Demilec Home Energy Audit in Burbank: What to Know First
A Demilec home energy audit in Burbank typically runs $199 to $449 for a full diagnostic that includes a blower door test, thermal imaging, and a detailed insulation assessment of your spray foam. We complete most Demilec-focused audits in one visit, usually within two to three hours, and you’ll leave with a written report showing exactly where your home is losing conditioned air. If you’re noticing higher bills than you’d expect from a spray-foamed home, or rooms that never quite hold temperature, that’s where we start. Call (747) 837-5834 and a live person answers, any hour.
This page is for Burbank homeowners who have Demilec spray foam insulation, whether in the attic, walls, or crawl space, and want an independent assessment of how it’s actually performing. Neil Ashford, our owner, has spent nearly two decades diagnosing homes across Burbank, including older properties near Magnolia Park where spray foam was retrofitted into framing that wasn’t exactly square. The short version: we find the gaps other contractors miss, and we document everything so you know what’s worth fixing and what can wait.
How Demilec Products Fail - and How We Fix Them
Spray foam doesn’t fail the way fiberglass does, but it does fail. Here’s what we actually see on Demilec jobs in Burbank homes, based on model line and failure mode.
- Heatlok HFO Pro shrinkage at the rim joist. This closed-cell line is a workhorse, but in Burbank’s older crawl spaces we regularly find it has pulled back a quarter to half inch from the rim joist after a few seasons of thermal cycling. That gap becomes a highway for outside air. Our fix is identifying the pull-away zones with thermal imaging, then air-sealing the gaps with compatible closed-cell foam before re-testing with the blower door. It’s not a re-spray of the whole area; it’s targeted correction.
- Sealection 500 open-cell overspray from original installs. Open-cell Demilec is more forgiving, but when it was applied by a rushed crew it often ends up thin at the top plates and around electrical penetrations. The symptom is rooms that warm up fast in the afternoon, especially on Burbank’s west side where summer sun hammers the building envelope. We find the thin spots with an infrared scan, then build up coverage or air-seal the specific bypasses. You don’t need a full removal; you need someone who knows where to look.
- Ascend closed-cell delamination in unconditioned attics. The Ascend line, when applied over dusty or damp substrate in a vented attic, can separate from the decking. What the homeowner notices isn’t the foam itself; it’s dust streaks on the insulation surface and a persistent musty smell. We document the delamination, remove the compromised material, address the moisture source, and re-apply properly. If we see signs of this in an audit, we flag it before it becomes a mold problem.
- Demilec foam installed at the wrong depth for Burbank’s climate. This one isn’t a product defect; it’s an application error. Burbank sits in a mixed climate zone where the required R-value for closed-cell Demilec is specific to the assembly. We audit attics where the foam is an inch or two short of what the original contract specified, meaning the homeowners paid for performance they’re not getting. Our report includes measured depth readings at multiple points, not just one cherry-picked spot.
- Pest intrusion at hybrid installs using Demilec plus fiberglass. Burbank has a real rodent pressure, and we see attics where Demilec closed-cell was used on the roofline, but batt insulation was left loose at the eaves. Rodents nest in the fiberglass, tunnel against the foam, and create air channels that bypass the entire air barrier. Our audit maps those paths with the blower door and thermal imaging, then we recommend the right sealing plus rodent-proofing. It’s a building-science issue before it’s a pest-control issue.
Our Demilec Home Energy Audit Process
Here’s what a Demilec-focused audit looks like from the first call to the final report. No guesswork, no upsell pressure.
- 1
Call and schedule. A live person answers at (747) 837-5834, asks about your Demilec installation: what product, what year, where it’s located. That tells us which failure patterns to prioritize. We book at a time that works for you, including evenings.
- 2
Walkthrough and visual inspection. Our technician, background-checked and uniformed, walks the attic, crawl space, and any accessible wall cavities. We look at foam thickness, adhesion, gaps at framing, and any signs of moisture or pest activity. We photograph everything.
- 3
Blower door test. We depressurize the house and measure total air leakage in CFM. On Demilec homes, the number is almost always better than a fiberglass house, but the specific leakage locations matter more than the total. We map them room by room.
- 4
Thermal imaging inspection. Using an infrared camera, we identify thermal bypasses, thin spots, delamination, and missing coverage. On older Burbank homes, especially those built between 1940 and 1970, framing irregularities create voids that a general audit would miss. This is where Neil’s field experience shows.
