What is the insulation “inches” gimmick facing Austin area building owners today?
This is a very common rip-off technique used by insulation salespeople around Austin TX. The scam can work in a few ways depending on what insulation material is being installed. So let’s look at the core issue, it is what I call “fluffing” of insulation.
An installer can fluff up blown-in cellulose or fiberglass insulation. How? The technician uses an excessive air setting on the machine to fluff the insulation. Why it matters? If they sold you on installing 12-inches of insulation, they can fluff it. Then in a few months it may settle down to 6-inches.
So did you really get what you ordered, or are you being taken for a ride? Well, that is why you should do the following. Avoid any installer who is trying to sell you a certain number of inches of blown insulation or a certain R-value.
How do you avoid this Austin insulation fluffing mistake?
Find a contractor who will perform the install based on the number of bags to be installed. When you find a “Bag Count” installer, here is how to keep them honest.
Don’t let them sell you 60 bags and only install 40. Count the number of bags on the truck before and after the install. If they could not use all the bags you ordered, make sure your bill is reduced.
How does the inches rip-off apply to spray foam insulation in Austin?
First, let’s say the installers say they will provide 4-inches of open cell spray foam insulation in your walls and 7-inches in your attic. How do you know if they really did the job?
The truth is that most building owners will never know they’ve been ripped off. Yep. I am often called out to fix shoddy work done by “low-priced” installers. The client is dissatisfied with the work the my competitor did.
One of the first things I do when inspecting another installers work is measure the depth of their spray foam insulation every few feet. Most of the time I find that my competitor who bid lower than me, didn’t install all of the insulation they promised. And that is how they were able to charge less than me. They were either not honest, or they were not thorough enough to ensure the client got what they ordered.
Beware of the insulation fire retardant rip-off.
Many spray foam installers claim to add the required fire-retardant layers when doing the project. But often times they skip the fire-retardant step in an effort to save time and money. Their contract with unsuspecting clients say fire-retardant installed, but they cut corners to save $0.05 per board foot. They put you in a safety and legal risk and building inspectors often do not catch the problem.
At Stellrr, we spray an open-cell foam that includes the fire-retardant in the foam. This means that we don’t have to go back after the foam is sprayed, to later install the fire-retardant. This also means that we install fire retardant on your walls and attic. Whereas other installers who have to spray the fire-retardant separately, will only install it in your attic, as the minimum Austin TX area building codes require.
Here is what to do next!
You can easily avoid these gimmicks and know what to look for in an insulation installer. Simply download my complimentary guides. You’ll have all the tools you need to make the right decision and get what you pay for. Download it now!
