Calypso, NC
3 miles northeast
340 people, about half of Faison's population
Attic insulation in CalypsoAttic Insulation in Faison, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Faison, NC, in Duplin County, plus removal and air sealing.
About Faison and Its Homes
Faison began about 1833 as Faison's Depot on Henry Faison's land, was incorporated in 1872 and grew into a produce and pickle town on the Wilmington and Weldon line. Its historic district wraps frame merchants' houses from about 1850 to 1930 around the tracks and the old business blocks.
Faison, in Duplin County, grew from 787 people in 2020 to 824 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 0.87 square miles.
Faison has about 295 housing units, 1 percent of Duplin County's; about 68 percent of the town's households own their home.
Faison at a Glance
- County: Duplin County
- Population: 824 (2025), 787 (2020), up 4.7%
- Land area: 0.87 square miles (947 people each)
- Housing units: about 295 (±61)
- Median year built: 1975 (±4); Duplin County: 1986
- Owner-occupied: 68% (±11); Duplin County: 70%
- Detached houses: 72% (±10); Duplin County: 60%
- Attached houses: under 6%
- Apartments: 11% (±10)
- Mobile homes: 14% (±9)
- Climate zone: 3 on both maps
- ENERGY STAR target for Faison attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Faison, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Faison Homes and Their Attics
Merchants' Houses Around the Railroad Plaza
The Faison Historic District, listed in 1997, takes in the stores along the grassy railroad plaza and the house lots around them. Its nomination dates the houses from about 1850 to 1930, moving from Greek Revival and Italianate through Queen Anne to bungalows. Several inventory entries record an ell set crosswise at the back of the main block. A house laid out that way can have two attics to look at, one over the main block and one over the ell. Each space gets its own measurements, so the insulation ends up even across both with no low spots.
Attic Insulation in Faison
About 35 percent of Faison's homes predate 1970; if your joists show above the insulation, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
The Local Climate
Faison's center sits about 160 feet above sea level, 10 miles from NOAA's Clinton 2 NE station, the best match for Faison. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 3,020 heating and 1,780 cooling degree days a year, so at Faison's station, heating needs outweigh cooling.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
About 72 percent of Faison housing units are detached single-family houses, about 14 percent mobile homes. With about 295 housing units in Faison, read the figures as rough proportions.
Built from 1940 to 1969, before the state's 1978 insulation rule, about 30 percent of Faison homes often have little insulation. From 1990 to 2009, about 20 percent of Faison homes were built to codes below ENERGY STAR's target; check their eaves, where ENERGY STAR says insulation is often thinnest.
Homes by Year Built
- Before 1940: 6% (±4), about 20 units
- 1940s: under 6%
- 1950s: 9% (±6), about 25 units
- 1960s: 16% (±9), about 50 units
- 1970s: 29% (±14), about 85 units
- 1980s: 13% (±6), about 35 units
- 1990s: 15% (±8), about 45 units
- 2000s: under 8%, about 10 units
- 2010s: under 9%, about 10 units
- 2020 or later: under 3%
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Faison
In Faison, about 88 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: 88% (±9), about 215 households; Duplin County: 77%
- Piped gas: under 5%
- Bottled or tank gas: 9% (±6), about 25 households
Power, Gas and Rebates
Duke Energy Progress serves most of Faison, Tri-County EMC its edges; your bill says which. For gas, Faison is in the Duplin County franchise of Piedmont Natural Gas, whose mains may not reach every street in Faison. Duke's free House Call fits many Faison homes: about 88 percent heat with electricity.
Rebate to check in Faison: Smart $aver Insulate and Seal (Duke Energy; Insulation Pros is an approved trade ally). Before a job in Faison, check its current terms; the Duplin County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Faison
In a Faison attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Faison attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Faison
Nearest to Faison first.
Mount Olive, NC
7 miles northeast
Median home built 1963 (Faison: 1975); 4,521 people, about 5 times Faison's population
Attic insulation in Mount OliveWarsaw, NC
8 miles south
Median home built 1982 (Faison: 1975); Its NOAA station logs about 470 more heating degree days than Faison's
Attic insulation in WarsawTurkey, NC
9 miles south
Median home built 1975, as in Faison; 227 people, about a quarter of Faison's population
Attic insulation in TurkeyClinton, NC
14 miles southwest
8,466 people, about 10 times Faison's population
Attic insulation in Clinton
Faison Insulation FAQs
My Faison house is older than 1930. What gets looked at before insulating?
The wiring, then the roof. The town's historic houses go back to about 1850, and a house wired before roughly 1930 may still have knob-and-tube in its attic. ENERGY STAR flags that wiring as a fire danger once insulation covers it. An electrician deals with it first. Wet insulation points to a roof leak, and that gets fixed next. After both, we seal the ceiling and add insulation.
Are there rules for attic work inside the town's historic district?
Not inside the house. The district sits on the National Register, and the office that keeps that register in North Carolina says being on it does not restrict a private owner paying for upkeep or changes. No local commission for the town appears on the 2023 statewide roster. The county's only one is in Warsaw. Any new vents in the roof or soffits would alter the exterior, so raise those with the town.
Could the old insulation in a Faison attic be vermiculite?
It could: about 20 percent of Faison's homes predate 1960. If a Faison 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 Faison need a permit?
Faison Town Hall can say whether Duplin County Building Inspections, the town itself or another office handles permits in Faison; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- Power from Duke Energy Progress: high summer electric bills and home energy audits
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Faison, NOAA normals for the Clinton 2 NE station, Duke Energy Progress (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Faison notes and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- Faison, in The North Carolina Gazetteer (William S. Powell, 2nd ed., UNC Press 2010), NCpedia
- Faison Historic District, National Register nomination (NC HPO)
- Attic Insulation Project, ENERGY STAR
- 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)
- NC Listings in the National Register of Historic Places, NC State Historic Preservation Office
- Adding Attic Insulation, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
Faison, NC
Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)Serving Faison, NC
Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Faison and the rest of Duplin County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your Faison attic, or call (336) 870-3893.