Rochester Premier Insulation handles attic insulation for homes in Rochester, MN, from sealing the attic floor to blowing cellulose or fiberglass to full depth. An attic insulation contractor who only piles bags on top leaves the leaks that cause ice dams and cold bedrooms, so we seal first and insulate second. Each installation starts with a free on-site estimate that lists the target R-value, the product, and the air leaks we found.
Homes in Byron, Stewartville, Pine Island, and Kasson get the same attic checklist.
Get Your Free Estimate
We will call you to set up your free estimate.
Depth is half the job. The other half is stopping warm air from reaching a cold attic.
Warm air gets into the attic through gaps in the ceiling: top plates, wiring and plumbing holes, duct chases, bath fans, and the flue chase. Small gaps get canned foam or caulk. Larger openings get rigid foam board or sheet metal, with fire-rated sealant where a flue passes through.
Insulation slows heat moving through the ceiling, but air flows right through loose fill. That is why sealing comes before any new depth.
If your current fill is dry, clean, and just thin, new insulation can go right over it. ENERGY STAR's target for our climate zone is R-49 when an attic already has 3 to 4 inches, and R-60 when it starts bare. Once the air sealing is done, we blow blown-in insulation over the old layer.
Soffit vents only work if air can get from the eave into the attic. Baffles, foam or cardboard chutes stapled between the rafters, hold insulation back from the roof deck so new fill does not choke the intake.
Local building code calls for at least 1 inch of clear space between the insulation and the roof sheathing at the vents. We check that at every vented bay before the hose comes up, and the estimate notes it if soffit intake and ridge or roof vents are badly out of balance.
Ice dams start when heat from the house warms the roof deck, snow melts, and the water refreezes at the cold eave. Heat cables and roof rakes deal with the ice, not the cause.
On the attic side, the fix is air sealing the ceiling, full insulation depth out over the wall plates, and baffles that let cold air keep the deck cold. After a winter of freeze-thaw swings, icicles along one stretch of roof usually point to the leak right above them.
A hatch or pull-down stair is often an uninsulated hole in the ceiling. It gets weatherstripping and a rigid foam cover or an insulated stair box. Knee walls in a story-and-a-half home get sealed behind and insulated with a facing so the fill stays put.
Older recessed cans that are not IC-rated (rated for insulation contact) need an approved cover or a swap to IC-rated airtight fixtures before insulation goes against them.
A radiant barrier is reflective foil stapled under the rafters to cut summer heat gain from a hot roof. The Department of Energy notes that radiant barriers work best in hot climates, especially with ductwork in the attic, and that in cool climates more thermal insulation is usually the better buy.
In a Minnesota attic, that money usually goes further on air sealing and depth. Foil that is already up can stay, as long as it does not block ventilation.
We measure existing depth in several spots, identify the fill, and look for dark, dirty patches in it, which mark air leaks. Bath fan ducts, flue clearances, and can lights go on your written scope.
Top plates, penetrations, and chases get sealed with foam, caulk, or board. Bath fans that dump into the attic get ducted outside.
Baffles go in at every vented bay. The blowing machine then runs cellulose or fiberglass to the target depth, with depth markers placed across the attic.
Finished depth gets measured and photographed, and you see what was sealed. The hatch goes back weatherstripped.
Olmsted County is in IECC climate zone 6. For that zone, ENERGY STAR recommends R-60 for an uninsulated attic and R-49 when there are already 3 to 4 inches. In loose-fill cellulose at roughly R-3.2 to R-3.8 per inch, R-49 works out to about 13 to 15 inches.
Yes. Once fill is piled at the eaves, a baffle is hard to fit without pulling insulation back. Baffles first keep the vent space open and let the new fill run all the way out over the top plate.
If the fixture is not IC-rated, yes. Look for "IC" on the label inside the can. Non-rated cans need an approved cover with clearance, or replacement with an IC-rated airtight fixture. We check each one during the estimate.
Usually not as a first step. DOE guidance puts the payoff in hot, sunny climates. Here, the same budget spent on air sealing and reaching R-49 or more does more for heating bills and ice dams.
Yes. A bare hatch is a hole in the insulation layer. Weatherstripping, a latch that pulls the panel tight, and a rigid foam cover or stair tent stop it from leaking warm air all winter.
Ice at the eaves or a cold upstairs?
We will measure your attic, find the air leaks, and send a free written estimate with the target depth.
