Overview: Insulation Contractors
Insulating a Canadian house is a fight with cold and with moisture. Crews top up attics, insulate basement walls and the rim joist above the foundation, and seal the gaps that let warm, damp air into cold framing. People usually call about a frosty attic hatch, icicles along the eaves or a bedroom over the garage that nobody wants in February.
Sealing comes before depth. Warm air leaking through pot lights, plumbing stacks and the hatch carries moisture that frosts the underside of the roof and drips at the thaw. A good crew explains where the air barrier and the vapour barrier go before it names a product.
Older houses hide surprises. Vermiculite in the attic may contain asbestos, and Health Canada says to leave it undisturbed. Urea formaldehyde foam insulation has been banned in Canada for decades, so ask what's in the walls before anyone drills into them.
Our listings show what each contractor states on its own website about the materials it uses, from blown cellulose to spray foam. Start with your province, then your city, to reach insulation crews in your area.
Frequently asked questions
Is an EnerGuide evaluation worth doing before insulating?
Often, yes. An energy advisor registered with Natural Resources Canada measures your insulation levels and runs a blower door test to find air leaks. You get an EnerGuide rating and a list of upgrades, which turns a sales pitch into a checklist. Registered service organizations don't sell evaluations door to door or through unsolicited calls, so a knock offering one is a warning sign.
What is air sealing and why does it matter?
It means closing the holes that let heated air escape into the attic and walls: the hatch, pot lights, plumbing stacks, wiring holes and the tops of interior walls. That air carries moisture, which turns to frost in a cold attic and a ceiling stain later. Natural Resources Canada encourages pulling back attic insulation to find those leaks, with one exception. Vermiculite stays put.
Spray foam, fibreglass or cellulose?
Batts suit clean, open wall cavities. Blown cellulose covers an attic floor full of wires and odd framing. Closed cell spray foam seals and insulates the rim joist in one pass. Medium density spray foam installers are certified and should carry a photo ID licence, so ask to see it. Natural Resources Canada also calls for a curing and off-gassing period before anyone moves back in.
Can insulation cause damp or mould?
Yes, if the moisture plan is wrong. Warm indoor air leaking into a cold attic condenses on the roof deck. Natural Resources Canada puts the vapour barrier on the warm side of the insulation. A second barrier on the cold side can trap water in the wall. Bathroom fans have to vent outdoors, never into the attic. On basement walls, keep insulation tight to the concrete.
What if my attic already has vermiculite insulation?
Leave it alone for now. Health Canada advises assuming older vermiculite may contain asbestos. Left sealed in an attic, it poses little risk to the people below. Trouble starts when someone rakes it, vacuums it or crawls through it to work. If the job means disturbing it, hire a professional trained to handle asbestos before the insulation crew shows up.
