North Charleston has its own city government and a real mix of houses, from older homes built before anyone paid much attention to the attic to newer subdivisions, with rentals and commercial buildings in between. We're an insulation contractor based in Summerville, SC, and we do the same attic insulation and crawl space work here that we do up the road in Ladson and over in Hanahan.
Most calls here start the same way, with a hot upstairs, a drafty room over the garage, cold floors or a power bill that keeps climbing. In the older houses we often find a thin, settled layer laid over gaps nobody sealed, and in a humid summer that attic can hold moisture if the eave vents got buried. That's why we look at what's already there, clear out what's bad and seal the gaps before we add a single inch.
What moves the price and the schedule
The price comes down to how big the space is, how easy it is to reach, how old the house is and how many inches are already up there. Old insulation that's soaked or full of droppings has to come out first, and that adds to the job. Foam costs more than blown-in, which is loose fill blown through a hose. The schedule turns on the same things, plus how much air sealing the attic needs, meaning closing the gaps around can lights, pipes and the hatch. At the estimate I look at the space, tell you what I'd do first and put it in writing, so you have your own figure.
Getting your attic or crawl space ready
Most of the work happens through the attic hatch or the crawl space door, so the main thing we need is a clear path to it. If the hatch is in a closet, pull the clothes out, and move boxes stored on the attic floor, because we can't insulate under them. For a crawl space, clear anything stacked near the access. Tell me about pets and anyone sensitive to dust when you call, since that changes how we set up. If the room over the garage is always hot, show me that too, because it often needs a different fix than the main attic.
State licensing for work on your house
In South Carolina, the Residential Builders Commission licenses or registers residential builders and residential specialty contractors. Its residential builder definition covers building, repairing or improving houses up to three floors and apartment buildings of no more than sixteen units, and it applies when a job costs more than $5,000. It also covers anyone who supervises or offers to do that work. We're licensed and fully insured. Our installers do the work, and I check every job over myself before we call it done.