Selma, NC
3 miles northwest
Power from its own town system (Pine Level: Duke Energy Progress); 7,406 people, about 3 times Pine Level's population
Attic insulation in SelmaAttic Insulation in Pine Level, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Pine Level, NC, 3 miles from Selma, plus removal and air sealing.
About Pine Level and Its Homes
Pine Level grew up along the North Carolina Railroad in eastern Johnston County and took its name from the longleaf pine on its flat ground. The town's own history tells of sawmills, turpentine, cotton gins and an oil mill, but says little about how its houses were built.
Pine Level, in Johnston County, grew from 2,068 people in 2020 to 2,405 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 1.79 square miles.
Pine Level has about 820 housing units, 1 percent of Johnston County's; about 81 percent of the town's households own their home.
Pine Level at a Glance
- County: Johnston County
- Population: 2,405 (2025), 2,068 (2020), up 16.3%
- Land area: 1.79 square miles (1,344 people each)
- Housing units: about 820 (±147)
- Owner-occupied: 81% (±10); Johnston County: 76%
- Detached houses: 76% (±13); Johnston County: 76%
- Attached houses: 5% (±4)
- Apartments: 11% (±7)
- Mobile homes: 8% (±6)
- Climate zone: 3 on both maps
- ENERGY STAR target for Pine Level attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Pine Level, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Attic Insulation in Pine Level
About 40 percent of Pine Level'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 Pine Level homes were built to codes below ENERGY STAR's target; check their eaves, where ENERGY STAR says insulation is often thinnest.
The Local Climate
Pine Level's center sits about 170 feet above sea level, 6 miles from NOAA's Smithfield station, the best match for Pine Level. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 3,080 heating and 1,870 cooling degree days a year, so at Pine Level's station, heating needs outweigh cooling.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
Built from 1940 to 1969, about 25 percent of Pine Level homes often have little insulation.
About 45 percent of Pine Level's housing units predate 1980; nearly all predate the state's 1978 insulation rule too.
Homes by Year Built
- Before 1940: 17% (±9), about 140 units
- 1940s: under 12%, about 50 units
- 1950s: 9% (±4), about 70 units
- 1960s: 9% (±7), about 75 units
- 1970s: 5% (±4), about 40 units
- 1980s: 10% (±5), about 80 units
- 1990s: 16% (±6), about 130 units
- 2000s: 22% (±10), about 175 units
- 2010s: 7% (±5), about 55 units
- 2020 or later: under 2%
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Pine Level
In Pine Level, about 90 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: 90% (±7), about 630 households; Johnston County: 78%
- Bottled or tank gas: 8% (±4), about 60 households
- Oil or kerosene: 1% (±1)
Power, Gas and Rebates
Duke Energy Progress supplies Pine Level's electricity. For gas, Pine Level is in the Johnston County franchise of Piedmont Natural Gas, whose mains may not reach every street in Pine Level. Duke's free House Call fits many Pine Level homes: about 90 percent heat with electricity. Bottled or tank gas, bought by the delivery, heats 8 percent of homes in Pine Level.
Rebate to check in Pine Level: Smart $aver Insulate and Seal (Duke Energy; Insulation Pros is an approved trade ally). Before a job in Pine Level, check its current terms; the Johnston County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Pine Level
In a Pine Level attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Pine Level attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Pine Level
Nearest to Pine Level first.
Micro, NC
5 miles northeast
537 people, about a quarter of Pine Level's population
Attic insulation in MicroSmithfield, NC
6 miles west
13,114 people, about 5 times Pine Level's population
Attic insulation in Smithfield
Pine Level Insulation FAQs
Is any part of Pine Level on a historic register or in a district?
No. Johnston County's rows in the state's National Register listings show nothing in or around the town. The preservation office's 2023 roster of town commissions covers just Benson and Smithfield in this county. So historic district rules play no part in attic work here. An older house here is judged by what is up there: the wiring, any chimney, the roof boards and whatever insulation earlier owners left.
Hurricane Hazel hit Pine Level in 1954. What does a big storm do to an attic?
It can soak the insulation through a damaged roof. The National Weather Service notes that Hazel kept much of its strength as it raced inland, with a gust of 110 mph at Fayetteville. The town's own history records an old frame building there lost to that storm. After any hard storm, look for damp or matted insulation and stains on the roof boards. ENERGY STAR reads wet insulation as a roof leak, so the roof is repaired first. EPA advice is to dry soaked materials within 24 to 48 hours. Then we vacuum out the wet insulation and replace it.
Could the old insulation in a Pine Level attic be vermiculite?
It could: about 30 percent of Pine Level's homes predate 1960. If a Pine Level 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 Pine Level need a permit?
Pine Level Town Hall can say whether Johnston County Building Inspections Department, the town itself or another office handles permits in Pine Level; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- Power from Duke Energy Progress: high summer electric bills and home energy audits
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Pine Level, NOAA normals for the Smithfield station, Duke Energy Progress (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Pine Level introduction and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- Town History, Town of Pine Level (a 1982 history held by the Johnston County Heritage Center)
- Pine Level, in The North Carolina Gazetteer (William S. Powell, 2nd ed., UNC Press 2010), NCpedia
- 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)
- Hurricane Hazel, October 15, 1954, event review, National Weather Service Newport/Morehead City
- Attic Insulation Project, ENERGY STAR
- A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home, US EPA
Pine Level, NC
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Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Pine Level and the rest of Johnston County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your Pine Level attic, or call (336) 870-3893.