Insulation Before & After in Los Angeles, CA
Most insulation work happens where nobody ever looks – until the power bill arrives or the upstairs bedroom won’t hold temperature. We photograph what we find, what we do, and what the finished attic looks like. The Relay Visibility Guarantee means you get before-and-after photos on every job, not just the ones we’re proud of. Here’s what actual Los Angeles attics look like when insulation fails, and what they look like when we’re done.
Recent Transformations
Attic Insulation: Blown-In Fiberglass Over 1950s Rockwool in Mid-City
The problem: a 1,100-square-foot bungalow with the original 1950s Rockwool batts compressed to about two inches in most bays. The homeowner’s upstairs bedroom ran 11 degrees warmer than the rest of the house every afternoon. We removed what had settled, air-sealed the top plates with can foam, and blew in Owens Corning fiberglass to R-38 across the entire attic floor. Result: a full 360-degree coverage layer with no gaps at the eaves, and the temperature spread between rooms dropped to 3 degrees within a week.
Spray Foam Insulation: Open-Cell Rafters in a Silver Lake Craftsman
The problem: a 1920s Craftsman with zero insulation at the roof deck, so the attic hit 130 degrees by noon in August and radiated heat into the bedrooms below for hours after sunset. We masked the gable vents, sprayed Icynene open-cell foam directly to the underside of the roof sheathing from ridge to soffit, and brought the roofline up to R-21. Result: the attic now stays within 5 degrees of the living space, and the homeowner’s AC run-time in July dropped by roughly a third based on her Nest history.
Insulation Removal: Rodent-Contaminated Batts in Sherman Oaks
The problem: a roof rat colony had spent the winter in an attic over the garage, and the existing fiberglass batts were saturated with droppings and urine. We ran a full containment and HEPA vacuum removal of 900 square feet of contaminated material, sanitized the deck, and blew in GreenFiber cellulose to R-30. Result: the odor that had worked its way into the laundry room disappeared within 48 hours, and the new cellulose gave the homeowner better sound isolation from the street than she’d had in 20 years.
Attic Insulation: Heat-Radiant Flat Roof in West Adams
The problem: a 1960s flat-roof home with no attic access to speak of – just a 24-inch crawl space between ceiling and roof, fully uninsulated. The living room was effectively un-air-conditionable in summer. We worked through a single scuttle hole to lay CertainTeed batts across the ceiling plane, then stapled a radiant barrier to the underside of the roof framing above. Result: ceiling surface temperatures measured with an infrared gun dropped 18 degrees on a 95-degree afternoon, and the room finally holds at 74 without running the AC nonstop.
Spray Foam Insulation: Can Lights and Air Leaks in Encino
The problem: a 1990s two-story where the second floor was hot in summer and cold in winter, and the homeowner could feel air moving around the recessed can lights in the master bedroom. We pulled the trim rings, foamed the can housings with Demilec closed-cell, and sealed the rim joists where the floor framing met the exterior walls. Result: the stack effect that had been pulling conditioned air out through the attic dropped dramatically, and the second floor now stays within 4 degrees of the first floor with the same thermostat setting.
Insulation Removal: Moldy Cellulose in Koreatown
The problem: a bathroom exhaust fan had been venting directly into the attic for years, and the old cellulose had turned into a damp, moldy mat over half the ceiling. We removed all of it, treated the deck with an antimicrobial, rerouted the exhaust fan to vent through the roof, and blew in Johns Manville fiberglass to R-38. Result: air quality readings in the bedroom below returned to normal within a day, and the bathroom no longer fogs the mirror with the fan running.
Want Results Like These?
Every project above started with a phone call and a written price before anything went into the attic. Laurel stays green all year – so should your home’s comfort. That’s the idea behind the name. Call (213) 698-7067 to schedule your own before-and-after. We’re live around the clock, and estimates are free.
Written by Chase Whitaker, Owner at Laurel Attic Insulation Los Angeles, serving Los Angeles since 2003.