J&L Rochester Insulation Company insulates and air seals homes in Stewartville, MN, from attics and walls to basements and crawl spaces, finding where the warm air gets out and closing it up before more insulation goes on.
Stewartville is a family town about 8 miles south of Rochester, where we're based, so it's an easy drive for me to come out and look. Most calls we get here come from families living in the house while the work happens. It might be a kid's room over the garage that never warms up, an upstairs that bakes all summer, or a heating bill that keeps creeping up.
That shapes the job, because a lived-in attic usually holds years of storage, wiring and sometimes a visitor or two. So I look at what's already up there before anything new goes on, and the crew works around the people who live there.
Foam seals and insulates in one pass, so it earns its higher cost where ductwork runs through the attic or the rim joist leaks.
Explore serviceWe find where warm air gets out of the attic and close it up, then add insulation with the edges as deep as the middle.
Explore serviceBlown-in insulation is loose fill blown through a hose, and it tops up an attic floor quickly and reaches the corners batts miss.
Explore serviceWhen the whole house runs cold or drafty, I look at the attic, walls and basement together and start where the most heat gets out.
Explore serviceInsulation that's soaked, flattened or full of droppings comes out before anything new goes in, so the problem doesn't get buried.
Explore serviceCold floors over a crawl space usually mean bare walls and rim down there, so we insulate those and seal the gaps.
Explore serviceWalls with little or nothing inside can be filled through small holes we patch afterward, so the drywall stays where it is.
Explore serviceAir sealing means closing the gaps before insulating, and we go after the leaks around pipes, wires and can lights that let heat slip out.
Explore serviceBasement walls and the rim joist above them lose more heat than most people expect, and insulating them makes a finished basement easier to keep warm.
Explore serviceClosed-cell foam is the dense kind that blocks moisture, so it fits rim joists, basement walls and other spots where damp is part of the problem.
Explore serviceOpen-cell foam is lighter and softer, and it fills odd cavities like the sloped ceiling in a room over the garage for less than closed-cell.
Explore serviceWe also insulate shops, offices and small commercial buildings, sealing the leaks first the same way we do in houses.
Explore serviceA sealed sheet over a dirt crawl space floor keeps ground moisture out of the space and the framing above it.
Explore serviceWe put a vapor barrier in when the job calls for one, so moisture from inside the house doesn't end up in the walls or attic.
Explore serviceThis is what we're known for, closing the gaps around the hatch, can lights and pipes before more insulation goes on top.
Explore serviceRetrofit work adds insulation to a finished house people live in, working around what's there instead of opening everything up.
Explore serviceBuilding permits in Stewartville come from the Olmsted County Planning Department, but the county won't issue one until you have a zoning certificate from the city. That's two stops instead of one, so a job that needs a permit takes a little longer to get going, and the permit has to be in hand before work starts or the fees can double. We check with the office that covers your address before anything starts, and if our part of the job needs a permit, we take care of it.
The price mostly comes down to what's already up there and what has to happen before new insulation goes on: how many inches you have, whether any of it has to come out, how many gaps need sealing, how easy the attic is to reach and whether foam makes more sense than loose fill. The schedule depends on the permit step, if there is one, and on how much has to come out first, and I'll give you your own number at the estimate. It's a short drive down from Rochester, and it's the same work we do in Kasson and Byron.
Send the form or call (507) 512-1787, and we'll reply within one business day. I come out for the estimate myself, look at the attic and whatever else is bothering you, and tell you what it needs, with no obligation to go ahead. If you do, our install crew does the work, and I'm on the job to check the parts that get covered up.
(507) 512-1787It depends on the work. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry licenses residential contractors who work directly for the homeowner in more than one special skill, while a contractor who does only one skill doesn't need that license and falls under the department's registration program instead. We're licensed and insured.
Usually yes, if what's up there is dry and clean. Insulation that's been soaked or is full of droppings comes out first because burying it keeps the problem, and the new layer goes as deep at the edges as in the middle without covering the eave vents the attic breathes through.
Usually not for blown-in work, because the crew stays up in the attic and you can go about your day. Spray foam is different, and I'll go over the re-entry time, which is when you, the kids and the pets can come back inside, at the estimate so you can plan around it.
We're based in Rochester, and besides Stewartville we work in Byron, Kasson and other cities around it.
We're open until 11 PM on weekdays and from 6 AM on weekends, so you can call (507) 512-1787 when you're home and can see the problem, or use the form any time.
If something in your attic has you wondering, send us a note and we'll talk it through.
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