Demilec Home Energy Audit in Palo Alto: What to Know First
We provide independent Demilec home energy audit in Palo Alto, typically scheduled within 48 hours and completed in a single visit. Most audits run between $280 and $520 depending on home size and whether duct-leakage testing is included. You’ll get a written price before we start, a documented photo record of what we find, and no pressure to book additional work.
This page is for Palo Alto homeowners with Demilec spray foam or hybrid insulation systems who want to know whether their envelope is performing as designed. Maybe you’re seeing uneven temperatures between rooms, or your energy bills climbed after a renovation, or you simply want the blower-door number before deciding on upgrades. Call (650) 352-3577 to schedule. Estimates are free.
How Demilec Products Fail - and How We Fix Them
- Demilec Sealection 500 open-cell foam shrinkage in cathedral ceilings. We see this in Palo Alto’s 1970s-1990s ranch remodels where the foam was applied directly to roof decking without a vent channel. The foam pulls away from rafter edges as it ages, creating thermal bypasses that infrared cameras pick up as streaky cold spots. We remove the compromised foam, install proper vent baffles, and reapply to Demilec’s specified thickness so the R-value matches the label.
- Demilec Heatlok HFO High Lift overspray gaps in tight attic kneewalls. The high-lift chemistry is excellent for open areas, but in the cramped kneewalls common near Old Palo Alto and Professorville, installers sometimes miss the stud bay corners. Our blower-door test catches these as localized leakage paths; we spot-foam with Demilec-approved low-pressure cans rather than tearing out good material.
- Demilec Sealection Agribalance moisture retention in crawl spaces below grade. Palo Alto’s clay-heavy soils in the Duveneck and St. Francis Acres areas hold moisture against foundation walls. When Agribalance is applied to damp concrete without proper drainage prep, the bio-based content can harbor mold. We test substrate moisture content first, install vapor barriers where needed, and only then address the foam.
- Demilec Heatlok XT rigid foam board delamination from HVAC plenums. The foil-facing adhesive fails when temperature cycles exceed design range, common in attics where flex duct was later added and the plenum runs hotter than original spec. We strip the failed board, clean with solvent per Demilec’s surface prep guide, and reattach with mechanical fasteners plus compatible sealant.
- Demilec open-cell foam degradation from rodent activity in unsealed attics. Mice tunnel through open-cell foam near eave vents, especially in the wooded lots off Arastradero and Page Mill. We don’t just patch the foam; we seal the entry points with steel mesh and foam, document the locations, and replace the damaged sections with closed-cell Heatlok HFO where chewing pressure is highest.
Our Demilec Home Energy Audit Process
- 1
Call and scope. A live person answers, asks about your home’s age, the Demilec product line if you know it, and what symptoms you’re seeing. We schedule a two-hour window and text when the technician is en route.
- 2
Visual and infrared survey. The tech walks the attic, crawl space, and any conditioned kneewalls with a FLIR camera, looking for the specific failure signatures each Demilec line tends to show. Photos are geotagged and time-stamped.
- 3
Blower-door test. We depressurize the house to 50 Pascals and record the CFM50 reading - the single number that tells us how much air is moving through your envelope. If the number is high for a foam-sealed home, we know exactly where to look.
- 4
Duct leakage test (if scoped). A duct blaster measures how much conditioned air is escaping into unconditioned space. Demilec foam on duct exteriors doesn’t fix leaks inside the metal.
- 5
Written findings and price. Before we leave, you get a written report with photos, the blower-door number, and a flat price for any recommended work. No callback needed. No “we’ll email you Monday.”
- 6
Documentation delivery. If you proceed, the job closes with a second blower-door test, updated photos, and a final report showing the change. Under our 365-Day Done Right Promise, if the numbers don’t hold, we return.
What Demilec Home Energy Audit Costs in Palo Alto
| Service | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| Basic home energy audit (blower door + infrared, no duct test) | $280 - $380 |
| Full audit with duct leakage testing | $420 - $520 |
| Follow-up verification blower-door test after our repairs | $150 - $200 |
| Combustion safety check (gas appliances in attic) | $85 - $120 |
What moves the price: home square footage, number of HVAC zones, accessibility of attic and crawl space, and whether we need to bring in a second technician for safe ladder work on steep pitches common in the foothills. We don’t charge extra for weekend appointments.
Call (650) 352-3577 for a written estimate - we’ll read your existing audit or contractor report with you, no cost, even if you don’t hire us.
Why Palo Alto Homeowners Call Topside Attic Insulation Palo Alto for Demilec Work
We’ve been running jobs on the Peninsula since 2016, and Wes Okafor’s crew has worked on Demilec systems from the early Sealection 200 formulations through current HFO chemistry. We know which lot numbers had the shrinkage issue, which applicators in the area sprayed too thin in 2018-2019, and how to read a Demilec warranty card to see if the original install qualifies for manufacturer support.
We’re an independent Demilec service provider - not affiliated with or authorized by Demilec - which means we can source OEM material when it matters or specify quality alternatives like Reflectix radiant barriers where the original design overreached. Every job gets the Haven Standard treatment: written price first, documented record last, and a live person on the phone if you call at 10 PM with a question about your report.
Seal the leaks first. The insulation has nowhere to work if the air is moving around it.
FAQs
Demilec’s product warranty covers material defects regardless of who inspects it, but the workmanship warranty from your original installer may be void if they used uncertified applicators. We document the foam’s condition with photos and lot numbers so you have evidence for either claim. Call (650) 352-3577 and we’ll walk through your paperwork.
We source Demilec OEM foam and compatible sealants through regional distributors in San Jose and Hayward. For discontinued lines like early Sealection 200, we match density and R-value with current Heatlok HFO formulations that Demilec confirms are chemically compatible. We never guess; we call the tech line and get it in writing.
Spot repairs typically run $400-$900 versus $2,800-$5,500 for full removal and reapplication in a typical Palo Alto ranch attic. We only recommend full removal when the foam is water-damaged, structurally compromised, or so poorly applied that the effective R-value is less than half the labeled rating. Our audit gives you the numbers to decide.
We usually schedule within 48 hours, and same-day is often possible if you’re flexible on morning or afternoon windows. We don’t use callback windows measured in business days. Call (650) 352-3577 and a live person will find the next available slot.
No. The test depressurizes the house to 50 Pascals, which is less stress than a windy day. If your foam is already failing, the test may reveal it - that’s the point - but it won’t cause new damage. We do a combustion-safety check on any gas appliance in the attic before we start, because depressurizing without verifying flue draft is how carbon monoxide problems start.
Written by Wes Okafor, Owner, Topside Attic Insulation Palo Alto at Topside Attic Insulation Palo Alto, serving Palo Alto and nearby areas.