Insulation Before & After in San Diego, CA
Photos tell the truth faster than any sales pitch. The before shots show what we find in San Diego attics: matted fiberglass, rodent damage, gaps where heat pours through. The after shots show what a proper R-value actually looks like. Every project below is real work our crew has done in the field, documented with the same before-and-after photos you’ll receive on your own job through The Relay Standard.
Recent Transformations
Attic Insulation Overhaul in Clairemont
Before
AfterThe problem: a 1960s Clairemont home with original R-19 batts that had compressed to roughly R-8 over five decades. Summer afternoons upstairs hit 85 degrees with the AC running full blast. We removed the old material, air-sealed the top plates and can light housings, then blew in R-38 GreenFiber cellulose across roughly 1,100 square feet. The result: upstairs rooms now stay within 3 degrees of the thermostat, and the owner’s July SDG&E bill dropped 22 percent compared to the same month the year before.
Spray Foam Insulation in a Mission Valley Condo
Before
AfterThe problem: a Mission Valley condo with a shared-wall roof cavity that turned the top-floor unit into a convection oven every August. Neighbor noise bleeding through the ceiling didn’t help either. We applied 5.5 inches of open-cell Icynene directly to the roofline, sealing the attic into the conditioned envelope. The owner reports the HVAC now cycles normally instead of running 14 hours a day, and footsteps from the unit above are noticeably muted. R-value on the deck went from effectively zero to R-21.
Insulation Removal After a Rodent Infestation in North Park
Before
AfterThe problem: a North Park craftsman bungalow where roof rats had spent the last two years nesting in the attic. The existing fiberglass was saturated with droppings and urine, and the odor had started seeping into the living room. Our crew removed and bagged all contaminated material, sanitized the decking, and installed fresh R-38 Rockwool batts. The homeowner’s daughter has asthma, and her nighttime coughing improved within a week of the changeout.
Garage Ceiling Insulation in Chula Vista
The problem: a Chula Vista homeowner using the garage as a home gym, except it was unusable from June through October. Surface temps on the ceiling drywall measured 118 degrees mid-afternoon. We installed R-30 CertainTeed fiberglass batts across the full garage ceiling and added a radiant barrier facing. The garage now holds around 84 degrees on a 90-degree day, and the room above it stopped gaining heat every afternoon.
Blown-In Upgrade in Rancho Peñasquitos
The problem: a 1990s Rancho Peñasquitos two-story where the builder had installed the bare minimum: R-11 batts that had shifted and left a third of the attic floor bare. The homeowners could feel heat radiating through the upstairs hallway ceiling at 9pm. We vacuumed out the old material and blew in R-49 Johns Manville fiberglass, paying special attention to the vaulted ceiling transition where air leaks were worst. Upstairs temperature differential has closed to nearly zero between bedrooms, and the second floor no longer feels like a different climate zone from the first.
Attic Air Sealing and Insulation Top-Off in La Mesa
The problem: a La Mesa split-level where the attic had R-19 but the homeowners said the heater ran “constantly” all winter while the upstairs stayed cold. Our thermal imaging showed air leaking around 14 recessed lights and two attic access hatches. We sealed every penetration with foam and caulk, built a proper insulated hatch box, then topped off the floor with R-38 Owens Corning blown-in fiberglass. Total R-value now sits above R-50 in the flat sections, and the furnace no longer short-cycles on cold mornings.
Want Results Like These?
Every project above started with one phone call and a written price before any work began. You’ll get the same before-and-after photos, the same live arrival tracking, and the same 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. Call (619) 793-3676 and we’ll schedule your attic assessment. Free estimates, no pressure, and a real person answers the phone.
Written by Chase Whitaker, Owner at Laurel Attic Insulation San Diego, serving San Diego since 2003.