Spray Foam Insulation in Southlake, TX

Southlake boomed through the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, helped along by its closeness to DFW Airport, and it built big. The average single-family home in ZIP code 76092 is close to 4,000 square feet. A house that size often runs two or three HVAC systems, and in a slab-built North Texas house the air handlers and ducts for those systems usually sit in the attic. So in Southlake, the insulation plan starts up there.

Homes in Southlake

Close to half of Southlake’s homes were built in the 1990s, and the median year is 1997. Timarron, a planned golf-course community, and South Ridge Lakes are typical of that decade. Carillon started in 2012. Clariden Ranch, on the north edge of town where Southlake reaches into Denton County, added homes on lots of about an acre in the 2000s.

A 1990s Southlake house usually still has blown insulation or batts on the attic floor. That keeps heat out of the ceilings below, but it does nothing for the equipment above it, which sits in attic air that can top 130°F in July. Our recommendation is open cell foam across the underside of the roof deck. At 5.5 inches it comes to about R-20, and it seals the attic so the air handlers and ducts end up inside the conditioned space. Our attic encapsulation page walks through the work. If the old insulation on the floor is matted or has had rodents in it, it can be vacuumed out first; see insulation removal.

Big attics with two or three HVAC systems

In a large two-story, each system serves its own part of the house, such as the downstairs, the upstairs or the primary suite. Each one has its own air handler and its own duct runs, and in a big attic those runs stretch a long way through the heat. You could try to seal and wrap every duct, but the air handlers, fittings and boots would still sit in 130°F air. Spraying the underside of the roof deck and the gable walls takes care of all of it at once. The attic becomes part of the house, and every system up there works in air close to indoor temperature.

Plan on the price following the roof, not the floor plan. A steep or cut-up roof with hips, valleys and dormers has more deck to cover than the house has floor below it, which is why a Southlake attic gets measured on site instead of priced from the square footage on the appraisal. Under a home’s roof deck we use open cell foam.

Before spray day, pull stored boxes back from the roof line so the deck is reachable all the way to the eaves. The household, pets included, should plan to be away for about 24 hours after spraying.

Neighborhoods and ZIP codes we cover

Southlake has a single ZIP code, 76092, and we cover all of it, including Timarron, South Ridge Lakes, Carillon, Clariden Ranch, the homes around Southlake Town Square and the part of the city that reaches into Denton County.

Southlake spray foam questions

Some of our HVAC systems have gas furnaces in the attic. Can the attic still be sealed?

Yes, but not before the combustion air is checked. Anything that burns gas needs combustion air, and sealing the roof deck changes where that air comes from. Point out every gas appliance in the attic at the free measure, and get that check done before any foam goes on.

Can we foam the attic one HVAC zone at a time?

Usually not, if the attic is one continuous space. A sealed attic has to be sealed as a whole, or hot air from the unsprayed side keeps reaching the ducts on the sprayed side. A separate attic, such as one over the garage that is walled off from the main attic, can be handled as its own job, now or later.

We store things in the attic. Can we keep doing that after the foam goes in?

Yes. The foam goes on the underside of the roof deck, not on the floor, so your decking and walkways stay where they are. Foam that stays exposed in an attic may need an ignition barrier coating, so mention at the measure that the attic is used for storage, and keep boxes from resting against the foam.

We’re remodeling and some walls will be open. Should we foam them?

If they are exterior walls, it is worth doing while you can reach them. Open stud bays are the one time foam can go into a wall without cutting drywall. Closed cell adds stiffness along with R-value, and the new drywall covers the foam. Have your remodeler schedule it after the electrical and plumbing changes and before the walls close. The new construction page shows how wall work is done.