We're Evergreen Seaside Spray Foam Insulation, based in Seaside, and we insulate attics, walls and crawl spaces in Castroville houses. We seal the drafts first so the new insulation can actually keep the house warm.
(831) 204-4546
Castroville sits low, with Tembladero Slough along its southwest edge, and most of the year's rain falls between October and April, with little or none in summer. I keep that in mind in every house here, because an attic or crawl space can stay damp through the wet months, and insulation that's been soaked usually packs down and does very little even after it dries.
So when I'm up a hatch or under a floor in Castroville, I look for batts that got wet, droppings from mice or rats, and eave vents that have been buried so the attic can't breathe. Old material like that comes out before anything new goes in, because covering it leaves the problem right where it was.
Send the form or call (831) 204-4546, and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I come out to your Castroville house, look at the attic, walls or crawl space, and write the estimate myself. There's no obligation to go ahead.
(831) 204-4546In Castroville the work usually starts in the attic or the crawl space. We clear out insulation that's been wet or fouled, seal the gaps, and then add blown-in insulation, which is loose fill blown through a hose. Under the floor, we lay a vapor barrier over damp ground. We spray foam where the ducts run through the attic, add wall insulation to older houses with empty or thin walls, and fix the room over the garage that's always too hot or too cold.
Before we start a job in Castroville, I check with the building office for your address. Homes in unincorporated parts of Monterey County inside the Coastal Zone fall under the county's coastal permit rules. To find out whether the work is exempt, plans go to the county's Planning and Building Inspection Department for review. Where a permit is needed, the review and inspections come before our start date, and we take care of the paperwork and set up the inspections. On your side, ask any contractor for their license from the Contractors State License Board. We're licensed and fully insured.
The price mostly comes down to what's already in the house: how many inches of old insulation are up there, whether it's wet or full of droppings and has to come out first, how many gaps need sealing, and how easy the attic or crawl space is to get into. The schedule depends on the permit answer and on anything that should be fixed before we insulate, like a roof leak or old wiring. I write your estimate myself after I've looked at the space, the same way I do for houses in Watsonville and Salinas.
Air slips in around can lights, pipes and the attic hatch, and insulation laid over those gaps ends up fighting a draft. So we do the air sealing first and close those openings. Then we add the new insulation over a tight ceiling, where it can do its job.
I come out, get into the attic or crawl space, and write the estimate myself, so the person pricing your job is the one who saw it. If something should be fixed before we insulate, I'll tell you why instead of selling you a job that won't hold up.
Our installers do the work. When they're done, I walk through the attic or crawl space with you so you know exactly what we did and why. The work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. When you're ready, call (831) 204-4546 or send the form.
I can't give you an honest number until I've seen the attic, so I write your price on site after I look at what's already up there. The bigger choice is foam or loose fill. Spray foam costs more and seals air while it insulates, but sealing the gaps and topping up with blown-in usually gets you more for the money. The exception is when your ductwork runs through the attic, because then foam earns its cost.
For a blown-in top-up, you can usually stay home. Spray foam is the job where you leave. You, the kids and the pets stay out until the re-entry time, which is the wait the foam maker sets before it's safe to come back in. How long we're up there depends on whether old insulation comes out first and how much sealing there is, and I lay that out in your estimate.
Usually it's air leaking in, along with insulation that's thin where it matters. The room over the garage is the classic case because its floor sits over unheated space. In attics, coverage often ends up deep in the middle and thin at the edges, which is backward. I check how many inches are already there and where the air gets through, so we fix the cause instead of just adding more.
Usually, yes. California requires a state license for anyone altering a house when the job needs a building permit, when the contractor uses employees, or when the contract comes to $1,000 or more in labor and materials, which covers most insulation jobs. A home improvement business also has to be licensed before it gives you a bid.
If your house is in an unincorporated part of Monterey County inside the Coastal Zone, the county's coastal permit rules list maintenance and alterations to an existing single-family house as exempt. Garages and workshops up to a set size that aren't used as living space are exempt too. Some work still needs the permit, such as work on a beach or wetland or close to a coastal bluff edge, and more work needs one on lots between the sea and the first road along it. Being exempt from the coastal permit doesn't change whether you need any other permit.
The state caps the down payment at $1,000 or a percentage of the contract price, whichever is lower, so on a smaller job the limit is under $1,000. Any other payments have to be spelled out in the contract and tied to work already done or materials already delivered. The state license board says these rules apply to all home improvement projects.
