinal Insulation. The Jupiter listing is Cardinal Insulation of Jupiter. Same company.

4263 NW 1st Ave, Boca Raton, FL 33431. Phone (561) 654-7698. Blown-in insulation is the first service.

955 S Congress Ave, Delray Beach, FL 33445. Customers can walk in. The phone is (561) 654-7698, the same number as Boca Raton.

17628 Brian Way, Jupiter, FL 33478. Phone (754) 253-9607. That number is only for the Jupiter listing.

No. West Boca, including 33496, 33498, and 33428, is served from 4263 NW 1st Ave.

No. Parkland is a service area of the Boca Raton shop. There is no Parkland street address.

No. The walk-in for Boynton Beach is 955 S Congress Ave in Delray Beach.

No. West Palm Beach calls go to Cardinal Insulation of Jupiter, (754) 253-9607. There is no West Palm street address.

Not yet. Cardinal is expanding there. There is no address to publish and no listing.

33431, 33432, 33486, 33487, 33434, 33433, 33496, and 33498.

33444, 33445, 33446, 33483, and 33484.

33458, 33477, and 33478. Tequesta is 33469, and it is not the same city as Jupiter.

Yes. Boca West, Boca Grove, St. Andrews, Broken Sound, Woodfield, Bocaire, Royal Palm, and the others on the Boca page. The guard gate needs our names. There is no shop inside any of them.

Yes. Send it the morning of the job. If the guard wants a license, the driver has it.

The tile does not insulate the rooms. The work is still on the ceiling. Tile attics also run hotter, so depth matters more, not less.

Some east-side and commercial roofs are flat. The insulation path is different from a vented gable attic. We look before we price it as a house blow.

Yes, when we are on the job before the ceiling is closed or when the attic is still open. Call before the drywall if you want the seal done easily.

Yes. Summer is when these attics are the hottest and when most of the work happens. The crew starts early.

Some afternoons are. We schedule the blow for the morning in July and August. If it is unsafe, we stop and come back. We do not rush a thin install to get out.

Yes. The blower stays at the truck. The hose goes to the hatch. You do not rent a machine.

Enough for a normal house setback, including West Boca and Jupiter Farms lots. If the hatch is a long walk from the driveway, say so when you call.

Move anything you want to keep to the edge or out of the attic. We do not bury boxes and call that coverage. Decking for storage is a separate conversation, because storage presses the insulation flat.

Not if you want the R-value. Walking paths and a platform can be built up so the fill stays deep beside them. A few loose boards on top of the fill crush it.

The depth marker. It stays in the attic so you, and the next person, can see the inches.

No. A powered fan is not part of the blow. The baffles keep the passive vents open.

No, not on a vented attic. Those vents stay open. Foam on the deck is the job that closes the vents, and only when the attic is meant to be inside.

R-30 meets the code floor. R-38 is more depth. On a 140-degree tile deck, the extra depth is the point. We install R-38 unless the attic cannot hold it.

Most drywall ceilings can. A patched, sagging, or water-stained ceiling gets fiberglass, or the stain gets explained first. We will not load a soft ceiling with the heavier material.

Only if the unit has its own attic and the association allows it. A mid-rise with a shared roof is a building job, not a house blow. The manager has to approve the day.

We fill out what the association asks if you send the form. Gate lists and insurance certificates are normal. A full engineering packet is not.

Call, or use the quote form on this site. Say the city, the attic size if you know it, and whether the old fill is dry. The form goes to the office.

(561) 654-7698.

(561) 654-7698. That is the Delray shop and the Boca shop.

(754) 253-9607.

(754) 253-9607. That rings the Jupiter shop.

Yes. The same numbers take a text. A photo of the hatch is the most useful thing you can send.

Removal, sanitizing, spray foam, roof repair, duct replacement, electrical, and a new hatch. Each of those is priced on its own.

The installed depth is what we stand behind. If the markers show less than we sold, we add material. We do not warranty a roof leak, a rodent chewing a new hole, or an air conditioner.

Wet cellulose can. Dry fiberglass at R-38 on an intact ceiling does not. A ceiling that is already soft gets looked at before we load it.

We stop the blow over that area. Old open wiring is not buried. An electrician has to clear it first.

