Spray Foam Insulation in Fultondale, AL

Spray Foam Insulation in Fultondale has a particular job right now: helping homes that were rebuilt or repaired after the January 25, 2021, tornado, as well as the older houses that make up much of the city. According to Wikipedia, that EF3 tornado caused significant structural damage to numerous homes, vehicles and businesses. When walls and ceilings are open during repairs, it is the cheapest possible moment to insulate them properly.

A mix of ages

Point2Homes' summary of 2019-2023 Census survey data puts Fultondale's median year built at 1987. About 18.9% of homes date to the 1970s, 11.8% to the 1960s and 20.1% to 2000 through 2009, with another 3.1% built in 2020 or later. The city was a mining town in the 1900s, named for the nearby communities of Fulton Springs and Glendale, and incorporated in 1947. Its population grew from 1,304 in 1950 to 9,876 in 2020.

Open walls during repairs

If your house is being repaired or rebuilt, spray foam in exposed walls and under the roof deck gives you an airtight, well-insulated shell. Alabama's amended 2015 code, as Alabama Power summarizes it, requires R-13 walls and R-30 ceilings in new construction, and it treats R-20 of spray foam in a sealed attic as meeting the ceiling requirement. New homes must also pass a blower door test under 5 air changes per hour, and foam makes that easier.

Older homes on the ridge

Wikipedia notes that Fultondale sits on a ridgeline at the southern end of the Appalachian chain and that the area has been heavily mined for coal over the past century. Older houses on sloped lots often have partly exposed basements or crawl spaces, ducts in hot attics or damp crawl spaces, and attic insulation well below what the Department of Energy recommends for Zone 3. Air sealing plus blown-in insulation in the attic, and encapsulation or floor insulation below, are the usual fixes.

After a storm, check the attic

Even homes that were not rebuilt may have had roof repairs. Insulation can get soaked when a roof is damaged, then dry out matted and dirty, or it can be trampled and left uneven during repairs. Wet or damaged insulation should be removed and replaced once the roof is sound.

Housing units

The 2020 census counted 4,380 housing units in Fultondale, with 5.3% vacant and a homeowner vacancy rate of 1.5%.

Open cell vs closed cell in a rebuild

In rebuilt walls, open-cell foam fills each stud bay and seals around wiring and boxes at a lower cost per square foot, while closed-cell packs more R-value into the same depth and adds a vapor retarder. Under the roof deck, open-cell is the common choice in this area. We list the foam and thickness for each surface on the quote, so you and your builder know exactly what is going in.

Tell us whether you are rebuilding, repairing or upgrading, and we will set up a visit. Get a free estimate