Insulation Before & After in West Covina, CA
Photos don’t lie. We can tell you an attic was under-insulated, that heat was pouring through a ceiling, that a removal job exposed framing that hadn’t been visible in decades. But seeing the before and after side by side is what actually lands. These are real jobs we’ve done in West Covina, the kind of transformations we see every week. Here’s what it looks like when attic insulation is done right.
Recent Transformations
Attic Insulation: Blown-In Fiberglass Replenish in a 1970s Tract Home
The problem: original 1974 fiberglass batts had compressed to maybe R-9 in places, and the homeowner’s upstairs bedrooms sat at 84 degrees all summer. We air-sealed the top plates and can lights, then blew in Owens Corning AttiCat to a full R-38 across the 1,100-square-foot attic. Result? The upstairs now holds within three degrees of the downstairs thermostat. Total time on site: just under five hours, with before-and-after photos texted to the homeowner before we pulled out of the driveway.
Spray Foam Insulation: Unvented Attic Conversion Above a Garage
A finished garage conversion in the South Hills area had no insulation in the attic at all. The owner wanted to use it as a workshop year-round. We applied Icynene open-cell spray foam directly to the roofline, creating an unvented, conditioned attic. The space went from 95 degrees in August to a steady 76 with a small window unit. That’s the difference between a room you avoid and a room you use.
Insulation Removal: Rodent-Damaged Batts in a West Covina Ranch
A roof rat colony had made a home in the attic above a 1960s ranch near Cameron Park. The existing batts were soaked with urine, chewed into nests, and compressed to nothing. We removed every batt by hand, bagged it, HEPA-vacuumed the decking, and sanitized the surfaces. The after photo is just clean wood. No odor, no droppings, no nesting material. The homeowner then had us blow in fresh GreenFiber cellulose at R-38 the same week.
Attic Insulation: Rockwool Batts for a Midcentury Flat Roof
Flat roofs in West Covina get brutal sun. Midcentury homes with low-pitch attics can’t always take blown-in insulation well. This one had old vermiculite, which tests sometimes show contains asbestos, so the homeowner wanted it left alone and covered. We laid Rockwool Comfortbatt R-30 directly over the top, keeping the hatch accessible. The ceiling below went from hot to the touch at 4 p.m. to neutral. Rockwool also adds a real fire-resistance benefit, which matters in older construction.
Spray Foam Insulation: Air-Sealing a Bonus Room That Was Never Conditioned
This one’s common in West Covina: a bonus room added above a garage in the 1980s that was never properly insulated. The knee walls were hollow, the soffits open to the outside. We sprayed Demilec closed-cell foam in the knee walls and along the ceiling transitions. That room had been 12 degrees hotter than the rest of the house every summer afternoon. Now it runs within two degrees. Closed-cell foam does double duty here: R-value plus an air barrier, which blown-in fiberglass alone can’t provide.
Insulation Removal: Dust-Filled Cellulose in a 1950s Attic
Some West Covina homes have attics packed with old cellulose that’s broken down into fine dust. It drifts down through ceiling fixtures, gets in the AC return, and coats everything in the house. This removal took our team most of a day: vacuum extraction, disposal, and a full HEPA cleanup. Then we blew in Knauf fiberglass at R-38. The owner said the inside of the house stopped smelling like an attic within a week. That’s a transformation you can feel as much as see.
Want Results Like These?
Every job above started the same way: someone called us about a hot room, a weird smell, or an energy bill that made no sense. We came out, gave a written price before anything started, and walked them through exactly what we’d do. Your attic can look like the after photos too. Call Laurel Attic Insulation West Covina at (831) 531-5104 to talk through your project. Live person, every time.
Written by Chase Whitaker, Owner at Laurel Attic Insulation West Covina, serving West Covina since 2003.