We do not test it and we do not remove it. If the attic looks like old vermiculite, we stop and tell you to get a test before anyone blows over it.

The office confirms the terms when the job is booked. A completed attic is paid on completion unless the office wrote something else.

Ask when you call. Financing is not automatic, and it is not a reason to skip seeing the attic.

Two houses on the same street can be booked the same day if both attics are ready. Each house is still its own price.

Ask when you call. It does not change the R-38 standard.

If the job is done, we ask for a Google review on the listing that did the work. Boca Raton and Delray Beach are (561) 654-7698. Jupiter is (754) 253-9607. Say the city and the job in your own words.

The same number you booked with. We come look. Do not have another company add material on top until we have seen it.

The wood at the top of the wall, where it meets the ceiling. Gaps there leak air into the attic. Sealing them is the first hour of a blown-in job.

A frame around the opening, taller than the new insulation, so the fill does not fall back into the house when the lid opens.

The stair opening is a large hole in the ceiling. The door gets a cover. We do not leave a bare plywood stair over a hallway and call the attic done.

The fan has to be dammed and the shutter has to close. Blowing loose fill into an open fan dumps it into the house. If the fan is abandoned, say so. Covering it is a different step.

Air from the soffit has pushed the old fill back from the edges. The rooms at the outside walls stay hot. Baffles and new fill put the insulation back out to the plate.

The garage ceiling is often thin or bare, and the attic over it is open to the house attic. That bay is part of the same blow when it is open. A closed bonus room is a different assembly.

The slopes and knee walls are the job, usually foam or a sealed batt, not a loose blow on the flat attic next door. Tell us there is a bonus room when you call.

No open attic. The insulation has to fit in the rafter bay and still leave a vent channel if the roof is vented. That is not a hose-across-the-floor job.

Only if the drywall comes down or there is an access. We do not guess the depth we cannot see.

The shaft through the attic is an uninsulated wall until it is covered. The shaft is part of the attic visit. A leaking skylight is a roof problem first.

Older cans that are not IC-rated do. The cover or dam keeps insulation off the can. Newer IC-rated cans can have insulation against them. We look at the label.

The can is built to touch insulation. If the label does not say IC, we treat it as a fixture that needs space.

An IC-rated LED can stay covered. A hot old can should not. If a light flickers after the job, call. Do not punch a hole in the fill first.

No. Clear the walk to the hatch and the area we have to reach. We are not a moving crew.

A floor nailed down means we cannot blow under it. Boards that lift can come up. A finished attic floor is a different job, and the R-value under it is whatever is already there.

Only where a board comes up or there is an open bay. We will not claim R-38 under a floor we cannot see.

It can contain asbestos. We do not test it and we do not blow over it. You need a test before anyone disturbs it.

Gray or brown tufts, heavier than yellow fiberglass. If it is dry, it can stay and be topped. If you are not sure, send a photo before we book a removal.

No. Dry, dusty fill stays. Removal is for wet fill, mold on the insulation, or rodent mess. It is a separate price.

A vacuum and bags. The material goes out through the hose, not through the living room by the bucket, when the attic allows it.

It is bagged and hauled off. It does not stay in the garage.

Sanitizing is the treatment after a contaminated removal, priced with that job or right after it. A dry top-up does not need it.

No. Attic sanitizing treats the bare attic deck. Mold on room walls is a different contractor.

Yes, with the attic closed off from the rooms. If the fill is heavily contaminated, we will say if a few hours out of the house is the better idea.

The crew in the insulation wears protection. You do not need a mask in the kitchen during a normal blow.

It sits in the attic, not in the air you breathe in the rooms, once the hatch is closed. Do not go up and throw it around.

It can smell faintly of the fire treatment when it is new. It is not the cure smell of spray foam. It fades.

Cellulose is treated so it resists flame. Fiberglass does not burn. Neither one is a fireproof coating for the roof, and neither replaces a smoke alarm.

No. Do not buy an attic job for that reason.

Rodents were usually there first, using the tile and the palms. New fill does not invite them. Open holes do. We seal the attic openings we can reach when that is part of the job.

If they are still living in the attic, yes. We can remove the soiled fill and seal holes. We do not set traps as the main service.

Closing the attic paths we can see: soffit gaps, pipe holes, and the fascia openings that are in reach. It is not a guarantee that no animal ever returns.

