Attic inspection: what a good free one covers

An attic inspection is the cheapest hour in the whole job, and at Attic WISE it costs nothing at all. That's exactly why it's worth knowing what should happen during it. A free visit can be a careful look that ends in a quote you understand, or it can be ten minutes on the ladder and a number scribbled on a card. This page is the checklist for telling the two apart, whoever you invite.

Why the inspection matters more in the Bay Area

The same word, "attic", covers very different spaces here. Some are tall enough to stand in; some are a foot and a half of crawl over plaster-and-lath ceilings that crack if you lean on them. Some hold the furnace and every duct in the house; some hold nothing but insulation. Inland attics in Walnut Creek, Livermore or San Jose cook all summer, while fog-side attics in Daly City or San Francisco's Richmond District stay cool and sometimes damp. And whether the code asks for R-49, air sealing and recessed-light covers when you add insulation depends on which of four climate zones you're in and how much insulation is already there.

None of that can be priced from a square-footage number alone. The inspection is where the price stops being a range and becomes a list.

What any good attic inspection checks

Whoever does it, you should see them look at all of these, or hear why they couldn't.

1. Insulation depth, in more than one spot. A ruler in the insulation near the hatch and further out, and a note of the material. One reading at the hatch, where it's always been trampled, isn't a measurement.
2. The condition of what's there. Dry or water-stained? Even or drifted into piles? Flattened under old storage? Dark streaks in fiberglass, which usually mean air has been leaking through it?
3. Rodent signs. Droppings, tunnels through the insulation, nesting, chewed wiring, and the gaps they came in through. Under California public health guidance, nobody should be sweeping or vacuuming droppings to get a better look.
4. Air leaks from the house below. The top plates of interior walls, holes drilled for wires and pipes, the flue chase, recessed lights and the hatch itself. These are what air sealing covers, and they have to be found before insulation buries them.
5. Ventilation and the eaves. Where air comes in and goes out, whether the eave vents are buried in old insulation, and whether baffles are there to keep them open once the floor is filled.
6. Ducts. Disconnected runs, crushed flex duct and torn jackets are common in attics with a furnace below, and leaky ducts are a common source of lost heat (ductwork).
7. Moisture. Stains on the roof sheathing, damp insulation, and bathroom fans that blow into the attic instead of outdoors.
8. Recessed lights. Whether each can is rated for contact with insulation. Cans that aren't need covers or replacement before insulation goes near them.
9. Knob-and-tube wiring. Old wiring on ceramic knobs changes what can be installed and in what order.
10. Vermiculite. Pebbly, gray-brown or silver-gold loose fill, which the EPA says to assume contains asbestos.

The fact most quotes leave out: gas appliances

Here's one item that rarely makes a checklist, and it changes the code requirements. The 2025 California Energy Code's compliance manual exempts homes with atmospherically vented combustion appliances inside the pressure boundary from the air-sealing part of the altered-ceiling requirements. In plain terms, that's typically a gas furnace or water heater with a natural-draft flue, located inside the home's air barrier. Where each appliance sits is something to note on the visit. The other parts of the requirement still apply; only the air sealing drops out.

So a good inspection also notes what heats your house and your water, and where those appliances sit. That one observation can change what the code asks for on your job, and it's the kind of detail a quote built from photos of the attic alone can miss.

Safety stops: when the inspection ends the job, for now

Two findings pause attic insulation work entirely:

• Suspected vermiculite. The EPA's advice is to assume it contains asbestos and not to disturb it; the vermiculite guide covers what happens next.
• Knob-and-tube wiring. California's electrical code only allows insulation around it after an electrical contractor surveys and signs off on it, among other conditions. The knob-and-tube guide explains the order.

Attic WISE doesn't handle either one. When we find them, we say so, explain what we saw, and refer you to the right kind of specialist. Our part waits until theirs is done.

Heavy rodent contamination doesn't stop the job, but it changes its shape: the soiled insulation comes out and the attic gets cleaned before anything new goes in. That's insulation removal and attic cleaning and sanitizing, usually alongside rodent proofing to close the gaps they used.

What an attic inspection is not

Being clear about scope saves everyone time.

• It isn't an energy audit. An energy audit looks at the whole house: walls, windows, heating and cooling equipment, and how it all performs together.
• It isn't a blower-door test. That's an instrument test that depressurizes the house to measure total air leakage. A free attic visit doesn't include one, and nothing on this site offers it.
• It isn't a home inspection. If you're buying or selling, the home inspector's report covers the whole property. Attic findings on that report are a different conversation.
• It isn't a code sign-off. Under the 2025 Energy Code, the building department verifies an insulation alteration, not the person quoting it.

What it is: a focused look at the attic, enough to write a quote that lists what comes out, what gets sealed, what goes in and how deep.

How to get the most out of the visit

A little preparation makes the inspection faster and the quote more accurate:

• Clear the way to the hatch. If it's in a closet, empty the shelf. If it's in a garage, move whatever is stacked underneath.
• Make a short list of symptoms. Which rooms run hot or cold, what time of day, any musty smell, any scratching at night. These point the inspector to the right corner.
• Find old paperwork. A receipt from a past insulation job lists the R-value and, for loose fill, the number of bags and the settled thickness. Ten minutes with it can explain why an attic looks the way it does.
• Know what heats the house. Furnace or heat pump, gas or electric water heater, and where each sits.
• Check it yourself first, if you like. Checking your own attic from the hatch takes a few minutes and makes the conversation sharper.

What you should walk away with

At the end of the visit you should understand, in plain words, what's up there and what, if anything, it needs. After it you get a written quote, and nothing is owed unless you sign. If the attic needs nothing, the right answer is to say so.

If you'd like to see the ballpark first, the cost page shows Bay Area market ranges for every kind of attic work, labeled as market ranges rather than our price. When you're ready, book the free inspection, or choose the photo estimate on the same page if you'd rather nobody came up the ladder.