Cold floors and a high power bill usually start under the house. We find what's wrong down there, fix it, then insulate.
Crawl space insulation in San Rafael means adding insulation and sealing air leaks under your house, either against the underside of the floor or on the crawl space's outside walls, so your floors stay warmer and less of the heat you pay for leaks out underneath.
Most calls start with cold floors, a drafty room or a power bill that keeps climbing in an older house. Under the floor, I usually find old batts that have sagged or fallen, gaps around pipes and wires that let crawl space air straight up into the rooms, and sometimes no insulation at all. New insulation only helps once those gaps are closed and anything wet or damaged is dealt with.
The price moves with the size of the crawl space, how much old insulation has to come out, any repairs for water or pests, and which way we insulate, since sealing the crawl space in is more work than insulating under the floor. The schedule turns on the same things, plus how easy it is to get in and whether a permit is needed. Your estimate gives you the figure for your house.
Before anything goes in, I crawl the whole space. These are the things that decide what the job really is, and what has to be fixed before new insulation does any good.
Batts that have dropped onto the dirt, gone wet or have droppings in them come out before anything new goes in. Putting fresh material up against a soaked or dirty layer keeps the problem in place, and it hides it from the next person who looks. If the old stuff is dry and still where it belongs, we leave it.
Every pipe, wire and duct that runs through the floor leaves a gap, and crawl space air comes up through it into your rooms. Air sealing, closing those gaps with caulk or foam before we insulate, keeps the new insulation from fighting a draft. Skipping it is a big reason some jobs don't help much.
Damp dirt, standing water, stained wood and chewed or nested insulation all show up on a good look underneath. Any of them goes on the estimate as something to fix first, because insulation laid over a wet or damaged spot just covers it up. Some repairs are for a plumber or pest company, and I'll say which.
Where the ducts and water pipes run matters, because insulation under the floor leaves them on the cold side of the house. How we get in matters too. A small hatch, low clearance or a crawl space full of stored things adds time, and that shows up in the estimate.
Here's how a crawl space job goes with us, from the first call to the walk-through at the end, so you know who you'll see and what comes when.
Call (628) 234-2144 or send the form on this page with a little about your house. We'll set a time for me to come out and see the crawl space.
I crawl the whole space and check the old insulation, the gaps, the ducts and anything that needs fixing first. Then I write the estimate, with those repairs listed separately so you can see what comes before the insulation.
If you go ahead, we handle any permit the job needs, then prep the space, seal the gaps and put the insulation in, in that order, so nothing new covers a leak we haven't closed.
Before we leave, I walk you through what we did and what we found. I'll also show you what's worth keeping an eye on down there, like any spot that was wet before.
The big choice is insulating under the floor or sealing the crawl space in with the house. For a dry crawl space with nothing much in it, I usually recommend under the floor, because it costs less and does the job. When the ductwork or water pipes run down there, sealing it in usually wins, because then they sit inside the warm part of the house.
Either way, the gaps get closed before any insulation goes in, the same work we do in our air sealing services. If there's a gas appliance down there or water getting in, that gets sorted before we close anything up. I'd rather tell you the crawl space isn't ready than sell you a job that won't help.
Cold floors aren't always the whole story. If the rooms above still feel cold near the outside walls, the walls may be empty too, and wall insulation is a separate job I can look at on the same visit. I'll tell you which one is worth doing first.
Insulation goes against the underside of the floor above the crawl space, and the vents stay open. It usually costs less, and it's the right fit when nothing much lives down there.
The insulation and the air sealing move to the crawl space's outside walls, the vents get closed and the dirt floor gets covered, so the crawl space becomes part of the house you heat and cool.
We reply to every call and message within one business day to set a time. I come to your house, go under the floor and look before I put anything on paper. The estimate is free and comes with no obligation.
(628) 234-2144In San Rafael, the city's Building Official issues permits for work that alters or repairs a building or alters or replaces gas, mechanical or plumbing systems. Whether your crawl space job needs one is something I check with the city before we start, and when it does, we pull the permit and set up the inspection. New applications go through the city's online permit system.
The state Energy Code has energy efficiency requirements for changes to existing homes, not only new ones, so it can apply to an older house getting new insulation. Most of our calls come from owners of older homes around San Rafael, where the crawl space usually holds old batts and a few surprises.
We're based in San Rafael and work in cities across Marin and nearby, from Petaluma down to Strawberry and over to Richmond and Berkeley, including San Anselmo and Novato. If your city isn't named on the site, call and ask.
I spent my first years in the trade insulating new houses, where the walls are open and nobody lives there yet. That taught me how insulation is supposed to go in. I started Comfort San Rafael Insulation Services in 2023 to work on lived-in homes, which taught me the rest, that leaks and problems come first or the new stuff doesn't do much.
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, so the person who saw your crawl space is the one making sure it's done the way the estimate says. We're licensed and insured. Our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
If your floors are cold or you don't trust what's under the house, call (628) 234-2144 or send us the contact form. I'll come out, crawl the space and tell you plainly what it needs, including when the answer is that it isn't worth paying for yet.
When the rooms over the crawl space still feel cold near the outside walls, the walls are the next place your heat gets out.
Closing gaps around pipes, wires and hatches through the rest of the house cuts drafts that insulation alone won't stop.
A plastic ground cover over the crawl space dirt is often part of sealing it in, and it can also go in as its own job.
Each city below has its own page with what we see on jobs there. The list isn't every place we work, just the ones with a page so far.
Insulating a crawl space in the San Francisco area usually costs about $1,900 to $8,700 per job. Where yours lands comes down to what I find underneath and which way we insulate. Your estimate gives the figure for your house.
It can be, but closing the vents by themselves isn't enough and can raise the moisture down there. If a gas furnace or water heater in the crawl space relies on open air to burn, sealing the vents could create a deadly situation, and a sealed house can trap carbon monoxide, radon and chemicals some materials give off. That's why I check before we seal anything.
California's Contractors State License Board, which licenses contractors in the state, says a down payment can be no more than $1,000 or 10 percent of the total contract price, whichever is less. Later payments have to be listed in the contract and match work completed or materials delivered, so check that before you sign with anyone.
Clear out anything stored down there and any loose debris, so a plastic ground cover, if the job has one, can cover the whole floor. Make sure the hatch is easy to reach. If something's too big to move, leave it and we'll work around it.
Usually not when we're putting insulation under the floor, since the crew works under the house. Spray foam is different, because it has a re-entry time, a wait before people and pets come back inside. If your job uses foam, I'll tell you how long before we start so you can plan for the kids and pets.
Most of the time goes into what happens before the insulation, not the insulation itself. A crawl space that's dry, clear and easy to get into goes quickly, while old insulation coming out, repairs or a permit add time. I'll give you the schedule with your estimate, once I've seen the space.
When you call (628) 234-2144 or send the form, tell us your address and about any gas appliance, water or pests down there, so I know what to look at first.