Rats use them as a bridge to the roof. Cutting the fronds off the tile is a tree question. The attic seal is ours.

No. Tile work is a roofer. We work under it.

The vent at the peak. On a vented attic it stays open. On a foamed hot roof it has to be closed, or the foam job is wrong.

A vent in the end wall. It stays on a vented attic. It is not an excuse to skip baffles at the soffit.

No. Blown-in on the floor keeps the attic vented.

That mixes two designs. The deck is trying to be inside the house while the vents keep it outside. We do not do that.

About R-13 if it is closed-cell. That is an air seal, not an R-38 attic. Anyone calling two inches R-38 is wrong.

If a thin foam coat is already on the ceiling plane and it is dry, blown-in can bring the depth up. Foam on the roof deck is a different roof. We do not blow the floor and foam the deck on the same vented attic.

Call and describe it. We will not add a second system on top of a broken one until someone looks.

Closed-cell can split if it was sprayed too thick in one pass or the building moves. That is a look, not a guess from the driveway.

An ignition barrier or a thermal barrier is a code question when the foam is exposed in a used space. A vented attic with foam only on a small area is different. We say what the attic actually needs.

People and pets leave until the cure time on that product is over. A blown-in day does not require that.

The chemical and the surface have a range on the data sheet. A cold truck or a wet deck can mean we wait. We do not spray it anyway.

No. It stays vapor-open. Closed-cell, thick enough, is the one that acts as a vapor retarder.

Closed-cell on the metal, so the building stops sweating. Open-cell on bare metal is the wrong tool.

Ask before you book it. Condensation on steel is the problem. It is not priced as a house attic.

Not as part of the attic blow. A garage door kit is a different product. The attic over the garage is the job we do when that attic is open.

Only if that is written on the bid. The default job is the house attic.

We do not sell a formal audit. We look at the attic, the hatch, and whether the fill is dry. A blower-door test is a different company if you want that number.

Attic insulation is not the wind-mit form. Those credits are about the roof, the openings, and the clips. Do not book insulation to get an insurance discount.

We do not promise that. Ask your agent what they actually credit. Most of those forms are about the roof and the windows.

For these vented residential attics the code floor is R-30. Cardinal installs R-38 unless the attic cannot hold the depth.

We can. We will say if you are asking for the minimum instead of R-38. The price follows the depth.

The crew, before they leave, against the markers. You can check the same markers later.

They face the hatch. If a baffle or a duct hides one, another one goes where you can see it.

Stay on the joists. Do not walk on the drywall, and do not stomp the new fill flat. If you only needed to see the depth, look from the hatch.

A ruler through the hatch, in a few spots, not just the fluffy pile by the opening. Four inches of yellow fiberglass is about R-9, not R-30.

Often no. Crews and homeowners pile it at the opening. The thin spots are at the edges and under the ducts. We look at those.

A fiberglass batt that has slumped in the bay. The label R-value is gone. The thickness you can measure is what you have.

Fluffing does not restore the R-value. If they are dry, we blow over them to a real depth. If they are wet, they come out.

In these vented Florida attics the kraft paper is not the air seal we rely on. We seal the wood. We do not flip every old batt for the sake of the paper.

Not a plastic sheet on a vented attic floor. That can trap moisture against the ceiling. The air seal is foam or caulk at the holes, then the blow.

Usually a roof leak, a bath fan dumping into the attic, or an air conditioner line. Insulation did not create the water. Find the water before anyone blows over it.

Not over an active leak. If the stain is old, dry, and the roof is confirmed fixed, the wet fill in that bay still comes out.

No. We work in the attic. Paint and drywall are another trade.

A hole, a missing board, or a soft patch can let it through. We cover open holes before we blow. A ceiling that is already failing gets called out.

A small attic hatch, often in a closet. Same job as a pull-down stair, with less room to pass the hose.

It slows the seal and the blow. Tell us. Some closets have to be emptied. If a person cannot fit, we say so before the day is booked.

Not as a surprise. If the attic has no safe access, we talk about a hatch location with you first. Cutting a ceiling is not included in a standard blow.

The truck and the blower stay in the driveway or on the street if the city allows. A tight downtown lot in east Boca still works if the hose can reach. Say if there is no driveway.

