Insulation Before & After in New Braunfels, TX
Photos don’t lie. A blower-door reading of 4,200 CFM50 dropping to 2,100 tells one story; the image of a 1970s attic floor with daylight showing through the top plates tells another. We document every job with before-and-after photos and published blower-door numbers so you can see what “sealed first, then insulated” actually looks like in a New Braunfels home.
Recent Transformations
Attic Air Sealing & Blown-In Insulation: Heritage Neighborhood, New Braunfels
The homeowner called us in July after their upstairs bedrooms wouldn’t cool below 78 degrees. We found a classic case: original R-19 fiberglass batts compressed to R-12, with visible gaps at every top plate where conditioned air was pumping straight into the attic. Our crew spent the first day sealing, not insulating, using two-part foam on all top plates, electrical penetrations, and the chase around the furnace flue. Blower-door test read 3,800 CFM50 before sealing, 2,400 after. Then we blew R-38 GreenFiber cellulose to a uniform 12-inch depth. The after photos show a flat, even blanket with no thermal bridging. The homeowner’s August electric bill dropped $87 from the prior year.
Crawl Space Encapsulation & Vapor Barrier: River Road Area, New Braunfels
This 1960s ranch near the Guadalupe River had a crawl space that smelled like mildew every spring when the water table rose. The fiberglass batts between joists were black with mold and falling in strips. We removed all contaminated material, treated the joists with botanical antimicrobial, then installed a 12-mil reinforced polyethylene vapor barrier sealed with mastic tape to the foundation walls. R-10 Rockwool rigid foam went on the rim joists, the thermal bridge that most crews ignore. A condensate pump now drains to the exterior. Wood moisture dropped from 22% to 11% in three weeks. The musty smell hasn’t returned in two years.
Spray Foam Insulation: New Construction, Comal County
The builder on this Comal County job wanted a conditioned attic for the HVAC equipment but needed to hit a tight budget. We specified closed-cell Icynene in the walls for structure and moisture control, open-cell Demilec in the roof deck for cost efficiency. The critical detail: we sprayed the wall plates and all penetrations first, then filled the cavities. Blower-door test at final read 1,800 CFM50 on a 3,200 square foot house, tight enough that the HVAC contractor downsized the system by half a ton. The photos show the foam trimmed flush with studs, ready for drywall inspection with no voids or shadowing.
Insulation Removal & Replacement: Downtown New Braunfels Historic District
A 1925 bungalow near Main Street with a squirrel problem that three pest companies had treated but never solved. The insulation was a biohazard, compressed to R-8 with active burrow trails in the soffit returns. We suited up, removed everything in sealed bags, HEPA-vacuumed the decking, and found the entry: a rotted fascia corner behind the gutter that pest crews couldn’t see from below. We replaced the fascia, screened all soffit vents with half-inch hardware cloth, and sanitized the substrate before blowing R-38 cellulose. The blower-door test showed 3,400 CFM50 before sealing, 2,200 after we closed the envelope. No callbacks in 18 months.
Radiant Barrier Installation: Oak Run, New Braunfels
This Oak Run split-level had a west-facing roof that turned the upstairs into a sauna by 4 PM, even with the AC running continuously. The existing R-30 batts were fine, but the dark architectural shingles were radiating 140-degree heat directly onto the insulation surface. We installed Owens Corning radiant barrier foil across the rafter bays, leaving a 3/4-inch air gap above for convective cooling. Attic temperature at 4 PM dropped from 128 degrees to 94 degrees. The homeowner didn’t need more insulation; they needed to stop the heat before it reached the insulation. The after photos show the foil reflecting light evenly across the deck, no wrinkles or gaps at the ridge.
Attic Cleaning & Rodent Proofing: Solms, New Braunfels
A Solms homeowner heard scratching in the ceiling for months before calling us. The attic had been a rat highway for at least two seasons, with nesting material packed into the soffit returns and urine saturation on the drywall ceiling below. We removed all contaminated material, found and sealed eight entry points including a gap behind the brick veneer that was invisible from the ground, and replaced chewed Romex in two junction boxes, an electrician referral we coordinated. After sanitizing with botanical enzyme, we air-sealed the top plates and blew R-38 cellulose. The documented photo record, included on every job, showed the homeowner exactly what was removed and what was installed. The scratching stopped that week.
What Every Job Includes
- Written price before any work starts, always, under Haven Standard Clause 1
- Before-and-after blower-door test on air-sealing jobs, with published CFM50 readings
- Documented Photo Record included, not available on request, delivered with your invoice
- 365-Day Done Right Promise on all completed work
- Background-checked, uniformed technicians and calls answered by a live person
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Before
AfterWant Results Like These?
Call (830) 243-6352 and we’ll schedule a free assessment. We’ll bring a blower door if air sealing is part of the scope, show you what we find, and give you a written price before any work starts. That’s Haven Standard Clause 1, and it’s how we’ve sealed and insulated over 9,000 homes since 2016.
Written by Wes Okafor, Owner at Topside Attic Insulation New Braunfels, serving New Braunfels since 2016.