Whispering Pines, NC
6 miles southeast
Center about 220 feet lower than Carthage's
Attic insulation in Whispering PinesAttic Insulation in Carthage, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Carthage, NC, 6 miles from Whispering Pines, plus removal and air sealing.
About Carthage and Its Homes
Carthage, the Moore County seat, was laid out in 1796 around a courthouse square on a ridge. Its earliest datable buildings went up in the early 1850s, when the Fayetteville and Western Plank Road came through along what is now McReynolds Street.
Carthage, in Moore County, grew from 2,780 people in 2020 to 3,070 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 6.73 square miles. That makes Carthage the fifth-largest town in Moore County.
Carthage has about 1,380 housing units, 3 percent of Moore County's; about 82 percent of the town's households own their home. About 1,150 of those 1,380 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 1,150.
Carthage at a Glance
- County: Moore County
- Population: 3,070 (2025), 2,780 (2020), up 10.4%
- Land area: 6.73 square miles (456 people each)
- Housing units: about 1,380 (±125)
- Owner-occupied: 82% (±8); Moore County: 76%
- Detached houses: 70% (±7); Moore County: 74%
- Attached houses: 4% (±3)
- Apartments: 11% (±5)
- Mobile homes: 15% (±9)
- Climate zone: 3 on both maps
- ENERGY STAR target for Carthage attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Carthage, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Carthage Homes and Their Attics
Chimneys of the McReynolds Street Houses
The Carthage Historic District's nomination describes the I-house, under a gable roof with a one-story rear ell, being built here from about 1880 into the early 1910s. Its inventory records exterior end chimneys on some houses, such as a one-story house from about 1854, and tall interior brick chimneys on others. In the attic that difference matters. A chimney built against the end wall stays outside the ceiling, so it leaves no gap there. A chimney inside the house comes up through the attic floor. ENERGY STAR has that opening closed with light aluminum and a high-heat caulk. A metal collar then holds insulation back, since codes usually want 2 inches of clearance from masonry.
Brick Ranch Houses Among the Older Homes
Most of the district's newer, non-contributing houses are one or one-and-a-half-story brick ranch-type houses, the nomination notes. Some went up on open lots and some in place of lost buildings, such as one from about 1960. The state's study of postwar Raleigh houses defines the minimal ranch by its low-pitched roof and rectangular footprint. With a roof that shallow, the rafters come down close to the ceiling along the outside walls, and ENERGY STAR says that is where attics are often thin on insulation. Baffles at the eaves let the insulation reach the walls while the soffit vents stay open.
Attic Insulation in Carthage
About 35 percent of Carthage's homes predate 1970; if your joists show above the insulation, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
From 1990 to 2009, about 40 percent of Carthage homes were built to codes below ENERGY STAR's target; check their eaves, where ENERGY STAR says insulation is often thinnest.
The Local Climate
Carthage's center sits about 590 feet above sea level, 1 mile from NOAA's Carthage Water Plant station, the best match for Carthage. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 3,170 heating and 1,640 cooling degree days a year, so at Carthage's station, heating needs outweigh cooling.
NOAA estimated part of the Carthage Water Plant station's normals from nearby stations, so treat them as approximate.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
About 70 percent of Carthage housing units are detached single-family houses, about 15 percent mobile homes.
Built before 1940, about 15 percent of Carthage homes can hide knob-and-tube wiring and vermiculite, jobs for an electrician and an asbestos contractor first.
About 40 percent of Carthage's housing units predate 1980; nearly all predate the state's 1978 insulation rule too.
