Insulation contractor for southern New Hampshire homes
Attic, wall, basement and rim-joist insulation with blower-door directed air sealing. Done by our own BPI-certified crew and mostly paid for by NHSaves.
Attic insulation and air sealing
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The attic is where a New Hampshire house loses the most heat. We seal every gap in the attic floor first, then blow cellulose to R-38 or more with baffles at the eaves.
- Blower-door tested before and after so the air sealing is measured, not guessed
- Recessed lights covered or replaced with sealed, insulation-contact fixtures
- Insulated, weather-stripped hatch or pull-down stair cover
- Existing vermiculite or knob-and-tube handled by the rules, never buried
Dense-pack wall insulation
Most homes built before 1980 have empty walls. We dense-pack cellulose through small holes, fill every bay so it cannot settle, and patch so you cannot find the holes.
Basement, rim joist and crawl space
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The rim joist is the leakiest framing in the house; it gets closed-cell foam. Crawl spaces get a sealed vapor barrier and insulated walls so the floor above stops being cold.
Air sealing on its own
Drafty rooms and cold floors are usually leaks, not equipment. The blower door measures them, infrared shows where, and NHSaves pays 100% of the sealing.
Spray foam insulation
Closed-cell foam where it earns its cost: rim joists, cathedral and flat roofs, crawl-space walls and bonus rooms over garages.
What NHSaves covers on insulation
| Measure | Typical program share |
|---|---|
| Air sealing (blower-door directed) | 100% |
| Attic insulation | 75% |
| Wall dense-pack | 75% |
| Basement, rim joist, crawl space | 75% |
| Attic hatch, ventilation, baffles | 75% |
| Combined cap per home | $6,000 |
Shares are the program's current Home Energy Performance rates for most utilities and depend on your assessment results. NHSaves® is the energy-efficiency program of New Hampshire's electric and natural gas utilities: Eversource, Liberty, Unitil and the New Hampshire Electric Co-op. Program eligibility requirements and restrictions apply. Rebate amounts are set by the utility program, depend on each home's assessment results, and are subject to change or cancellation while funding is available. Granite Hearth Home Performance is an independent contractor and does not sponsor or operate the NHSaves programs.
- About $5,200 from the program100% of air sealing, 75% of insulation, up to $6,000
- About $2,800 your share0% or 2% program loan if you want one
Questions about insulation
What R-value does an attic need in New Hampshire?
New Hampshire is in climate zone 6. Current energy code calls for R-49 to R-60 in the attic. Most older homes we open up have R-11 to R-19, and a lot have nothing but a few inches of settled fiberglass. NHSaves scopes typically bring the attic to R-30 or R-38 over what is there, and we can go higher outside the program.
Cellulose or spray foam?
For attics and walls in existing homes, dense-pack and loose-fill cellulose give the best result per dollar and are what the program rebates. Closed-cell spray foam is the right tool for rim joists, crawl spaces, cathedral ceilings and anywhere we need an air and vapor barrier in one pass. We use both and tell you why.
Why air seal before insulating?
Insulation slows heat loss through the material; it does nothing about warm air pouring out through gaps around chimneys, top plates, recessed lights and the attic hatch. Air sealing first is also the part NHSaves pays 100% of, so it is the best return on the house.
Will insulation stop my ice dams?
In almost every case, yes. Ice dams form when heat leaks into the attic, melts the roof snow, and it refreezes at the cold eave. Air sealing the ceiling plane, insulating to code and keeping the soffit vents open is the fix. Heat cables treat the symptom.
Related
Let's take a look at your house.
It starts with a phone call at no cost. We tell you plainly what the house needs, what NHSaves will cover and what the rest will cost, in writing, before anything is scheduled.