Universal Insulation Inc.

The estimator arrived 30 minutes late without a phone call to let us know. He was very knowledgable and explained the process thoroughly, even providing some information that was not provided by other estimators. However, he was overly concerned about our cement tile roof, and said the installers would have to do the upstairs walls from the inside. We tried to explain that cement tiles are much stronger than clay and don't break when walked on, but he insisted that he was concerned about a potential lawsuit, despite our assurances that we were fine with installers walking on our roof. Additionally, we just had finished repainting the interior of our home and did not want the installers drilling holes in our interior walls to blow in insulation. We ultimately went with a company that had no issues walking on our roof, and the insulation went great, with no broken roof tiles.

Kevin came to my house to evaluate the ceiling and floor insulation. He took a look of the attic and determined that is it R-30, Good enough for this area. He did not recommend adding insulation to the floor above the crawl space since it is not cost effective. Instead he suggests to add localized heating to the 1st floor rooms.

They were very professional and knew exactly what they were talking about. The guy who came out and gave the quote explained it very clearly about the work. They were very accommodating in terms of giving me an appointment. They were punctual and the work was clean. I've had a good overall experience.

Universal Insulation and Building Inc. did about 1200 sq. feet of attic insulation. We also upgraded the insulation on our outer walls. They were very clean and organized professionals. Their sales person was very knowledgeable and answered all of our questions.

Our home was built in 1950s with no insulation in the walls and minimal and aged loose fiberglass in the attic. A bedroom had been added in the 1960's that had included some insulation in the walls, but the attic insulation there was still pretty minimal. I was referred to Universal Insulation by an insulation company out of Concord that had very favorable reviews here on Angie's list, but which was too far away. The quotation process was straightforward and comparable to other bids we received. Installation crew arrived on schedule with two trucks and 4 installers (for approx 2k sq-ft of attic and 2k sq-ft of wall). Each truck required a 220V outlet. One came from our dryer hookup, and the other was hard-wired in to our service panel oven's circuit. Work was completed in about 7 hours of pretty steady work. Before the installation, I was concerned that the attic over the bedroom addition would be inaccessible (the attic route was very tight and mostly occupied by heater duct). We were very pleased that the installer working in the attic was able to navigate this and blow insulation into that area. We were advised that we would need to mask off outlets or other potential openings in our exterior walls, and the crew came in to double-check that we had remembered to mask around the kitchen sink drain and water supply. This seemed to work pretty well, although there were two rooms where we could pick up on a bit of dust in the air after the walls had been blown. My guess is that there was air gap behind built-in cabinets, as we had gotten everything else. The dust cleared out after 2 days (might have cleared out in 1 day if weather had been better and we opened windows more). Wall patching was pretty good. Stucco patches blended in better than the repairs on the board and batten wood siding. I liked that they didn't try to prime the patches, as I think the patches cure better if left open for a few days. Now that we've repainted, all patches pretty invisible to all but the closest examination. Site cleanup overall was pretty good, with the crew pretty diligent about using drop cloths in the interior and sweeping and vacuuming as they went. Had one or two rogue dust bunnies in the hallway, and a cigarette butt or two on the driveway, but no major problems. They worked around landscaping pretty well. Insulation improvement was immediately noticeable and we wished we had done this earlier. While the estimator had outlined the savings through the PGand E rebate and federal tax credits to us, the default paperwork provided didn't cover all of the requirements needed for these submissions. I was able to get things worked out easily enough through their office, but it would be even better if all of this documentation was prepared and ready to go at the time of the installation: For PGand E Rebate, you'll need: - signature on bill next to quotation with pre- and post-insulation values, square footage, etc. - "paid in full" or equivalent (can also wait for cancelled check) For federal tax credits, you should get: - breakdown of materials cost - information about insulation manufacturer - certificate of compliance from the manufacturer Overall, we think they did a good job at a reasonable price and would recommend them to others.

Kevin gave us an estimate when he visited at our home. It was the middle price. The installers arrived on time, put down drop cloths, and cleaned up nicely afterwards. The only negative: Kevin said he would oversee the installation; we never saw him then or since.

They worked well but their clean up wasn't as adequate. They could do better and they did almost eighty percent, but some of the things have been left unclean in our house area. Their service was fair and good. I can't compare prices because I haven't looked at other companies. So I don't know how much difference would be there. The quality of work was good. Responsiveness is not as good because they weren't good on some paper work. They were punctual and very professional. I would like to use them in the future, but I will also check other companies too.

They are going to do the work on next Monday and I think they are going to be very good. Our interaction with them has been great so far. They were very professional on the phone and my husband was very happy with the estimator. The rebate is really good. It looks really good based on the reviews we have read and the contacts we had with them. We haven’t had the work done yet, but we are very happy so far. Their responsiveness was very good since they were here on time. We didn’t even get another estimate since we were very impressed with them. We decided that it would look good.

Of the 3 estimates I got, Universal was the most reasonable, and they were the only one to identify the pony wall space as an area lacking sufficient insulation. Estimator was very knowledgeable, and the insulation team was very professional and respectful of containing any possible mess in my home. They were able to quickly schedule the installation, and the whole project was done very quickly. Such a small project has made our home significantly more comfortable upstairs. I'm really surprised with the difference.

