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Caswell Beach, NC
5 miles northwest
Median home built 1998 (Bald Head Island: 2002)
Attic insulation in Caswell BeachAttic Insulation in Bald Head Island, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Bald Head Island, NC, 5 miles from Caswell Beach, plus removal and air sealing.
About Bald Head Island and Its Homes
Bald Head Island is the village on Smith Island where the Cape Fear River meets the ocean, reached by ferry and closed to cars. The General Assembly incorporated it in 1985 as a planned community for seasonal residents, and most of its houses were built from 1970 on.
Bald Head Island, in Brunswick County, grew from 262 people in 2020 to 279 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 3.91 square miles.
Bald Head Island has about 1,120 housing units, 1 percent of Brunswick County's; 98 percent of the village's households own their home. Only about 105 of those 1,120 units were someone's usual home in the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 survey; the heating and owner figures on this page describe those 105.
Bald Head Island at a Glance
- County: Brunswick County
- Population: 279 (2025), 262 (2020), up 6.5%
- Land area: 3.91 square miles (71 people each)
- Housing units: about 1,120 (±75)
- Median year built: 2002 (±1); Brunswick County: 2002
- Owner-occupied: 98% (±3); Brunswick County: 85%
- Detached houses: 89% (±3); Brunswick County: 69%
- Attached houses: 2% (±1)
- Apartments: 7% (±3)
- Mobile homes: 3% (±2)
- Climate zone: 3 on both maps
- ENERGY STAR target for Bald Head Island attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Bald Head Island, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Bald Head Island Homes and Their Attics
Brick Chimneys in the 1903 Keepers' Houses
The 1978 nomination for the Cape Fear Lighthouse Complex, on the island's southeast shore, records three light keepers' houses built in 1903. It describes each as a frame house of one story plus a finished attic, one room deep on both levels. Each stands on brick piers, with two brick chimneys inside the end walls that rise through the house to the ridge. Wherever a chimney passes through a ceiling into an attic space, the opening around it is an air leak. Aluminum flashing and high-temperature caulk close that gap, never foam, and a metal dam holds insulation back from the brick. The same care applies to a flue in a newer island house.
Attic Insulation in Bald Head Island
If the joists show above the insulation in a Bald Head Island attic, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
From 1990 to 2009, 73 percent of Bald Head Island homes were built to codes below ENERGY STAR's target; check their eaves, where ENERGY STAR says insulation is often thinnest.
The Local Climate
Bald Head Island's center sits near sea level, 9 miles from NOAA's Southport 5 N station, the best match for Bald Head Island. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 2,200 heating and 2,230 cooling degree days a year, so Bald Head Island attics work in both seasons.
The state energy code marks Brunswick County warm and humid.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
Some 89 percent of Bald Head Island housing units are detached single-family houses.
Built from 1970 to 1989, 14 percent of Bald Head Island homes may hold settled fiberglass; check its depth against the joists.
Homes by Year Built
- Before 1940: 0% (±1)
- 1940s: under 1%
- 1950s: under 1%
- 1960s: under 1%
- 1970s: under 2%
- 1980s: 13% (±3), about 145 units
- 1990s: 28% (±5), about 310 units
- 2000s: 46% (±4), about 510 units
- 2010s: 13% (±3), about 145 units
- 2020 or later: under 1%
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Bald Head Island
In Bald Head Island, 91 percent of households heat with electricity; where that heat is forced air, ducts often run through the attic.
Air sealing comes first, as the EPA advises: wire and pipe holes, wall tops and soffits.
How Homes Here Are Heated
- Electricity: 91% (±4), about 95 households; Brunswick County: 87%
- Piped gas: 6% (±4)
- Wood: 2% (±2)
Power, Gas and Rebates
Duke Energy Progress supplies Bald Head Island's electricity. For gas, Bald Head Island is in the Brunswick County franchise of Piedmont Natural Gas, whose mains may not reach every street in Bald Head Island. Duke's free House Call fits many Bald Head Island homes: 91 percent of households heat with electricity.
Rebate to check in Bald Head Island: Smart $aver Insulate and Seal (Duke Energy; Insulation Pros is an approved trade ally). Before a job in Bald Head Island, check its current terms; the Brunswick County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Bald Head Island
In a Bald Head Island attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Bald Head Island attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Bald Head Island
Nearest to Bald Head Island first.
Southport, NC
5 miles north
Median home built 2003 (Bald Head Island: 2002); Power from its own town system (Bald Head Island: Duke Energy Progress)
Attic insulation in SouthportOak Island, NC
9 miles west
Median home built 1997 (Bald Head Island: 2002); 9,337 people, about 33 times Bald Head Island's population
Attic insulation in Oak IslandSt. James, NC
9 miles northwest
Median home built 2011 (Bald Head Island: 2002); 7,318 people, about 26 times Bald Head Island's population
Attic insulation in St. JamesKure Beach, NC
10 miles northeast
Median home built 1996 (Bald Head Island: 2002); 2,145 people, about 8 times Bald Head Island's population
Attic insulation in Kure Beach
Bald Head Island Insulation FAQs
Our Bald Head Island house was closed up after a storm. What should we check first?
The attic, as soon as you can reach the island. After Hurricane Florence in September 2018, the National Weather Service reported two weeks without power, no ferry service and heavy tree debris on every street here, though little structural damage. A slow roof leak in a closed house can go unnoticed for weeks. ENERGY STAR reads wet insulation as a sign the roof leaks, so the roof is mended before anything else, and then the wet insulation comes out and is replaced.
Does Old Baldy being on the National Register affect my house?
No. The island's National Register listings are Old Baldy, the 1817 lighthouse the county survey calls the oldest in the state, the 1903 keepers' houses and the Bald Head Creek Boathouse. The State Historic Preservation Office says a listing does not limit a private owner's own work with private money, and the 2023 state roster names no preservation commission in Brunswick County. Any covenants on your lot are a separate matter, so check them before outside changes such as new roof vents.
Does attic insulation in Bald Head Island need a permit?
Bald Head Island Village Hall can say whether Brunswick County Permits & Development, the village itself or another office handles permits in Bald Head Island; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- Brunswick County is warm and humid by the state energy code: attic condensation and mold and attic ventilation
- Median home built 2002: a hot upstairs and bonus rooms over garages
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Bald Head Island, NOAA normals for the Southport 5 N station, Duke Energy Progress (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Bald Head Island notes and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- Smith Island (also known as Bald Head Island), in The North Carolina Gazetteer (William S. Powell, 2nd ed., UNC Press 2010), NCpedia
- Session Law 1985-156 (Senate Bill 215), An Act to Incorporate the Village of Bald Head Island, North Carolina General Assembly
- Year Structure Built (table B25034), Bald Head Island village, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau via Census Reporter
- Cape Fear Lighthouse Complex, National Register nomination (NC HPO)
- Attic Air Sealing Project, ENERGY STAR
- Furnace Flues Require Special Sealing Techniques, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- Hurricane Florence, September 2018, event summary, National Weather Service Wilmington, North Carolina
- Attic Insulation Project, ENERGY STAR
- NC Listings in the National Register of Historic Places, NC State Historic Preservation Office
- Comprehensive Historical and Architectural Survey of Brunswick County, 2009-2010 (listed by the NC HPO as the Brunswick County Survey, 2010)
- What Is the National Register of Historic Places?, NC State Historic Preservation Office
- Historic Preservation Commission Staff in North Carolina, listed by county, as of 2/20/2023 (NC HPO)
Bald Head Island, NC
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Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Bald Head Island and the rest of Brunswick County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your Bald Head Island attic, or call (336) 870-3893.