McDonald, NC
10 miles southwest
Power from Duke Energy Progress (Lumberton: a town system); Its NOAA station logs about 210 fewer heating degree days than Lumberton's
Attic insulation in McDonaldAttic Insulation in Lumberton, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Lumberton, NC, in Robeson County, plus removal and air sealing.
About Lumberton and Its Homes
Lumberton was laid out beside the Lumber River in 1787 and became the Robeson County seat. Its homes range from a merchant's Queen Anne house of the 1890s on the riverbank, through early twentieth century blocks north of downtown, to postwar subdivisions farther out.
Lumberton, in Robeson County, grew from 18,904 people in 2020 to 18,955 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 18.2 square miles. No town in Robeson County has more people than Lumberton.
Lumberton has about 8,300 housing units, 17 percent of Robeson County's; 44 percent of the city's households own their home. About 6,900 of those 8,300 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 6,900.
Lumberton at a Glance
- County: Robeson County
- Population: 18,955 (2025), 18,904 (2020), up 0.3%
- Land area: 18.2 square miles (1,044 people each)
- Housing units: about 8,300 (±268)
- Median year built: 1976 (±2); Robeson County: 1986
- Owner-occupied: 44% (±3); Robeson County: 66%
- Detached houses: 62% (±3); Robeson County: 51%
- Attached houses: 5% (±1)
- Apartments: 27% (±3)
- Mobile homes: 6% (±1)
- Climate zone: 3 on both maps
- ENERGY STAR target for Lumberton attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Lumberton, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Lumberton Homes and Their Attics
Early Twentieth Century Blocks of North Lumberton
Baker Sanatorium went up in 1920 and 1921 in a part of town the deeds call North Lumberton. Its nomination explains that medical care moved there from the crowded downtown to the city's foremost residential neighborhood. It pictures the surrounding blocks as one- and two-story homes of the early twentieth century. A house of that age has had a hundred winters to push warm air up into its attic. ENERGY STAR notes that dark, dirty patches in old insulation show where room air has been filtering through. We close the big openings first, around wiring, plumbing and chimneys. Insulation that is only stained is usually fine to leave.
Tanglewood and the Postwar Subdivisions
After World War II, the daughters of the lawyer and congressman Alfred Rowland divided the family's land along the Lumber River into what became the Tanglewood neighborhood. The house's National Register nomination notes how closely those mid-century streets surround it. Houses of that era predate the state law that made new homes meet insulation standards, which applies only to houses begun from January 1, 1978. What sits in such an attic was a builder's choice or a later owner's. Depth can vary across one attic, sometimes thinnest at the eaves, so we measure in several spots and level the new layer with no thin patches.
Attic Insulation in Lumberton
Some 37 percent of Lumberton's homes predate 1970; if your joists show above the insulation, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
Built from 1970 to 1989, 38 percent of Lumberton homes may hold settled fiberglass; check its depth against the joists.
The Local Climate
Lumberton's center sits about 130 feet above sea level, 1 mile from NOAA's Lumberton station, the best match for Lumberton. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 2,820 heating and 1,940 cooling degree days a year, so Lumberton attics work in both seasons.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
Some 62 percent of Lumberton housing units are detached single-family houses.
Built from 1940 to 1969, 31 percent of Lumberton homes often have little insulation.
About 57 percent of Lumberton's housing units predate 1980; nearly all predate the state's 1978 insulation rule too. Some 27 percent of Lumberton units sit in buildings of two or more homes, where the attic is often shared. Renters hold 56 percent of Lumberton's occupied homes, so many attic decisions rest with landlords.
