Insulate For Income

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

I make good money by charging anywhere from 450 to with a square foot to insulate walls ... because the 3-1/2' wall spaces typical of older homes just won't hold a whole lot of material. You'll have to multiply the lengths of the wall areas by their widths, and then multiply the resulting figure by your per-square-foot charge, to reach a bid price.

Before you close the deal, however, be sure to obtain a written statement from the customer concerning his or her agreement to accept any unavoidable damage (such as the sawmarks left where a wooden "plug" is removed and later replaced) to the structure. This contract is for your protection, though you should—of courseal ways try to keep any signs that you've worked on a house to the barest possible minimum.

Wall insulation is usually applied from the outside of a building. You can often simply remove the siding and punch your "filler" hole through any underlying Celotex with a hammer. Older homes, however, may have wood siding that isn't easy to remove. In such cases just bore through the siding with a hole saw ... after getting the customer to O.K. such an approach. Always make your openings as high on the wall as possible ... and be sure that you've located a spot between the internal studs before you make a hole.

Once you've filled the walls with cellulose, stuff a handful of fiberglass or rock wool batting into each hole, and glue the previously removed wooden plugs in position and/or replace me siding.

STORM WINDOW SERVICE

I've found storm windows to be even easier to sell than is ceiling insulation! You won't have any difficulty marketing this service either ... if you use these facts in your sales pitch: A homeowner may realize a 25% reduction in total energy consumption if "storms" are installed on every window ... the discomforts of drafts and cold spots in the home can be eliminated ... and houses with storm windows may be 15 degrees warmer in winter and 15 degrees cooler in summer than are dwellings without "double window" protection.

Before you bid a storm window job, take the necessary measurements to your supplier and find out exactly what the windows will cost you. Then add this figure to the profit you want to make on the job. If the windows cost $300, for instance, you might want to bid the job at $425, more or less. (I always ask for about a 20% deposit from the customer on window orders that total $500 or more.)

I've found it pretty easy to obtain a 15% contractor's discount when ordering windows, but-even if such a bargain isn't available-you can make a good profit on your labor charges alone. Do "ease into" the storm window business, though, and be sure—by describing your methods to your supplier—that you're measuring your window spaces correctly before you order a single window!

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print