Building Envelope Solutions
Wall insulation for Brooklyn homes
Many Brooklyn homes still have empty walls. You feel it as cold outside walls, drafts at outlets and rooms that never warm up.
Two ways to insulate walls
- Closed walls, no demolition: we drill small holes in each bay, fill it with dense-pack cellulose and patch. This suits frame houses in Midwood, Flatbush, Marine Park and Bay Ridge.
- Open walls during a renovation: when the walls are opened anyway, closed-cell spray foam insulates and air seals in one pass.
Brick row houses and brownstones
Solid brick walls often have no cavity to fill. There we focus on the roof, the rear wall if it is framed, and the gaps at the floors and windows, where most of the heat goes. We tell you honestly when wall insulation is not worth it.
How a drill-and-fill job goes
- We find the studs, wiring and blocking in each wall.
- One small hole per bay, from outside under the siding or from inside.
- Cellulose goes in under pressure until the bay is full.
- Holes are plugged and patched.
Rebates
Most of Brooklyn has National Grid gas. National Grid’s Total Home Comfort program is paused for new applications, so most one- to four-family homes now go through NYSERDA programs, and buildings with 5 or more units through National Grid’s multifamily program. We check what is open for your address before we price the job. See the NYC rebate guide.
Common questions
Will you damage my siding? On vinyl or wood siding we lift a course, drill and put it back. On brick we drill from inside.
How long does it take? Most frame houses take one or two days.