Cold drafts, a hot upstairs or a power bill that keeps climbing? We find where the air gets in and close it.
Air sealing services in San Rafael, CA find where outside air slips into your house, usually through the attic and crawl space, and close those gaps with caulk or foam sealant so the heat you pay for stays inside and any insulation you add can do its job.
Most people call because a room is drafty, the upstairs runs hot, the floors are cold or the power bill keeps going up. In older houses, a lot of that comes from small gaps between your living space and the attic or crawl space. Each one is minor, but together they let outside air in all day long.
The price moves with how many gaps there are, how hard they are to reach, and whether old insulation or a roof leak has to be dealt with first. The schedule turns on that same prep and on whether the job needs a permit. I put your number in writing after I've been in the attic, because I won't price a space I haven't seen.
Air sealing is simple work that's easy to do badly. These are the three places we see it go wrong in lived-in homes, and what we do about each one.
Recessed lights, plumbing vents, wire holes and the attic hatch are where attic leaks usually are, and they get skipped because each one takes hand work. Leave them open and air keeps moving through, so new insulation ends up fighting a draft. We seal each one we can reach.
If the insulation up there is soaked from an old leak or full of rodent droppings, sealing around it and piling more on top just buries the problem. We pull the bad material first with insulation removal, then seal, then insulate. It's an extra step, and it's the one that makes the rest worth paying for.
Where your inside walls meet the attic floor, the top of each wall can leave a gap into the wall below, and it's usually hidden under old insulation. A crew that only seals what it can see misses them. We pull the insulation back, seal along the tops of the walls, then lay it back down.
Here's how a job runs from your first call to the walk-through at the end, and why nothing gets sealed until the space is ready for it.
Call (628) 234-2144, email hello@sanrafaelinsulation.com or use the contact form, and we'll get back to you to set a time. It helps to tell us how you get into the attic, what burns fuel in the house and about any roof leaks.
I come out, go into the attic, crawl space or walls and look for anything that has to be fixed first. Then I write up an estimate that covers that work and the sealing, so you see the whole job before you decide.
If you go ahead, we handle any permit the job needs, prep the space, seal the leaks and insulate if that's part of the plan, in that order.
Before we leave, we walk you through what we did, including which gaps we sealed and which vents we left open on purpose. That way you know what's up there if another trade goes into the attic later.
Before we close a single gap, I check how your furnace, water heater and any fireplace get their air. Anything that burns gas or wood needs air to burn and a clear way to vent, and sealing up a house without checking can starve it. If something's off, you hear about it before we seal anything.
Then we go after the leaks one by one and seal them with caulk or foam sealant, depending on the size of the gap. We leave the eave and roof vents open, because those are meant to breathe. Bury them and the attic stops drying out, and moisture starts showing up in the framing.
Air sealing usually isn't only an attic job. Air also comes up from below, where the house framing sits on the foundation, and we often seal there as part of basement insulation. Where ductwork runs through the attic or a space also has to keep moisture out, closed-cell foam insulation, a dense foam that blocks moisture, can seal and insulate in one pass.
For most attics, sealing the gaps and then adding blown-in insulation, loose fill blown in through a hose, is the better buy. It costs less than foam, and once the leaks are closed, the loose fill does its job.
Spray foam costs more, but it seals air while it insulates. When your ductwork lives in the attic, it's often worth it, since those ducts are carrying air you've already paid to heat or cool.
We reply to every call and message within one business day. Once your form comes in, we set a time, I come out to look at the space, and I write up your estimate. It's free, and there's no obligation to go ahead.
(628) 234-2144In San Rafael, the city's Building Official issues permits for work that alters or repairs a building, but the city's permit list doesn't say one way or the other whether sealing an attic needs one. Work that alters, repairs or replaces a gas, mechanical, electrical or plumbing system does need a permit first, and that can come into play when sealing runs close to a furnace, water heater or flue.
When a job needs a permit, we pull it and set up the inspection. New applications in the city go through its online OpenGov system, which you'll find from the city's Building Division page. If you're not sure whether your job needs one, I'll find out before we start.
We're based in San Rafael and work across Marin and nearby, from Petaluma down to Strawberry and over to Richmond and Berkeley. Most calls here come from older homes with cold rooms, high bills or old insulation the owner doesn't trust, and we get the same calls in San Anselmo and Novato.
I spent my first years in the trade insulating new houses, where the walls are open and nobody lives there yet. In 2023 I started this business to work on lived-in homes around San Rafael, and they taught me that leaks and old problems have to be dealt with first. I'd rather tell you your attic isn't ready than sell you a job that won't help.
I come out myself to look at the job and write the estimate. Our crew does the install, and I'm on site running it. California's contractor board has its own license class for contractors who install insulation. We're licensed and insured. Our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. To start, call (628) 234-2144 or send us a message.
Cold floors over an unfinished basement usually mean the space below needs its own insulation, not just the attic above.
Worth a look when you want one material that stops air, heat and moisture together, and the spot justifies paying more for it.
Each city below has its own page about the homes and jobs we see there. The list isn't every place we work, so if your city isn't on it, call and ask.
There's no set price, because the cost follows how much sealing your house needs and what has to be fixed before we start. Doing it as the first step of new attic insulation usually costs less than two separate jobs, since the crew is already in the attic. I'll give you your number in writing after I've seen the space.
Before any sealing, the attic should be checked for live knob and tube wiring, vermiculite insulation, roof leaks and bath fans that blow into the attic instead of outside. If I find one of these, we talk about fixing it first. If you know of any, or you have a gas fireplace or an unvented kerosene heater, mention it when you book.
Air sealing comes before new insulation, because that's the order that gets you the most energy savings. Once fresh insulation covers the attic floor, the gaps underneath are buried and hard to reach. If you're planning attic insulation, we put the sealing on the schedule as its first step.
Certified home energy auditors find leaks with a blower door, a big fan that pulls air out of the house so the leaks show up, along with an infrared camera that shows warm and cold spots. One certification body has its pros run that test before and after sealing, so it's fair to ask any crew whether they test at both points.
Usually not, when the sealing is done with caulk and sealant. If part of the job uses spray foam, I'll tell you its re-entry time, the point when kids and pets can safely come back in, before we start. To get ready, move boxes away from the attic hatch and clear a path to it.
Our phone line, (628) 234-2144, is open every day from 8 AM to 9 PM, and the form takes a message any time, so you can reach us after work or on a weekend.
