Spray Foam Insulation in Midwest City, OK

Spray Foam Insulation in Midwest City usually starts with a mid-century house. The city was incorporated in 1943 and named for the Midwest Air Depot, now Tinker Air Force Base, and Wikipedia says Seward Mott of the Federal Housing Administration's Land Planning Division helped design it as a model for postwar development. The population went from 10,166 in 1950 to 36,058 in 1960, so a large share of the city's 26,522 housing units date from that boom.

What 1950s houses tend to have

Homes from that era were built before modern energy codes. We often find a few inches of old insulation in the attic, sometimes rock wool or early fiberglass, open gaps where walls meet the ceiling, no insulation in exterior walls, and ductwork added later with joints that were never sealed. Some have vermiculite, which we do not disturb; it should be tested first.

A practical plan

For most Midwest City homes, the most value comes from three steps: seal the attic floor, fix or seal the ducts, and blow the attic to R-38 or more. If the walls are empty, dense-packed cellulose can fill them through small holes. Spray foam fits where the attic is too shallow for loose fill or where a garage has been turned into a room.

Rentals and long-time owners

Wikipedia's 2020 figures show 45.6 percent of occupied homes in Midwest City are rented. Landlords often want improvements that cut cooling complaints without disturbing tenants, and attic work suits that well.

Living near the base

Tinker Air Force Base, which Wikipedia calls the largest single-site employer in Oklahoma, sits next door, and many households connected to the base buy and sell on a few years' notice. Homes that change hands frequently tend to get cosmetic updates rather than attic work, so insulation that was installed decades ago is often still all that is up there. If you have just bought a Midwest City home, an attic check is a quick way to see how much of the summer bill comes from the ceiling. We also look at aircraft noise complaints: open-cell foam and dense-pack in walls and ceilings will not soundproof a house, but they can take the edge off.

Climate and code

Midwest City's average July high is about 93F and its January low about 26F, per Wikipedia. Oklahoma County is in Climate Zone 3A, and the Department of Energy recommends R-49 to R-60 for a Zone 3 attic with no insulation. Get a free estimate