For additional information, read the following NAIMA items: Installing Batt Insulation   (Spanish Version) Installing Loose Fill Insulation   (Spanish Version) Labeling & Advertising of Home Insulation Checklist for Hiring an Insulation Contractor Checklist for Inspecting Completed Insulation Jobs

How to Find an Insulation Contractor

• Ask your utility company for a list of reputable contractors
• Consult friends and neighbors
• Look in the Yellow Pages under "Insulation," "Construction" or a similar heading.
• Contact the Insulation Contractors Association of American (ICAA) at www.insulate.org for a list of certified contractors in your area.

Hiring and Managing a Professional Insulation Contractor

Following these steps:

• Check references
• Ask Trusted Sources for a Reference
• Get estimates
• Ask questions about how the contractor's installers are paid
• Check if the contractor has appropriate insurance coverage
• Check certifications
• Check bag labels
• Manage the contractor

Each step is described in more detail below.

Check References

• Ask a contractor for references, including other homeowners for whom he has done work. Check them out.

Ask Trusted Sources for a Reference

• The Department of Energy has a listing of resources for finding certified contractors. You can also check with the local Better Business Bureau for a contractor (also listed in the phone book), or, ask your bank to get a report on his credit rating.

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Get Estimates

You should obtain cost estimates from several contractors for a stated R-value. Make sure you describe the job in writing in the same terms to each one. Remember that you want good quality materials and labor, as well as price. When you talk to a contractor, talk of R-values. Don't forget that R-values are determined by material type, thickness, and, in the case of loose-fill insulation, by installed weight per square foot (or density), not by thickness alone.

How Are Installers Paid?

Does the contractor pay them by the number of square feet they cover or by the hour? If he pays them by square footage, they might do a hasty job on your house just so they can get on to the next one.

Contractor Insurance

Does the contractor have insurance to protect his own men if they are injured? Are you covered if one of his men damages your house? Ask for proof of current insurance.

Check Certifications

Ask the contractor if he is certified by ICAA or another organization. (Contact Insulation Contractors Association of American (ICAA) at www.insulate.org for a list of certified contractors in your area.)

Check the Bag Labels

When you talk to a contractor or his salesman, ask him to show you a sample of the bag label for his brand of insulation and ask him to explain it to you.

If a contractor uses insulation packed in bags that aren't labeled, don't hire him. The quality of the material will be unknown.

Always deal in R-values not inches. Every type of insulation has a different range of R-value per inch and the Federal Trade Commission does not allow insulation to be marked by its R-value per inch. You want a guarantee of a specific R-value.

Managing an Insulation Contractor

After you have hired a contractor, there are a few things to do to manage him:

• Make sure the contractor gives you a contract or receipt for the insulation installed. This is required by law.
• Check that the proper amount of insulation is actually installed.
• After the job is finished, inspect your home to make sure the insulation was installed correctly.

Each items is described in more detail below.

Contract or Receipt

Under the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulation (Labeling and Advertising of Home Insulation Rule 460), installers of insulation must give their customers a contract or receipt for the insulation installed. For all insulation except loose-fill and aluminum foil, the receipt must show the coverage area, thickness, and R-value of the insulation installed. For all types of loose-fill insulation, the receipt must show the coverage area, initial installed thickness, minimum settled thickness, R-value and the number of bags used. For Aluminum foil, the receipt must show the number and thickness of the air spaces, the direction of heat flow and the R-Value. All receipts must be dated and signed by the installer.

Check That The Proper Amount of Insulation is Actually Installed

Each bag of insulating material used by the contractor should be marked with an R-value. For loose-fill, the bags will tell you the R-value for the area to be covered. It is important that you check that the proper amount is installed in your home.  Ask the contractor to attach vertical rulers to the joists prior to a loose-fill installation in your attic to help you see that the proper depth was installed. Look for the R-value printed on the batts or the facing.

Inspect the work

Inspect Your Home

Inspect your home to make sure the insulation was installed correctly.  Demand quality from your installer and question anything that looks wrong.  If this is new construction, ask if you or a professional can inspect the insulation before the drywall is put up.  Some builders and contractors do not want to do this, but after the drywall is up, it’s hard to tell if any mistakes were made, and much more expensive to fix.  Don’t compromise.  It’s your house, and you are the one that will have to live with any mistakes.  Click here for a handy, printer friendly “25 Checkpoints for Inspecting Insulation Jobs.”