How Much Does It Cost to Install New Home Insulation?

Reviewed by Carol J Alexander remodeling expert. Written by Fixr.com.

Does the cold seem to come right through the walls of your home? Well, it could be if you don’t have enough insulation. Other tell-tale signs your home could use a bit of extra padding are high energy bills, moisture in the attic, and an HVAC system that never seems to rest.

At the minimum, homeowners with older homes like to add insulation to the attic and under the floors in the crawl space. Using fiberglass blanket insulation in the average-sized 2,000-square-foot home costs between $3,000 to $9,240, depending on the required R-value and your location.

Costs to install insulation

Factors that can influence the cost of installing insulation

Calculating the cost of insulating a home depends on several factors. From material and type of insulation to the project size and R-values of the materials, prices can fluctuate. Here are the most common factors that influence the cost of insulation.

Material

Home insulation is made of several different materials, and each material is suited for various applications and has different R-values. The r-value of insulation is a measurement given to indicate how well the material insulates against the flow of heat from one side of a barrier to the other. The most popular materials include:

• Fiberglass – Fiberglass insulation is preferred for its affordability. The most popular type is fiberglass batts which provide R-values of 2.9 to 3.8 per inch of insulation.
• Cellulose – Typically blown-in, cellulose fiber insulation can also be applied as loose-fill by hand. Loose cellulose insulation provides R-values of 3.1 to 3.8 per inch of application.
• Polystyrene – Used to create rigid foam boards, this option guards against heat loss better than most other options. It provides R-4.5 to R-5.0 per inch of product.
• Cotton – Cotton batts are a natural alternative to foam and are less caustic than fiberglass. They provide R-values of 3.0 to 3.7 per inch.
• Mineral wool – Made of recycled furnace slag, mineral or rock wool comes in batts or loose fill. Rock wool batts are rated with R-values from 3.3 to 4.2 per inch of insulation.
• Polyurethane – Spray foam insulation is available in an open-cell or closed-cell type. Closed-cell spray foam insulation provides the greatest protection against air leaks and heat transference with R-values from 6.0 to 8.0.

Type

The above-listed materials are used to create different types of insulation. Each one has distinct advantages and disadvantages. The most common types of insulation are:

• Blanket insulation – The most common form of insulation comes in batts or rolls. It is designed to fit the space between wall studs, rafters, and floor joists. Batt insulation looks like large rectangles of fiber with a paper backing. Typically made of fiberglass, it also comes in cotton or mineral wool. Insulation rolls are made the same as batts, but instead of separate rectangular pieces, it comes in a roll. Walls with 2x4 studs can hold R-13 or R-15 batts. Walls with 2x6 studs can hold R-19 or R-21 batts.
• blown-in – Blown-in insulation typically is made of cellulose fibers and resembles shredded paper that took a turn through the washer and dryer. It is applied using a machine that can reach spaces you cannot see. The advantage is that you can add exterior wall insulation behind the plaster or drywall of an older home. Although, it can be sprayed into attics and crawl spaces, too. In addition to cellulose (recycled paper), blown-in insulation comes in rock wool and fiberglass.
• Rigid foam board – Made of polystyrene, foam board is best suited for insulating under the home's exterior siding, inside basement walls, and under floors. Foam board insulation provides as much as twice the thermal resistance of other materials of the same thickness.
• Spray foam – Like blown-in insulation, spray foam reaches all the nooks and crannies. Spray foam is made of liquid polyurethane and comes in open-cell or closed-cell foam. Closed-cell foam is denser and the better insulator. But it’s also more expensive.

Popular insulation options and the material costs

Complexity

As with any home improvement project, the scope of work has a significant influence on the cost. For instance, insulating under the floor from a full-size basement is much easier and less labor-intensive than doing it on your belly in a crawl space. Any circumstances that increase labor will make the insulation cost higher.

What type of home insulation is right for you?

Square footage

The larger the space, the higher the material costs. And, as easy as it would be to estimate how much it costs to insulate a home of a specific size, there are just too many variables to make it accurate. For instance, insulating a 1,000-square-foot home could include the floors, basement walls, and attic. 

Or, you could also want to blow insulation into the exterior walls. As you can see, this is much greater than 1,000 square feet – and maybe the insulation in the attic only needs an inch more. But the insulation under the floors needs to be removed and replaced entirely. The cost of each situation depends on how much insulation and its type and material, not the home's square footage. 

Other possible factors

There are a few other factors that could influence the cost of your project. They include the following.

• Removal of old insulation – If the contractor needs to remove the old insulation, the labor cost will increase the charge. How much depends on the type of insulation and its location in the home.
• Labor costs – Some homeowners find adding insulation to attics and crawl spaces easy. But if you need to hire a professional, the cost of labor will increase the project cost.

The average cost to insulate your home

Since upgrading the insulation in your older home depends on so many factors, we’ve broken down the possibilities into three budget tiers for you. 

Budget-friendly home insulation 

A budget-friendly home insulation project costs from $640 to $2,780, depending on the size of the home and the type of insulation.

When counting pennies, you need a wallet-friendly solution to your insulation problems. That’s what you’ll find here. The most cash-strapped homeowner will choose attic insulation or crawl space insulation they can install themselves. This budget tier could include

• Fiberglass batts or rolls
• Rigid foam board

Mid-range home insulation

A mid-range home insulation project costs from $600 to $6,750, depending on the size of the home and the type of insulation.

If you have a few more pennies in the purse, you move up to the mid-range budget tier. Here, you can afford different insulation materials and possibly hire someone to do it for you. Though still confined to the attic and crawl space, the mid-range budget can afford

• Cotton or mineral wool blanket insulation
• Cellulose loose-fill insulation

High-end home insulation

A high-end home insulation project can cost as much as $20,000, depending on the size of the home and the type of insulation.

A homeowner less confined by their purse strings can increase their energy efficiency by insulating their entire house. From roof insulation to wall cavities, the project will have you snug as a bug come wintertime. And you won’t have to DIY the project, either.

Which level of home insulation job is right for you?

Paying for your home insulation upgrade

Whether you’re insulating just the attic, or the entire house, insulation installation could be more you can afford. If you don’t want to spend the cash for this home improvement project, here are a few options to make paying for it more manageable.

• Use your HELOC. Assuming you have a home equity line of credit, borrowing against it for a professional installation should be easy. If you don’t already have a HELOC account, now would be a great time to talk with a lender about opening one.
• Use a credit card. The major home improvement retailers like to give incentives when you use their credit cards. If you don’t already have a card, they also offer incentives, like money off, for opening an account. Using one of their cards, you could enjoy savings from five percent off or two years with no interest. One of these offers could get the job done and save you money.

Ways to save money on home insulation 

If you still need to shave a bit off your home insulation cost, here are a few tips that might help.

• Choose the highest R-value you can afford. Better insulation means year-round energy savings. 
• Do it yourself. Batt and roll insulation requires no special equipment and is an easy DIY project.

Get your cozy on

Whether your home needs insulation in a few places or throughout; you can do it yourself. But many homeowners don’t realize what a big, sweaty job it is. Call in the pros if crawling under the house in a jumpsuit and face shield and rubbing shoulders with spiders while handling fiberglass doesn’t sound like a fun time to you. They will assess the situation, look at your current energy costs, and calculate precisely where, how much, and what type of insulation you need.