Homes by Year Built
- Before 1940: 6% (±1), about 530 units
- 1940s: 6% (±2), about 510 units
- 1950s: 14% (±2), about 1,140 units
- 1960s: 11% (±2), about 890 units
- 1970s: 21% (±3), about 1,710 units
- 1980s: 18% (±2), about 1,490 units
- 1990s: 9% (±2), about 730 units
- 2000s: 8% (±2), about 650 units
- 2010s: 7% (±2), about 570 units
- 2020 or later: 1% (±1), about 105 units
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Lumberton
In Lumberton, 70 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: 70% (±3), about 4,800 households; Robeson County: 81%
- Piped gas: 24% (±2), about 1,680 households
- Bottled or tank gas: 5% (±2), about 340 households
Power, Gas and Rebates
Lumberton, an ElectriCities public power town, runs its own electric system. For gas, Lumberton is in the Robeson County franchise of Piedmont Natural Gas, and 24 percent of the city's homes heat with piped gas.
Program to ask about in Lumberton: ElectriCities energy audits (the city's electric system), home energy audits for member-town customers; ask the city's utility office. Before a job in Lumberton, check its current terms; the Robeson County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Lumberton
In a Lumberton attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Lumberton attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Lumberton
Nearest to Lumberton first.
Pembroke, NC
10 miles west
2,888 people, about a seventh of Lumberton's population
Attic insulation in PembrokeRaynham, NC
10 miles west
64 people, under a tenth of Lumberton's population
Attic insulation in RaynhamProctorville, NC
11 miles south
122 people, under a tenth of Lumberton's population
Attic insulation in ProctorvilleFairmont, NC
11 miles southwest
Median home built 1970 (Lumberton: 1976); 2,231 people, about an eighth of Lumberton's population
Insulation contractor serving Fairmont
Lumberton Insulation FAQs
Could Hurricanes Matthew and Florence have wet the insulation in my Lumberton attic?
Yes, if either storm opened a leak in the roof. The National Weather Service logged a 67 mph gust at the Lumberton airport in Matthew, in 2016, and 69 mph in Florence, in 2018. Each storm brought more than a foot of rain, and Florence put many trees down across Robeson County. Insulation gone damp or matted, or marked with water stains, is the sign that water got in. A roofer repairs the leak first. After that we take the soaked material out by vacuum and replace it. The river flooding itself was a matter for floors and walls.
Does a historic listing limit what I can do to my house in Lumberton?
Not by itself. The city has one National Register district, the downtown commercial core, and a few houses, such as the Caldwell and Rowland houses, are listed singly. Being on the Register, the state preservation office says, sets no rule over repairs and changes the owner makes at their own expense. No local preservation commission for Robeson County appears in the office's 2023 statewide list. And insulating or sealing an attic happens entirely inside the house.
Could the old insulation in a Lumberton attic be vermiculite?
It could: about 26 percent of Lumberton's homes predate 1960. If a Lumberton 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 Lumberton need a permit?
Lumberton City Hall can say whether Robeson County Community Development, the city itself or another office handles permits in Lumberton; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- Hot summers at NOAA's Lumberton station: radiant barriers
- An energy audit program from the city's own utility: home energy audits
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Lumberton, NOAA normals for the Lumberton station, Lumberton's municipal electric system (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Lumberton notes and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- Lumberton, in The North Carolina Gazetteer (William S. Powell, 2nd ed., UNC Press 2010), NCpedia
- Lumberton Commercial Historic District, National Register nomination (NC HPO)
- Luther Henry Caldwell House, National Register nomination (NC HPO)
- Baker Sanatorium, National Register nomination (NC HPO)
- Alfred Rowland House (Riverwood), National Register nomination (NC HPO)
- Sealing Air Leaks in the Attic, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- Attic Air Sealing Project, ENERGY STAR
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 143-139.2, Enforcement of insulation requirements; certificate for occupancy
- Adding Attic Insulation, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- Hurricane Matthew in the Carolinas: October 8, 2016, National Weather Service Wilmington
- Hurricane Florence: September 14, 2018, National Weather Service Wilmington
- Attic Insulation Project, ENERGY STAR
- 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
- Historic Preservation Commission Staff in North Carolina, listed by county, as of 2/20/2023 (NC HPO)
Lumberton, NC
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Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Lumberton and the rest of Robeson County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your Lumberton attic, or call (336) 870-3893.