Insulation Contractors in Beaverton, OR

Insulation contractors in Beaverton work in a climate that is more damp than cold. The city averages about 39 inches of precipitation a year, most of it from November through February, and January nights average just under 34°F. Snow is rare, under 2 inches a year on average. That means long, gray heating seasons where warm, moist indoor air is always trying to escape into the attic and cold, wet air sits under the floor. Good insulation work here is as much about controlling air and moisture as it is about adding R-value.

A lot of Beaverton homes were built before today's code

Census figures summarized by Point2 show about 20% of Beaverton's housing built in the 1970s and 18% in the 1980s, with another 10% from the 1960s. Altogether, more than half of the city's homes went up before 1990. Many of those houses still have their original attic insulation, often a few inches of settled fiberglass or cellulose, and crawl spaces with batts that have sagged or fallen over the years. The current Oregon Residential Specialty Code, in effect since April 1, 2024, calls for R-49 in flat ceilings, R-30 under floors and R-21 in above-grade walls for new work. Older homes rarely come close.

Attic insulation does the most for the money

Heat rises, and the attic is usually the easiest place to add a lot of insulation. For a marine climate zone like ours, the U.S. Department of Energy suggests bringing an uninsulated attic to R-60 and an attic with 3 to 4 inches of existing insulation up to R-49. Most of our attic jobs use blown-in fiberglass or cellulose because it fills around joists, wiring and framing without gaps. Before any of it goes in, we seal the holes that let warm air leak up: top plates, wiring and plumbing penetrations, recessed lights rated for contact, and the attic hatch.

Spray foam insulation, used where it fits

Spray foam insulation seals and insulates in one step, which makes it the right choice for rim joists, cantilevered floors over garages, bonus rooms, vaulted ceilings with shallow rafters and some crawl space walls. Closed-cell foam runs about R-5 to R-7 per inch and also works as a vapor retarder; open-cell foam is about R-3.5 to R-3.7 per inch and costs less. It is not the answer for every attic, though. Blown-in insulation on the attic floor usually reaches the same R-value for less, and we will tell you when that is the better buy.

Crawl spaces in a rainy climate

Many Beaverton homes sit over vented crawl spaces. When the ground cover is torn or missing, moisture from the soil rises into the space, batts between the floor joists absorb it, get heavy and drop. That leaves cold floors and a musty smell. Crawl space work starts with the ground cover and any standing water, then insulation that stays in place: batts held up with supports, rigid foam or closed-cell spray foam, depending on the space.

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Mice, rats and old insulation

Attics and crawl spaces are favorite nesting spots for rodents, and contaminated insulation should not simply be buried under new material. The CDC advises against sweeping or vacuuming rodent droppings or nesting material until it has been wetted with disinfectant, and says contaminated insulation should be bagged in plastic for removal. We remove soiled insulation, sanitize the area, recommend sealing the entry points with your pest control company, and then reinsulate.

Energy Trust of Oregon incentives

Energy Trust of Oregon has offered incentives for attic, wall and floor insulation to customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas and Avista, usually with a maximum existing R-value and a minimum installed level. Amounts, eligibility and contractor requirements change, so check Energy Trust's current terms before you plan around an incentive. We can show you the existing and installed R-values on your quote so you have what the program asks for.

What a typical attic job includes

• Measuring existing insulation depth and identifying the material
• Checking for vermiculite, moisture stains, mold and rodent activity
• Sealing top plates, penetrations and the attic hatch
• Installing baffles at the eaves to keep soffit vents open
• Dams around the hatch, chimney and other heat sources as required
• Blowing insulation to the agreed R-value with depth markers in place
• A walk-through or photos of the finished attic

Beaverton is home base, including neighborhoods such as Central Beaverton, Denney Whitford, Five Oaks, Greenway, Highland, Sexton Mountain, South Beaverton, Vose and West Slope. From there we serve nearby Washington County communities and the west side of the Portland area, including Hillsboro to the west and Tigard to the south. The climate is much the same across the valley, but the housing is not: older neighborhoods closer to Portland tend to have 1950s to 1970s houses with thin attic insulation and uninsulated walls, while newer subdivisions to the west were built under later energy codes and more often need targeted work over garages and in bonus rooms. Hillside lots also tend to mean deeper, harder-to-reach crawl spaces. Each area page covers what applies there.