Evergreen Seaside Spray Foam Insulation is an insulation contractor in Seaside, CA, and we come up the coast to seal and insulate attics, walls and crawl spaces in Rio del Mar. Homeowners, landlords and property managers call us when a house feels drafty, smells damp or stays cold underfoot.
(831) 204-4546
Most of the houses we work on in Rio del Mar sit close to the water, from the streets near Rio del Mar State Beach up onto the bluffs, and the damp air off the bay gets into everything. Winters here are mild, so people usually aren't calling about a freezing house. They call about drafty rooms, cold floors over the crawl space, a musty smell under the house, or the room over the garage that never feels right.
When I crawl through an attic or under a floor here, I'm looking for insulation that's gone flat or soaked, gaps around pipes and the attic hatch, and vents along the eaves that whoever came before us buried. Those get fixed first, because fresh insulation laid over a damp or leaky space just hides the problem until it shows up again in the framing.
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 Rio del Mar house myself, look at the attic and the crawl space, and write the estimate from what I find. The estimate is free and comes with no obligation.
(831) 204-4546Most Rio del Mar jobs start with air sealing, which means closing the gaps in the attic floor before anything else goes in. Then we top up with blown-in insulation, loose fill blown through a hose, to an even depth right out to the edges. Under the house, we pull out insulation that has fallen or gotten wet and put down a crawl space vapor barrier against ground moisture. Where damp air is the main problem, or ducts run through a tight space, closed-cell foam insulation, a dense foam that blocks moisture, is often the better fit. Every service we offer is listed below.
Rio del Mar is served by the County of Santa Cruz rather than a city, so the county's building office decides whether your insulation job needs a permit, and when it does, our start date waits on the county. Before we start, I check with the county for your address, and where a permit is needed we take care of the paperwork and set up the inspections. You can check the contractor yourself, because California requires a license from the Contractors State License Board for any job that needs a building permit, has workers besides the contractor, or comes to $1,000 or more in labor and materials, up from $500 not long ago. The price moves with how much insulation is already up there and what shape it's in, how many gaps need sealing, whether old material has to come out, and whether foam or loose fill suits the space. The schedule turns on those same things plus the county's answer on the permit, and I write the estimate myself once I've seen the space.
The county puts the whole area in a warm marine climate class with almost no freeze and thaw, which sounds easy on a house. It also rates the county a very heavy termite damage region, so I look hard at the sills and framing before we cover any wood. We come up Highway 1 from Seaside for these jobs and do the same work in Aptos, where the houses take the same damp air off the bay.
I come out to your house myself, get into the attic and under the floor, and check how many inches are already up there and whether any of it is wet or full of droppings. Then I write the estimate, so the price matches what's really there.
We close the gaps around can lights, pipes and the attic hatch first, because insulation can't stop a draft blowing through it. We keep the eave vents clear so the attic can breathe, and we lay the fill full depth out to the edges, not just in the middle.
If there's a roof leak or old wiring in the attic, I'll tell you to deal with it before we insulate, even if that means a smaller job for us or none yet. Insulation laid over a problem only hides it, and you'd end up paying twice.
We're licensed and fully insured, and our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. Our installers do the work, then I walk through it with you so you know exactly what we did and why. Call (831) 204-4546 to set up a visit.
The cost comes from what's in your attic now, so I can't give you a fair number until I've been up there. Spray foam costs more and seals air while it insulates, but in most attics, sealing the gaps and topping up with loose fill gets you more for the money. Foam usually wins when your ductwork runs through the attic, and I'll explain both options on site if both make sense.
Yes, for some one-trade jobs that don't change any walls, the county offers EZ Permits you can apply for, pay for and print online through its permit center. Its examples are minor electrical, plumbing or mechanical work, water heaters, windows, siding and some re-roofing. Projects that need plan review, a county check of the project plans, go through its ePlan portal instead. Insulation isn't on that example list, so don't assume either way, and before we start, we check with the county about your address.
Work here falls under the California Building Standards Code, called Title 24, which includes the state's energy rules for insulation. The state splits Santa Cruz County between Climate Zone 3 and Climate Zone 4, and the minimum energy requirements change depending on which zone a house is in. Anyone applying for a permit has to use the exact details for that site, so we go by your address, not a guess for the whole county.
Most of the time goes to prep, not to the new insulation, so an attic that needs old material pulled out and a lot of gaps sealed takes the longest. A clean, dry attic that only needs a top-up of loose fill is the quick case. I'll tell you which one you have once I've been up there.
For spray foam, yes, you, the kids and the pets stay out until the re-entry time has passed, the point the foam maker sets for when it's safe to come back inside. With blown-in loose fill, you can usually stay home and just keep everyone out of the attic and away from the work. Ask me about it at the estimate and I'll explain what it means for your family.
Usually it's air coming through gaps under the house, combined with crawl space insulation that has fallen down or gone damp. The damp air off the bay makes old insulation sag and hold water, and new material laid over it just traps the problem. We pull out the wet insulation, seal the gaps and put new insulation back up against the floor.
