J&L Rochester Insulation Company is an insulation contractor based in Rochester, MN. We seal the air leaks in attics, walls, crawl spaces and basements, then add insulation, going after the cause of drafty rooms and climbing heating bills.
Most Rochester calls start with a cold room or a heating bill that keeps climbing. The house behind the call might be an older place near downtown whose attic has been topped up by a few owners and sealed by none. It might be a ranch or split-level with a room over the garage that never warms up, or a newer build on the edge of town where the insulation is fine and the gaps around it aren't. We do the same work in Byron and other cities around here, but Rochester has houses of every age, so I don't guess at an attic until I've had my head in it.
The Sept. 2 storms gave some attics a new problem, since the city says high winds brought down trees and limbs all over Rochester, and a roof that took a hit can leak into insulation nobody looks at. We pull wet or dirty fill out before anything new goes on, so in a lived-in house here the job usually starts with finding what's hiding up there.
For rim joists, rooms over the garage and odd framing where loose fill won't stay put. Foam seals and insulates in one pass.
Explore serviceThe job we do most in Rochester. We check what's up there, seal the ceiling, keep the eave vents open and bring the depth up evenly, edges included.
Explore serviceBlown-in is loose fill blown through a hose across the attic floor. It's usually the right top-up for an older attic once the leaks under it are closed.
Explore serviceWhen the whole house feels drafty, I walk it top to bottom. You'll hear where insulation will help and where it won't.
Explore serviceOld fill that's soaked from a roof leak or full of droppings comes out first, because burying it just keeps the problem.
Explore serviceCold floors over a crawl space usually mean bare rim joists and open air. We insulate the walls and seal the rim so the floor above holds its heat.
Explore servicePlenty of older houses here have walls with little or nothing inside. We fill them through small holes and patch them, so the plaster stays put.
Explore serviceAir sealing means closing the gaps around pipes, wires, chimneys and can lights before insulating, because insulation sitting in a draft doesn't do much.
Explore serviceWe insulate basement walls and the rim joist, so a finished basement or one you plan to finish stays warmer.
Explore serviceClosed-cell foam is dense foam that also blocks moisture. We use it on rim joists, basement walls and other spots where damp is part of the problem.
Explore serviceA lighter, softer foam for walls and rooflines that need air sealed and space filled, where moisture isn't the worry.
Explore serviceOffices, shops and small commercial buildings around Rochester. We find the leaks before anything gets added, same as at a house.
Explore serviceA heavy sheet over the crawl space dirt, sealed at the seams and walls, to keep ground moisture out of the framing.
Explore servicePlaced on the warm side of walls and ceilings, so a Minnesota winter doesn't push damp house air into the insulation.
Explore serviceWhat we're best known for. We find where warm air gets into the attic, the usual start of an ice dam, and close it before any insulation goes on.
Explore serviceAdding insulation to a house people already live in, which is the work this business was started for. We work around your things and leave the place clean.
Explore serviceBuilding permits for houses here come from the City of Rochester, and its building safety staff answer questions about whether a project needs one. When a job does need one, work waits until the permit is approved, paid and issued, and inspections follow, so a permit adds time at the front. I check with the office that covers your address before we start, and if our part of the job needs a permit, we take care of it. If you're checking out contractors, Rochester has no general business license and only licenses certain trades, like heating and cooling, sewer and drain, and tree care, so the license to ask about is the state one. A contractor who signs with you for more than one special skill on a one-to-four-unit home needs a state residential building contractor or remodeler license, while one doing a single skill doesn't, unless it's roofing. We're licensed and insured.
What moves the price is what's already up there and what has to happen before new material goes on, such as old insulation that has to come out, how many gaps need sealing, how big the attic is and how hard it is to get into, and whether foam or loose fill makes sense. The schedule turns on the permit question and on what shows up once the attic is open, and I'll walk you through both when I'm out for the estimate. Since we're based in Rochester the drive is short, and we head out to Stewartville and Kasson for the same work.
Send the form or call (507) 512-1787, and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I come out myself, look at the attic and anything else that's bothering you, and tell you what it needs and what it'll take. The estimate is free, with no pressure and no obligation.
(507) 512-1787The city's permit list doesn't settle that for insulation, which is why we check before we start instead of guessing. What it does name is re-roofing, re-siding and window replacement on single-family homes, two-family homes and townhouses, which all need a building permit and inspections. If you're insulating while the roof or siding is off, that roofing or siding work needs one.
No, wiring, heating and plumbing work each need their own permit beyond the building permit. On an attic job that comes up when old wiring or a light fixture has to be dealt with before we insulate around it, and that's an electrician's work, not ours.
Usually not, unless your ductwork runs through the attic. Foam costs more and seals air while it insulates, but sealing the gaps and topping up with blown-in gets most attics where they need to be for less. When the ducts live up there, foam on the roofline brings them into the warm side of the house, and I'll tell you at the estimate which kind of attic you have.
With blown-in, usually yes, since the work happens in the attic and through the hatch. Spray foam is different, because everyone, kids and pets included, stays out for the re-entry time, the wait the foam maker sets before you come back inside. We give you that wait before the job is booked so you can plan around it.
We're based in Rochester and work in Byron, Stewartville, Kasson and other cities around it. The houses change from one city to the next, and the first step doesn't, which is looking in the attic.
Call (507) 512-1787 or send the form, since our install crew does the work with me on site checking the parts that get covered up, with satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
If the upstairs runs cold or the eaves grow icicles, tell us what you're seeing and we'll come have a look.
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