The blower is usually on the truck. We will say if a job needs an outlet. Do not run a household vacuum as the insulation machine.

The blower at the truck is the noise. It is a work day, not a silent one. Neighbors on a zero-lot line will hear it.

It can, if the sensor is at the hatch. Set the alarm so we can open that door, or have someone there who knows the code.

A dry attic can still be blown in a shower. We do not open a hatch over a soaking entry, and we do not blow wet material. Lightning stops the day.

The new fill does not leak. If the ceiling stains after a storm, the roof leaked. Call the roofer, then call us if the new material got wet.

Sometimes for a look, rarely for a full blow. The calendar is the calendar. Call and ask for the next open day.

Yes. Tequesta is 33469. The shop is still 17628 Brian Way, and the phone is (754) 253-9607. It is not a second Jupiter address.

Yes, as a service area from the Jupiter shop. There is no Palm Beach Gardens street address on this site.

Yes, as a service area. There is no Wellington shop. Ask which crew is closer when you call.

Yes. There is no Deerfield street address. The Boca shop is 4263 NW 1st Ave, (561) 654-7698.

Yes, from the Boca Raton shop. There is no Coral Springs address.

Some jobs, from the Boca shop. Call and say the ZIP. There is no Fort Lauderdale listing.

Yes. The homepage is 4263 NW 1st Ave, Boca Raton, FL 33431, (561) 654-7698. Delray Beach and Jupiter have their own pages.

Customers can walk in at Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and Jupiter. The other cities are service areas. They are not extra street addresses.

The shop that did the job. Boca Raton and Delray Beach share a phone today, so say the city in the review. Jupiter reviews belong on the Jupiter listing.

Send it. If their number is a thinner depth, a missing air seal, or a top-up over wet fill, we will not match it. The bid is for the attic we saw.

Less depth, no air seal, no hatch cover, or blowing over material that should have come out. Ask them what R-value is on the paper and whether removal is included.

Yes. The seal, the baffles, the blow to R-38, and the hatch are the job. Removal, foam, and sanitizing are not hiding inside that number.

The address, the product, the target R-value, and whether removal or foam was included. If it only says insulation, ask before you pay.

Empty bags do not stay in the attic. You can see a label if you want the product name. The trash goes with the truck.

Yes. Ask the crew that day.

Fiberglass or cellulose, chosen for that attic. We do not switch to whatever is left on the truck and call it the same job.

Past R-38 the next inches buy less. We stop at R-38 unless you ask for more and the ceiling can hold it.

Sometimes, if the attic has room and the ceiling is sound. It is more material and more money. Ask before the day of the job.

The bag label that says how many bags make a given R-value over a given area. The crew uses it. Bag count plus depth is the check, not bag count alone.

No. We guarantee the depth we installed. The bill also depends on the air conditioner, the ducts, the windows, and the thermostat.

Any setting you actually live with. A leaky attic costs more at 74 than at 78. We still do not promise a dollar cut.

Yes, if you want. The work is above the ceiling. Close the hatch room door if dust bothers you.

No. If one sits in the hatch opening, tell us before we open it.

The crew that arrives is Cardinal's job, under Cardinal Insulation of Boca Raton LLC. Ask for the certificate of insurance if the building requires one.

The office books it and the crew that shows up does the attic we bid. If a helper is on the truck, the bid does not change.

Only if the seal is done before we arrive and we can see it. If the holes are still open, we seal them. We do not blow over open top plates to save a step.

Text it to the number you were given. Hatch, a wide shot of the fill, and any stain. (561) 654-7698 for Boca Raton and Delray Beach. (754) 253-9607 for Jupiter and West Palm Beach.

The living area under that roof is close enough for a range. The bid uses the measured attic, not the guess.

Often the attic is only over the second floor, so the square footage is smaller than the whole house. Say it is two stories when you call.

No. Shared walls, a small hatch, and an association rule change the day. Send the ZIP and say it is a townhouse.

If there is a safe stair or a hatch we can reach without a special lift. A stairwell that needs scaffolding is quoted before we come.

What R-value, whether the air seal and hatch are included, whether dry fill stays, and what removal costs if the fill is wet. Those four answers tell you if the numbers match.