Insulation checklists

Hiring. Ask for proof of liability insurance and workers' compensation, and confirm licensing requirements with your state or local licensing board - they vary widely, and no one on the internet can tell you what yours are. Ask for two references from jobs done more than a year ago, not last month. Ask who will actually be in your attic: the company, or a subcontracted crew.

Prep. Clear a path to the attic hatch. Move stored items out of the attic entirely - anything left up there will be buried or moved. Cover or remove valuables along the hose route. Confirm where the crew will run hoses and whether they will use drop cloths. Plan for pets: loose-fill work is dusty and doors get propped open.

Safety. For any spray foam job, ask for the manufacturer's written re-occupancy time and follow it - isocyanates cause occupational asthma and irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and skin per OSHA, and the exposure risk is highest during and immediately after application. Arrange to be out of the house with pets for the full period, not the shortened version a crew offers on the day.

Verification. Go up afterwards with a ruler. Measure depth in at least five places including the far corners, which is where thin coverage hides. Check that soffit baffles are in place and vents are not buried. Check that the attic hatch was reinsulated and gasketed. Keep the material bags or the coverage chart - blown insulation bags list the coverage per bag at each R-value, which is how you check you got what you paid for.

How to choose

Verify insurance directly with the insurer

Ask for the certificate and call the number on it. A certificate emailed by the contractor is not verification.

Get the exclusions list

Drywall patching after wall injection, removal, disposal, baffle installation and hatch insulation are all common exclusions that show up later as change orders.

Count the bags on blown-in jobs

Coverage charts on the bag tell you how many bags a given square footage at a given R-value requires. Photograph the empty bag pile before it leaves.

Hold a retention until you have inspected

Do not pay the final installment before you have measured depth yourself. Agree this up front rather than raising it at the end.

Never accept a same-day-only discount

Pressure to sign at the kitchen table is the strongest single predictor of overpaying in home improvement. A real price is still a real price tomorrow.