Fair 48° F

Home > Archive > Apr 10, 2008

Business Helps Insulate Customers From Energy Costs
By Cami Cox
Staff Writer
Stock Building Supply, a local full-service lumberyard and building-supply company, is striving to help out the local community with goodwill giving and rebate programs when it comes to home insulation.
“We will get your house insulated one way or another if you're interested in conserving energy and saving money,” Chris Egbert, branch manager for St. George insulation at Stock, said.
The insulation department at Stock Building Supply specializes in insulating existing homes, whether they're three years old or 30, through a process of drilling holes in exterior walls and then blowing in the insulation by machine.
“It's not very common, because a lot of companies don't want to do it,” Egbert said.
But insulating or re-insulating existing structures is often necessary, he said.
“A house is just like a car, you know – you have gas mileage, and you're putting a lot of pollution up in the air, because your house isn't insulated and you've got your utilities running all the time,” he said. “To me, that's why this is a really good thing, and I think that it's neat that these utility companies are doing this.”
Utility companies Questar Gas and Rocky Mountain Power are currently offering rebates to customers who upgrade the insulation in their existing homes. From attics to floors, walls to heat ducts, areas in homes that get an insulation upgrade will simultaneously be getting a hefty rebate for homeowners.
“You'd almost get this done for free right now by the time you got your rebates back,” Egbert said.
Both utility companies are giving rebates from 35 cents to 45 cents per square foot for various insulation installations, and Stock is an approved contractor for both Questar and Rocky Mountain Power. Sending off for the rebates is easy, Egbert said, as the Stock installers will provide the necessary forms and receipts for customers – clients have only to fill in the information and mail them off.
Federal tax rebates are also available for insulation customers, Egbert said, and Stock can get customers information about those rebates, as well.
Proper insulation saves homeowners money in energy costs and is also better for the environment, Egbert said. Many pre-1970 homes have no insulation at all, he said, but Stock is able to go in and take care of that, and some homeowners may want additional insulation in their houses for soundproofing, energy efficiency or just upgrading. Whatever the circumstances, Stock is on the job to take care of it, and now is the best time for insulating, Egbert said.
“We never know how long these programs are going to be available,” he said.
In addition to helping homeowners save money with rebates, Stock is also community-conscious when it comes to helping out families in need. Stock Building Supply recently assisted local school Zion Youth Academy in a service project, and the company insulated the modular home of a local single mother for free.
For those who can't afford home insulation, Stock is willing to assist in exploration of different options, Egbert said, including checking into financing and rebate programs that are available to them, to help get the job done.
Egbert is a state-certified energy auditor and worked for weatherization programs in northern Utah for a number of years. During that time, he was able to experience a lot of trial and error and hone his expertise in insulating homes of all types with all types of exteriors, he said. When he joined the local Stock Building Supply team a few months ago, he brought that expertise with him to the job.
“We can go out and do any kind of wall with total confidence,” he said.
Stock Building Supply is located at 3781 S. River Rd. in St. George. To contact them or for more information about insulation rebates, call 652-4398 or email Chris Egbert at chris.egbert@stocksupply.com. A complete list of energy-related home rebates is available online at www.thermwise.com.

---