- 5
Duct leakage testing where relevant. If your HVAC ducts run through the attic or crawl space, we test for leakage. Spray foam homes are often under-ventilated, so duct leaks don’t just waste energy; they throw off room-by-room comfort. We measure and document.
- 6
Written report and clear priority list. Before we leave, you get a plain-English summary of what we found, what it costs to fix, and what can wait. Most correction jobs from a Demilec audit are completed in a single follow-up visit. Every repair recommendation is covered by our 90-Day Done Right Promise.
What Demilec Home Energy Audit Costs in Burbank
For Burbank homes with Demilec spray foam, here’s what you can expect to pay for the most common audit scenarios we handle.
- Standard Demilec audit with blower door and thermal imaging: $199 to $349, depending on home size and number of zones. This covers attic, crawl space, and accessible wall assessment.
- Full audit with duct leakage testing added: $299 to $449. Worth it if your ducts run through unconditioned space, which is common in Burbank’s older ranch homes.
- Demilec-specific remediation after audit (air sealing, spot re-foam): $400 to $1,800, depending on square footage and access difficulty. We use compatible Demilec or equivalent closed-cell foam, never a cheap open-cell patch on a closed-cell assembly.
- Full removal and replacement of failed Demilec foam: $3,000 to $8,000 or more, depending on depth and contamination. We only recommend this when the foam has become a moisture or air-barrier problem, not as a default answer.
What moves the price: attic height and accessibility, crawl space clearance, whether we need to move stored belongings, and how many test points we need to map. Every audit comes with upfront pricing before we start, no hidden line items, and the report is yours to keep whether or not you hire us for repairs. Call (747) 837-5834 for a free estimate and straight answers about your Demilec installation.
Why Burbank Homeowners Call Warmline Insulation Co. for Demilec Work
We’re an independent Demilec service provider, not an authorized dealer, and that’s an important distinction. Demilec’s warranty doesn’t cover work performed by us, but our 90-Day Done Right Promise does: if our repair isn’t right, we make it right, in writing. No Demilec homeowner in Burbank has ever had to chase us down over a callback. Most of our audit-driven fixes are completed in one visit, and our techs arrive background-checked and uniformed, with the specific foam products needed for Demilec assemblies already on the truck. If a repair calls for a non-Demilec product, we’ll use an equivalent from a manufacturer we trust, and we’ll tell you before we spray. For homes where Demilec was paired with a radiant barrier from Reflectix, we handle that too, so you’re not bouncing between contractors. One diagnostic, one prioritized list, one accountable team. We’ve been doing this in Burbank since 2011, and the houses we test in the Magnolia Park neighborhood aren’t strangers to us; they’re the same mid-century framing and vented attics we’ve been mapping for over a decade.
FAQs
No. An independent audit doesn’t void your Demilec warranty; it’s a diagnostic that documents how the insulation is performing. However, if we perform corrective work using non-Demilec materials, Demilec’s warranty on that specific section may not apply. We’ll walk you through exactly what’s covered before any repair, and our 90-Day Done Right Promise covers our work regardless. Call (747) 837-5834 for details specific to your Demilec product line.
We can typically schedule a Demilec home energy audit in Burbank within one to three business days, and the audit itself takes two to three hours. If you’re experiencing a specific problem like a sudden spike in bills or visible foam separation, we can often come the same day. A live person answers 24/7 at (747) 837-5834 to get you on the schedule.
In most Burbank homes we audit, targeted repair is significantly cheaper than removal and replacement. Typical repair costs run $400 to $1,800, while full replacement of failed Demilec foam can exceed $3,000. The deciding factors are moisture damage, pest contamination, and how much of the original spray foam has delaminated or pulled away. Our audit report gives you the exact numbers so you can decide with confidence, not guesswork.
We see Heatlok HFO Pro, Sealection 500, and Ascend most frequently in Burbank homes, depending on when the home was insulated. Heatlok HFO Pro was popular in retrofits around 2017 to 2022, while many mid-century Burbank houses that were upgraded in the late 2000s have Sealection 500. The Ascend line shows up in newer builds and major renovations. Each has its own specific failure patterns, which is why we don’t run a one-size-fits-all audit.
Yes. We work on hybrid assemblies where Demilec spray foam was paired with Reflectix radiant barrier, especially in Burbank attics where homeowners wanted both an air barrier and a radiant heat block. Our audit checks both systems as they interact, because a poorly placed Reflectix layer can trap moisture against open-cell Demilec and create condensation problems. One inspection covers the whole assembly.
Written by Neil Ashford, Owner, Warmline Insulation Co. at Warmline Insulation Co., serving Burbank and nearby areas.