Homes by Year Built
- Before 1940: 17% (±7), about 235 units
- 1940s: 5% (±5), about 70 units
- 1950s: 7% (±4), about 95 units
- 1960s: 4% (±3), about 60 units
- 1970s: 4% (±3), about 60 units
- 1980s: 8% (±4), about 110 units
- 1990s: 15% (±7), about 205 units
- 2000s: 23% (±10), about 320 units
- 2010s: 15% (±5), about 210 units
- 2020 or later: under 3%, about 15 units
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Carthage
In Carthage, about 81 percent of homes 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: 81% (±10), about 930 households; Moore County: 81%
- Bottled or tank gas: 14% (±6), about 160 households
- Oil or kerosene: under 6%, about 30 households
- Wood: under 4%, about 15 households
Power, Gas and Rebates
Duke Energy Progress serves most of Carthage, Randolph EMC and Central Electric its edges; your bill says which. For gas, Carthage is in the Moore County franchise of Piedmont Natural Gas, whose mains may not reach every street in Carthage. Duke's free House Call fits many Carthage homes: about 81 percent heat with electricity. Bottled or tank gas, bought by the delivery, heats 14 percent of homes in Carthage.
Rebate to check in Carthage: Smart $aver Insulate and Seal (Duke Energy; Insulation Pros is an approved trade ally). Before a job in Carthage, check its current terms; the Moore County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Carthage
In a Carthage attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Carthage attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Carthage
Nearest to Carthage first.
Vass, NC
9 miles southeast
Center about 280 feet lower than Carthage's; 1,062 people, about a third of Carthage's population
Attic insulation in VassTaylortown, NC
9 miles southwest
701 people, about a quarter of Carthage's population
Attic insulation in TaylortownCameron, NC
9 miles east
Center about 230 feet lower than Carthage's; 270 people, under a tenth of Carthage's population
Attic insulation in CameronSouthern Pines, NC
9 miles south
17,357 people, about 6 times Carthage's population
Attic insulation in Southern Pines
Carthage Insulation FAQs
Does a historic commission have to approve work on my Carthage house?
Not one on the state's list. The 2023 state roster of preservation commissions lists three in Moore County. They belong to Aberdeen, Pinehurst and Southern Pines, not Carthage. The historic district along McReynolds Street and the 1923 courthouse are listed on the National Register. The state preservation staff point out that a listing leaves private owners free to maintain or alter their property with private money. Attic insulation is inside work anyway. If you also want new vents cut into the roof, check with the town hall first.
How old is the wiring likely to be in a McReynolds Street house?
Records alone will not tell you. The district's buildings date from about 1850 to World War II. Its nomination explains that firm dates are hard to find, because the 1889 courthouse fire destroyed nearly all earlier county records, and some houses were built in more than one period. Knob-and-tube wiring, the open wiring on porcelain knobs used before about 1930, is a fire risk where insulation buries it, ENERGY STAR warns. An electrician looks at whatever wiring is up there before any insulation goes in.
Could the old insulation in a Carthage attic be vermiculite?
It could: about 30 percent of Carthage's homes predate 1960. If a Carthage attic holds a pebble-like gray-brown or silver-gold fill, leave it undisturbed: the EPA says vermiculite may contain asbestos.
Does attic insulation in Carthage need a permit?
Carthage Town Hall can say whether Moore County Inspections & Permitting, the town itself or another office handles permits in Carthage; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- Power from Duke Energy Progress: high summer electric bills and home energy audits
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Carthage, NOAA normals for the Carthage Water Plant station, Duke Energy Progress (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Carthage notes and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- Carthage, in The North Carolina Gazetteer (William S. Powell, 2nd ed., UNC Press 2010), NCpedia
- Carthage Historic District, National Register nomination (NC HPO)
- Furnace Flues Require Special Sealing Techniques, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- Post-World War II and Modern Architecture in Raleigh, North Carolina, 1945-1965, National Register multiple property documentation form (NC HPO)
- Adding Attic Insulation, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- About Attic Ventilation, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- Historic Preservation Commission Staff in North Carolina, listed by county, as of 2/20/2023 (NC HPO)
- NC Listings in the National Register of Historic Places, NC State Historic Preservation Office
- What Is the National Register of Historic Places?, NC State Historic Preservation Office
- Attic Insulation Project, ENERGY STAR
Carthage, NC
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Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Carthage and the rest of Moore County included.
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Send the square footage of your Carthage attic, or call (336) 870-3893.