Hot rooms upstairs or a power bill that climbs every summer? We check your attic, fix what comes first, seal it and top it up.
Attic insulation in Las Cruces slows the heat that comes through your ceilings, so the rooms below hold their temperature better. On most houses we do it by sealing the gaps in the attic floor first and then blowing loose fill over them.
Most people call because a bedroom upstairs or the room over the garage won't cool down, or because the summer power bill keeps going up. Often nobody has looked in the attic for years, so nobody knows what's up there, how deep it is or whether the roof has been leaking onto it.
The price moves with what I find. How many inches are already up there, how old the house is, whether old material has to come out, how much sealing the ceiling needs and how easy the attic is to get into all change it. The schedule turns on any repairs that have to come first and on whether the job needs a permit. Your written estimate lays it out step by step.
New insulation only works if the attic under it is sound and sealed. These are the things I look for on the estimate visit, because each one changes the job.
A leaky roof, moldy or rotted rafters, an attic with little or no ventilation and old knob and tube wiring all get fixed before insulation goes in. Covering them up hides the problem and wastes the insulation, so I'll write the repair into the estimate or tell you the attic isn't ready yet.
If what's up there was soaked by a leak or is full of droppings, putting fresh material over it just keeps the problem in your ceiling. That material comes out first, and we look at the ceiling under it before anything new goes down.
Insulation stays clear of can lights, the recessed lights in your ceiling, unless they're rated IC, short for insulated ceiling, and we seal the gaps around them. We keep the eave vents open too, because a buried vent stops the attic from breathing and moisture starts showing up in the framing.
Here's how the job runs from your first call to the last look in the attic, and who you'll deal with at each step.
Call (575) 222-9021 or send a request through the form. Tell us what you're noticing, like a hot room upstairs or a high bill, and we'll set a time for me to come out.
I come out myself, go up in the attic and write down what I see, including the depth, the material and anything that needs repair first. You get a written estimate that lays out each step in order.
If the job needs a permit, we take care of it before we start. Then our crew makes any repairs we agreed on, seals the attic floor and adds insulation to the level in your estimate.
When the insulation is in, I go over the finished work myself, from the edges to the hatch, before we pack up. Then I'll walk you through what went in and how deep it is.
I start by checking what's up there now, how deep it is, what it's made of and whether anything needs repair. That order matters to me, because insulation over a leak, bad wiring or gaps nobody sealed is money thrown away. If your attic isn't ready, I'll say so and tell you what has to happen first.
Then we seal the attic floor. That's air sealing, closing the gaps around lights, pipes, wires and the hatch so the new insulation isn't fighting a draft. After that we add insulation to the level we agreed on, usually as blown-in insulation, loose fill blown through a hose. We keep it full depth out to the edges, where it usually runs thin, without burying the vents.
If the hot rooms and drafts aren't only upstairs, the attic may be one piece of a bigger fix. Walls, floors over the crawl space and the room over the garage all play a part, and our home insulation work looks at the whole house so you aren't paying to fix one spot while another keeps letting heat in.
For most attics, this is what I recommend. We seal the gaps in the attic floor and blow loose fill over a sound old layer, which usually gets you the most for the money.
Foam costs more, but it seals air while it insulates. If your ductwork runs through the attic, that can tip the decision toward foam, and I'll go over both options on the estimate.
We reply within one business day to set a time. I come out myself for a free on-site estimate, look over your attic and write out each step of the job. There's no obligation to go ahead.
(575) 222-9021The City of Las Cruces takes residential permit applications through its Citizen Portal, and state code calls for a permit before a building is altered or improved unless the work falls under a stated exemption. That doesn't settle whether attic insulation on its own needs one, so I don't assume. Before work starts, I check with the office that covers your address, and if a permit is needed, we apply, set up the inspections and keep you posted.
On older Las Cruces houses we usually find a few inches of insulation that has settled over the years or been pulled back where someone did a repair, with open gaps around lights and pipes under it. We're based in Las Cruces and do the same attic work across the cities around it, including Chaparral and Anthony.
I learned this trade under an old-school boss who made me tear out and redo anything that wasn't right, and I started this business in 2023 after years on his crews. I still do every estimate visit myself. Our crew does the work, and I run each job and check it before we leave, so the person who looked in your attic signs off on it.
New Mexico's contractor licensing has a classification that covers installing any insulating material in a building for energy savings and temperature control, which is the work you're hiring for. We're licensed and insured. The work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee, and if something in the attic isn't right yet, I'd rather tell you than cover it up.
If your upstairs runs hot, the bill keeps climbing or nobody's been in the attic in years, that's the call to make. Phone (575) 222-9021 or send us a request, and I'll come look at what's up there before anyone talks about a price.
Loose fill is how most attic top-ups go in, and this page explains the material and how it settles into tight spots around joists and wires.
When drafts and hot rooms go past the attic, this covers the walls, floors and crawl space as one job.
We're based in Las Cruces and work across the cities around it, including Chaparral and Anthony, NM and Canutillo, TX. Wherever you are, I come out for the estimate and our crew does the work.
If your attic is empty, ENERGY STAR recommends R49, and if it already has 3 to 4 inches, R38, because Las Cruces sits in climate zone 3. R-value is how well insulation slows heat. The state energy code sets R-38 as its ceiling minimum for this zone, though whether an existing attic has to reach it isn't settled, so I measure what you have first.
Usually, yes. Blowing loose fill such as fiberglass, rock wool or cellulose usually costs less than laying batts and gives better coverage, because it fills in around joists, wires and odd corners. Installation costs still vary from attic to attic, so loose fill is the usual first quote to ask for, with batts as the comparison.
Your price comes from a written estimate after I've been up in your attic, because every attic is different. What moves it most is how much is there now, whether old material has to come out, what needs repair first, how many gaps need sealing, how hard the attic is to reach and whether you go with loose fill or foam.
Leave it alone until an approved lab tests it. Vermiculite is a pea-size, flaky gray mineral that may contain asbestos, and the local health department can give you the name of an approved lab. We won't disturb it or put new insulation over it until you know what it is.
El Paso Electric is listed in a rebate database as offering incentives to residential customers in its New Mexico service territory, including for insulation. Amounts vary with the type and size of the job and how efficient the house is before and after. Some rebates require a qualified contractor, so ask whether your installer qualifies before work starts.
Clear a path to the attic hatch and move boxes off the attic floor, so the crew can reach every edge and seal around it. Tell me at the estimate how the attic is reached, because a tight hatch or a low roof changes how we set up and work.
We can schedule the work once the attic is ready for it. If the estimate turns up repairs that have to come first, those set the start date, and so does a permit if the job needs one. I'll tell you plainly if your attic isn't ready yet.
Call (575) 222-9021 or use the form, and have the rough depth of what's up there, any recessed lights or vermiculite you've noticed and your El Paso Electric account ready so one visit covers it all.
