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Surf City, NC
7 miles southwest
Median home built 2002 (North Topsail Beach: 1989); 5,142 people, about 5 times North Topsail Beach's population
Attic insulation in Surf CityAttic Insulation in North Topsail Beach, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for North Topsail Beach, NC, 7 miles from Surf City, plus removal and air sealing.
About North Topsail Beach and Its Homes
North Topsail Beach covers the Onslow County end of Topsail Island and was incorporated in 1990 from beach communities once called West Onslow Beach and North Topsail Shores. Hurricanes have destroyed houses here more than once, and most homes on this end of the island date from 1970 or later.
North Topsail Beach, in Onslow County, grew from 1,010 people in 2020 to 1,097 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 6.22 square miles.
North Topsail Beach has about 2,800 housing units, 3 percent of Onslow County's; 94 percent of the town's households own their home. Only about 420 of those 2,800 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 420.
North Topsail Beach at a Glance
- County: Onslow County
- Population: 1,097 (2025), 1,010 (2020), up 8.6%
- Land area: 6.22 square miles (176 people each)
- Housing units: about 2,800 (±216)
- Median year built: 1989 (±2); Onslow County: 1998
- Owner-occupied: 94% (±3); Onslow County: 64%
- Detached houses: 42% (±4); Onslow County: 65%
- Attached houses: 21% (±3)
- Apartments: 34% (±5)
- Mobile homes: 4% (±2)
- Climate zone: 3 on both maps
- ENERGY STAR target for North Topsail Beach attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for North Topsail Beach, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
North Topsail Beach Homes and Their Attics
Ocean City and the Storms From Hazel On
The town's history of Ocean City, a beach community for African American families whose first houses went up in 1949, records that Hurricane Hazel destroyed 12 of its 15 homes in 1954. In 1996, Bertha wrecked the police station and Fran followed two months later, taking a whole row of beachfront houses with a storm tide of 8 to 9 feet. Bonnie damaged about six hundred homes here in 1998, and in 2018 the National Hurricane Center named it with New Bern and Jacksonville among the worst hit by Florence. Once the wind drops, climb up and look: soggy or stained insulation is ENERGY STAR's sign that water came through the roof. Get the roof patched before anything else, then pull the wet insulation out, since EPA wants soaked materials dry within 24 to 48 hours.
Attic Insulation in North Topsail Beach
If the joists show above the insulation in a North Topsail Beach attic, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
Built from 1970 to 1989, 54 percent of North Topsail Beach homes may hold settled fiberglass; check its depth against the joists.
The Local Climate
North Topsail Beach's center sits near sea level, 9 miles from NOAA's Surf City station, the best match for North Topsail Beach. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 2,770 heating and 1,740 cooling degree days a year, so at North Topsail Beach's station, heating needs outweigh cooling.
Readings change over short distances around North Topsail Beach: NOAA's New River Marine Corps Air Facility station, 15 miles away, averages about 2,500 heating degree days. The state energy code marks Onslow County warm and humid.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
Some 42 percent of North Topsail Beach housing units are detached single-family houses.
From 1990 to 2009, about 35 percent of North Topsail Beach homes were built to codes below ENERGY STAR's target; check their eaves, where ENERGY STAR says insulation is often thinnest.
Some 34 percent of North Topsail Beach units sit in buildings of two or more homes, where the attic is often shared.
Homes by Year Built
- Before 1940: under 1%
- 1940s: under 1%
- 1950s: under 1%
- 1960s: 2% (±1), about 45 units
- 1970s: 7% (±2), about 200 units
- 1980s: 47% (±5), about 1,310 units
- 1990s: 11% (±3), about 310 units
- 2000s: 23% (±6), about 650 units
- 2010s: 9% (±3), about 260 units
- 2020 or later: under 1%
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in North Topsail Beach
In North Topsail Beach, 93 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: 93% (±2), about 390 households; Onslow County: 92%
- Piped gas: 4% (±3), about 15 households
- Bottled or tank gas: 2% (±2), about 10 households
Power, Gas and Rebates
Power in and around North Topsail Beach comes from Duke Energy Progress and Jones-Onslow EMC; your bill says which. For gas, North Topsail Beach is in the Onslow County franchise of Piedmont Natural Gas, whose mains may not reach every street in North Topsail Beach. Duke's free House Call fits many North Topsail Beach homes: 93 percent of households heat with electricity.
Rebate to check if Duke Energy Progress serves your North Topsail Beach home: Smart $aver Insulate and Seal (Duke Energy; Insulation Pros is an approved trade ally). Before a job in North Topsail Beach, check its current terms; the Onslow County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in North Topsail Beach
In a North Topsail Beach attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that North Topsail Beach attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near North Topsail Beach
Nearest to North Topsail Beach first.
Holly Ridge, NC
7 miles west
Median home built 2015 (North Topsail Beach: 1989); 5,908 people, about 5 times North Topsail Beach's population
Attic insulation in Holly RidgeTopsail Beach, NC
15 miles southwest
Median home built 1985 (North Topsail Beach: 1989); 503 people, about half of North Topsail Beach's population
Attic insulation in Topsail BeachJacksonville, NC
17 miles north
Median home built 1992 (North Topsail Beach: 1989); 72,732 people, about 66 times North Topsail Beach's population
Insulation contractor serving JacksonvilleSwansboro, NC
22 miles northeast
Its NOAA station logs about 270 fewer heating degree days than North Topsail Beach's; 4,174 people, about 4 times North Topsail Beach's population
Attic insulation in Swansboro
North Topsail Beach Insulation FAQs
Is anything in North Topsail Beach on the National Register?
No. The State Historic Preservation Office lists no property in the town. The listed Navy towers from the 1940s missile tests are in Topsail Beach, at the Pender County end of the island. The town marks the historic Ocean City community with street signs, and the community joined the North Carolina Civil Rights Trail in 2022. The state's 2023 roster of preservation commissions has none here, so attic work needs no design review.
My beach house was rebuilt after Fran. Was its attic insulated to a standard?
It should have been. North Carolina's statute bars anyone from moving into a new house started from January 1, 1978 onward until its insulation meets the state minimum. That holds wherever the county or town enforces it. A rebuild after 1996 is well inside that rule. But the rule speaks only to the day of construction. Later storms, roof repairs and wiring jobs can all disturb an attic, so we measure the depth and look for damage before adding anything.
Does attic insulation in North Topsail Beach need a permit?
North Topsail Beach Town Hall can say whether Onslow County Building Guides, the town itself or another office handles permits in North Topsail Beach; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- Onslow County is warm and humid by the state energy code: attic condensation and mold and attic ventilation
Sources
Census Bureau figures for North Topsail Beach, NOAA normals for the Surf City station (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the North Topsail Beach notes and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- About North Topsail Beach, Town of North Topsail Beach
- Hurricane Fran: September 5-6, 1996, National Weather Service Wilmington, North Carolina
- Year Structure Built (table B25034), North Topsail Beach town, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau via Census Reporter
- Historic Ocean City Beach, Town of North Topsail Beach
- Top 20 Storms in Wilmington, North Carolina's History, National Weather Service Wilmington, North Carolina
- Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Florence (AL062018), National Hurricane Center
- Attic Insulation Project, ENERGY STAR
- A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- NC Listings in 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)
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 143-139.2, Enforcement of insulation requirements; certificate for occupancy
North Topsail Beach, NC
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Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, North Topsail Beach and the rest of Onslow County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your North Topsail Beach attic, or call (336) 870-3893.