They did a good job, and did not leave a mess. Due to wet weather, the patching material used to seal the holes in the outside walls did not set correctly, but they came back to check a few days later and touched it up. The only annoyance was that the receipt they gave me did not include the cost of materials, which is required to get the federal tax credit and PGand E rebate. It took several tries to get an itemized receipt. I was surprised that they did not automatically include this information.

Went very well - the Estimator - Kevin Byler - was excellent. Very honest, professional and knew his business. He actually talked us out of some of the insulation that was recommended by other firms!! The installers placed down tarps to eliminate any damage to the hardwood floors and carpet.

Unable to perform work due to difficulty of job. Slope under house to steep to safely install insulation. I believe this is the best coarse .

They did the work yesterday and today. They are almost done but not finished yet. The price is good. They are responsive and professional.

They were quick and efficient. Their pricing was fair and competitive. They were very helpful in getting the energy credit.

Universal was very accommodating and agreed to come to our house on a Saturday. The two workers arrived promptly between 8 and 8:30am, and started working. They laid down cloth inside and cleaned up after themselves as they went. Once they finished the attic, they did the walls from the outside. Lots of drilling, but that was expected. They patched the holes as they went. They were finished between 3-4pm. Great work!

They added insulation to our walls and roof and it was blown in. We were very pleased with them. They were clear about what they were going to do and gave us suggestions on how to reduce the amount of insulation that we blew into the house through the cracks and crevices. They were careful to give us complete information upfront. They had the work done in a day with no problem. The result was great and it was significantly warmer and quiet. The price was reasonable compared to the others.

Estimator was helpful, knowledgeable and able to give us an estimate during the visit. The team showed up on time and did the job quickly and effectively. They even swept up afterwards. Simple and effective.

Everything went well. Kevin, the estimator, was appropriate and did not sell anything more than we needed. Everything was consistent with government guidelines. Kevin only took a few quick looks in the attic and walls to determine what parts needed insulation. Our house was a little complex because some parts were remodeled and up to code and some were uninsulated. The estimate seemed to be in line with my expectations so we scheduled an installation. It took two days to do two houses as they said. They arrived within 10 minutes of their scheduled time. All the 3 workers seemed to have slightly different skills and could communicate well and clearly knew what they were doing. There was some concern that one of the areas that was remodeled did not have insulation and they discovered that the area Kevin thought was up to code did not have insulation. The concern was that it was a significant cost and the did not bring enough material. As it turns out some of the walls did not need cellulose insulation in another part of the house, so they had enough material and they said there was no issue with any additional cost. I inspected the job and the work was quite neat considering they are basically blowing in dust. We have 43 canned lights and they had to make a little chimney for each one before blowing in insulation. That seemed like a lot of work. They were thorough in that they also insulated around the skylights with fiberglass batting. Our house is stucco and we upgraded insulation about 10 years ago with another house and another contractor. Universal took a lot more pride in the stucco patching. They did a 2-step repair of the holes and the final step matched the texture of the stucco. Our previous contractor just did a simple patch of the holes without matching the stucco. Honestly, you cannot see the holes after painting from the street in either case and cannot see the holes on our old house unless you look hard, but I appreciated the attention to detail. They ended on time and everything was fine.

They gave me an estimate. They came on the day that they said they were going to be here. They completed the work in one day as they said. They charged me what they said they were going to charge. As far as I can tell they did what they were supposed to do and it worked as it was supposed to. Overall it was a positive experience. They didn t do any mess.

I definitely recommend them. They were professional, quick and easy. They were the only company I checked for on price.

It made a great different in the air temperature when it was done. They were very helpful with the rebate program.

We got a quick, friendly, and firm quote that seemed very reasonable to me. We first planned to do it all at once, but then decided after the quote to first do our roof. So they did the walls first, then waited until we were done with the roof and came back to then do the attic. They were very flexible and accommodating. They scheduled with us to be there with the roofers and help us insulate a small otherwise inaccessible part of the vaulted ceiling in the family room.

We received 3 or four quotes and Universal was one of the two lowest prices. What made the difference for us is that their quote included helping to clear/remove some things left in the attic by the previous owner of the house. They were very professional and very complete. The job was done in approximately 4.5 hours and we are pleased with the work. I gave them a B only because there was a period of a few weeks when I couldn't get anyone on the phone whenever I tried to call to schedule the quote. After I was able to get in touch with them, they were very responsive and the process moved efficiently. I would definitely recommend Universal hands-down and would certainly use them again if needed.

The online reviews and the estimator strongly advised taping up any outlets, gaps and holes on the outside walls with blue tape. I was paranoid about dust entry and taped the baseboard seams where they met the floor and walls and the electrical outlet prong holes as well, and I'm glad I did - there was insulation dust stuck on the tape at the seam lines when I peeled them off. I thought it was money very well spent. I went from R0 in the walls to R13 and R7 in the attic to R30. There were a couple of 90+ degree days following the work and I could really tell the difference. It was very comfortable when it would have been very warm in the house.

He was very professional. When we discussed insulating our garage he was honest and said that we didn't need it. He was quick and efficient, he checked it out and was on his.