Apex State College Spray Foam InsulationApex State College Spray Foam Insulation

Insulation Contractor in Tyrone, PA - Warmer Rooms in Older Valley Homes

Apex State College Spray Foam Insulation is an insulation contractor based in State College, PA, and we air seal and insulate attics, walls, basements and crawl spaces in Tyrone, including the drafty older houses around downtown.

Request a quote(814) 996-0002
Close-up of cream-colored spray foam filling the spaces between wooden roof rafters.
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About Tyrone, PA

Tyrone is a borough in northern Blair County, set in the Bald Eagle Valley at the foot of Bald Eagle Mountain, where Bald Eagle Creek meets the Little Juniata River. The older neighborhoods around downtown are lined with two-story frame and brick houses set close together, with the shops and businesses along the main streets, and it feels more like Bellefonte than the newer subdivisions around State College.

Many of these homes went up long before anyone blew insulation into an attic, and they've had decades of patching and add-ons since. So on a Tyrone job I spend the first part finding where the air gets in and what's already up there, before we add a thing.

Services in Tyrone, PA

  • Attic air sealing

    Older Tyrone houses leak warm air through gaps around chimneys, pipes, wiring and the attic hatch. We close those gaps first, so the insulation on top isn't fighting a draft.

  • Insulation removal

    Old attic fill here is sometimes stained by past roof leaks or full of droppings. We take it out and clean up first, so the problem isn't buried under new insulation.

  • Home insulation

    Older Tyrone houses that have been added onto tend to have cold rooms in odd places. Our home insulation work starts with the whole house, so the worst spots get fixed first.

  • Wall insulation

    Plenty of older frame houses here have hollow walls behind the plaster or siding. We fill those cavities through small holes and patch them, so you keep the walls you have.

  • Crawl space vapor barrier

    Older valley homes often sit over crawl spaces with bare dirt floors. We cover the ground with a heavy vapor barrier so less of that damp works up into the house.

  • Basement insulation

    Older Tyrone homes often have stone or block basement walls that pass cold straight through. Where a wall stays damp, we use closed-cell foam, since it insulates without soaking up moisture.

What to know before we start work in Tyrone

In Tyrone, permits and inspections go through the Code Enforcement Officer for the Borough of Tyrone, which uses Pennsylvania's Uniform Construction Code, the state building code, as its own. Building, remodeling or adding on generally needs a permit there, ordinary interior repairs don't, and the Borough's advice is to ask first, so I check before we set a date, because a permit can move the start. We're licensed and insured. As for the price, it moves with how many inches are already up there, whether old material has to come out, how much air sealing the house needs and how easy the attic or crawl space is to reach, and the written estimate I leave you puts your own figure on it.

Not every place people call Tyrone sits inside Borough limits, and the Borough's permit and zoning rules only cover work inside them. The school district and Penn Highlands Tyrone, for example, are in neighboring Snyder Township, so the first thing I confirm is which office covers your address. We drive over from State College for these jobs, and the older houses here have a lot in common with the ones we insulate over in Lewistown.

Tyrone, PA properties and local conditions

Calls from Tyrone usually start with an older house that's never quite comfortable. When I get up into the attic, I tend to find a few inches of old insulation that's settled and gone thin along the edges, eave vents buried under it, and open gaps around the chimney, pipes and hatch. We start with air sealing, closing those gaps before any insulation goes down, then clear the vents so the attic can breathe and moisture stays out of the framing, and bring the coverage up evenly all the way to the edges, where the cold gets in first.

The valley has a history with water. The 1936 flood ran through almost all of the business district and more than half of the residential streets, and while channeling the river and creek has done much to stop flooding since, older basements and crawl spaces here can still be damp or show old stains. I'd want to see down there before we insulate, because covering a wet wall or floor only traps the water.

Get a free on-site insulation estimate for your Tyrone home

Send the form or call (814) 996-0002, and we'll reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out to your house in Tyrone. The estimate is free and written up for you, with no pressure and no obligation.

How it works when you call us about a Tyrone house

  1. Call or send the form

    Tell us a little about the house and what's bothering you, whether it's a drafty room, cold floors or a hot upstairs, and we'll set a time for me to come out to Tyrone. Please plan to be home for the visit so we can look at the attic, basement or crawl space together.

  2. I look over the house

    I check the attic, walls, basement or crawl space, measure how many inches are already up there and go over what I find with you before anything is written up. You then get the estimate in writing to look over on your own time, so nothing about the cost is a guess.

  3. We plan the work together

    Where the Borough requires a permit, we take care of the paperwork and keep you posted on where it stands, since that can set the start date. We also talk through fresh air, any gas or oil appliances and whether anyone needs time away from home before work begins.

  4. We install, then I check

    Our installers work in the order the job needs, clearing old material where it has to go, sealing the gaps and then insulating, so nothing gets covered before it's ready. Before we call it finished, I go over the work with you.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a permit to insulate my house in Tyrone, PA?

Sometimes, and the safe move is to ask before work starts, which is the Borough's own advice. The state's building code leaves out residential repairs and alterations that don't change the structure or the exits, unless a local ordinance says otherwise, while remodeling or adding on generally needs a permit. If your insulation is part of a remodel or an addition, plan on the permit question coming up.

Does insulating a detached garage in Tyrone need a permit?

Under the state's building code, a detached private garage under 1,000 square feet that serves a one-family house is left out, but a local ordinance can require otherwise, so it's worth asking the Borough before we start. The same office handles zoning questions, and zoning sets size and placement rules for garages and sheds by district. I'll bring it up at the estimate if the garage is part of the job.

How much does it cost to insulate an older house in Tyrone?

The cost of insulating an older Tyrone house comes down mostly to what's already in the attic and whether it has to come out first, so I'd want to see it before giving a number. Spray foam costs more since it seals air and insulates in one step, and I lean toward it when ductwork runs through the attic. Otherwise, sealing the gaps and topping up with blown-in, loose fill blown through a hose, usually gets you more for the money.

What causes cold floors over a crawl space or garage in Tyrone homes?

Cold floors usually come from an unheated space underneath, with gaps letting outside air in and little or nothing insulating the floor. We seal the rim, the wood band where the house sits on the foundation, then insulate the floor or the crawl space walls, depending on whether pipes and ducts run down there.

How long does insulation work take, and do we have to leave the house in Tyrone?

That depends on the size of the house and whether old insulation has to come out first, and I'll tell you what to expect for yours at the estimate. With blown-in work, families usually stay home, but spray foam means everyone, kids and pets included, stays out until its re-entry time, the wait before it's safe to come back inside. We go over that well before the day so you can plan.

How do I know if my attic needs more insulation in Tyrone?

Look in from the hatch with a flashlight, and if you can see the tops of the ceiling joists, the wooden beams the ceiling hangs from, there probably isn't enough. A hot upstairs in summer and a power bill that climbs every winter point the same way. I'd still want to see it in person, because thin edges and buried vents don't show from the hatch.

Service areas

Explore the services

State College, PA

Plan your Tyrone insulation job with us

We answer the phone until 10 PM on weekdays and until 9 PM on weekends, so you can call (814) 996-0002 after work or send the form tonight.

Request a quote(814) 996-0002
(814) 996-0002Request a quote