The questions Wichita Falls homeowners actually ask us — about our climate, open vs. closed cell, attic R-value, safety, metal buildings, and what foam costs.
Because of what our weather does to a house. Wichita County sits in IECC Climate Zone 3B — the hot-dry zone — with roughly about 30 days a year at or above 100 degrees and a record high near 117. On top of the heat we get steady North Texas wind averaging around 10 to 12 mph, and wind is what drives hot outdoor air through every gap in a leaky house. Traditional batt insulation slows heat but does nothing to stop that air movement. Spray foam seals the gaps and insulates in one step, which is exactly what a hot, windy climate calls for.
Density and what each one does best. Open-cell foam is lighter and softer, expands a lot to fill a cavity, runs about R-3.7 per inch, and makes an excellent air seal for attics and interior walls at a lower cost. Closed-cell foam is denser and rigid, runs about R-6 to 6.5 per inch, and doubles as a moisture and air barrier — it's what we reach for on metal buildings, crawl spaces, and anywhere you want the most R-value in the least thickness. We'll tell you which one fits your project instead of pushing the pricier product by default.
It lowers the load your AC is fighting, which is where the savings come from. ENERGY STAR estimates a typical homeowner can save around 15% on heating and cooling costs by air sealing and adding insulation to attics, floors, and crawl spaces. In our climate, space heating and air conditioning already make up more than half of the average home's energy use, so cutting that load is the biggest lever you have. We won't promise you a specific dollar figure — too much depends on your house and your habits — but sealing the envelope is the change with the most leverage.
For our climate zone, ENERGY STAR recommends attic insulation in the R-49 range for an uninsulated attic, and adding up toward that level if you're already partially insulated. But R-value is only half the story in a windy climate — a fluffy R-49 batt that lets air blow through it doesn't perform at R-49. That's why we focus on sealing the attic first, then getting the R-value up. Air sealing plus insulation is the ENERGY STAR recommendation, not one or the other.
Cured spray foam is inert and stays put — the safety considerations are all about installation. During the spray and for a defined re-occupancy window afterward, the area needs to be vacated and ventilated while the chemicals react and cure. A crew that mixes the two components at the right ratio and temperature and respects the re-occupancy time is doing it right. We walk you through exactly how long to stay out and how we ventilate before we start.
A well-sealed house needs planned ventilation, and that's a feature, not a problem. The old way — relying on random leaks in your walls and ceiling for 'fresh' air — means you're also pulling in hot, dusty, humid, or pollen-laden air with no control. When we tighten a house significantly, we talk with you about mechanical ventilation so you get controlled fresh air instead of uncontrolled leakage. Tight-and-ventilated beats leaky every time for comfort and air quality.
Both. New construction is the easiest case because the wall cavities and attic are open, but a large share of our work is retrofitting existing Wichita Falls homes — most often sealing and insulating the attic, encapsulating a crawl space, or foaming a garage or bonus room that never gets comfortable. We assess access first, because that's what determines how a retrofit gets done and what it costs.
Because a steel shell has two problems batts can't solve: it conducts heat straight through, and it sweats. When humid air hits cool metal, condensation forms and drips — rusting the structure and soaking anything below. Closed-cell spray foam applied to the underside of the metal both insulates and stops that condensation by keeping the humid air off the cold surface. It's the standard fix for shops, barndominiums, and metal warehouses, and it's a big part of what we do.
It depends on square footage, whether it's open- or closed-cell, how thick we go, and how easy the space is to access — so any number over the phone would be a guess. What we can promise is a free on-site estimate and a clear written scope before any work starts. We don't quote pricing on the intake call and we don't run high-pressure sales. Our cost page walks through what actually drives the number so you're not going in blind.
Yes — we cover Burkburnett, Iowa Park, Holliday, Henrietta, Electra, and Vernon along with Wichita Falls itself. They all share the same hot-dry, windy North Texas climate, and the same insulation problems come with it: hot upstairs rooms, punishing summer bills, and metal buildings that won't hold a temperature.
Most residential attic or crawl space jobs are done in a day; larger whole-house or metal-building projects can run two to three. A lot depends on prep, access, and how much old insulation has to come out first. We'll give you a realistic timeline after we've seen the space, not before — and we'll be honest about the re-occupancy window so you can plan around it.
Up to a point, and then other things matter more. Piling on R-value while leaving the house leaky is like buying a heavier coat and leaving it unzipped in the wind. In our climate the sequence that pays off is: seal the air leaks first, then bring the R-value up to the recommended level for the zone. That's why we lead with air sealing — it's the step that makes the insulation you already have, and the insulation we add, actually perform.
Free on-site spray foam estimates across Wichita Falls and Wichita County. We’ll tell you where your building is leaking air and heat, and exactly what it takes to seal it.