Insulation Contractors Hamilton

What Separates One Contractor From Another

Almost anyone can spray foam. What differs is what happens before and after. A contractor worth hiring inspects the building rather than quoting from a square-footage figure over the phone, writes down the product, the installed thickness and the exact areas covered, and says plainly where the work will not help. A quote reading "insulate attic" with a number beside it contains nothing anyone can be held to afterwards.

Century Homes and Post-War Stock

Hamilton's housing splits roughly into brick century homes below and around the escarpment and post-war builds on the mountain. The century stock typically has little or nothing in the walls, a thin settled attic and a stone or rubble foundation. The post-war stock usually has insulation present but no air sealing at all. The right first move is genuinely different between the two, which is why we look before quoting.

Open Cell and Closed Cell Are Not Interchangeable

Open cell is lighter and softer, fills a cavity completely and air seals as it expands, which suits interior walls and most attic roof lines. Closed cell is dense and rigid, higher R-value per inch, adds stiffness and acts as a vapour retarder at thickness, which earns its place in shallow cavities, on exposed assemblies and on metal buildings. A contractor who only ever specifies one is specifying what they carry.

Four Questions Worth Asking Before You Sign

Which product, and at what installed thickness. Whether the existing insulation is being removed or covered, and why. Who physically does the work, the company's own crew or a subcontractor. What happens to the attic ventilation once a roof line is sealed. Straight answers to those four tell you how a company operates; deflection tells you something too.