Spray Foam Insulation in Mount Vernon, NY

Spray Foam Insulation in Mount Vernon means working in some of the oldest and densest housing in Westchester. The 2020 census counted 73,893 people on 4.39 square miles of land, a density of about 16,800 per square mile, and recent survey data puts the median home here at 1953, with 33.8% of units built before 1940. Houses that old were built without air barriers, and most have had only partial upgrades since.

North Side and South Side

The New Haven Line divides the city. The North Side includes Fleetwood, Chester Heights, Huntswood and Oakwood Heights, with co-op buildings along Gramatan Avenue and single-family streets on the elevated ground nicknamed the rolling hills of homes. The South Side, including Parkside and Vernon Park, has more multi-family houses and apartment buildings. A detached Colonial on a hill and a two-family on a flat block leak in different places, so we look before we suggest anything.

Built for people of modest means

Mount Vernon's early growth came from the New York Industrial Home Association, a cooperative that built homes for tradesmen and working families. Many of those modest houses, and the ones that followed, have shallow attics, small half-story rooms and balloon-framed walls. Sealing the attic floor and the tops of the wall cavities, then insulating, is often the best first step. Closed-cell foam on the rim joist handles the basement end.

Renters and owners

About 57% of occupied units are rented, according to the same survey data. If you own a two- or three-family building, insulating the shared attic and basement benefits every unit, and quoting each space separately makes it easy to plan the work over time. If you are an owner-occupant, the top floor and the first floor are usually where comfort improves most.

Two-families and shared spaces

Much of Mount Vernon's South Side is multi-family housing, and a two- or three-family house usually has one attic and one basement serving every unit. The top-floor unit usually overheats in summer because of the attic, and the first floor gets the cold air that comes in at the rim joist. Treating those two shared spaces helps every apartment at once. If the owner lives in one unit and rents the others, we can schedule foam work when the building can be cleared and do sealing and blown-in work with tenants home.

Code and incentives

Mount Vernon is outside New York City, so the state energy code applies; its county table puts Westchester in Climate Zone 4 with R-49 for ceilings. NYSERDA's Comfort Home program lists incentives for Westchester homeowners for attic and rim joist sealing and insulation, through participating contractors.