Attic Insulation in Star, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Star, NC, 3 miles from Biscoe, plus removal and air sealing.
About Star and Its Homes
Star took shape where two rail lines met in 1896 and was incorporated the next year. Its historic district spreads over parts of about nineteen blocks, with homes ranging from 1890s Queen Anne houses through Craftsman bungalows to Ranch houses of the 1940s and 1950s.
Star, in Montgomery County, grew from 814 people in 2020 to 824 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 1.29 square miles. That makes Star the fourth-largest town in Montgomery County.
Star has about 370 housing units, 2 percent of Montgomery County's; 47 percent of the town's households own their home.
Star at a Glance
- County: Montgomery County
- Population: 824 (2025), 814 (2020), up 1.2%
- Land area: 1.29 square miles (639 people each)
- Housing units: about 370 (±113)
- Owner-occupied: 47% (±2); Montgomery County: 75%
- Mobile homes: 6% (±5)
- Climate zone: 3 on both maps
- ENERGY STAR target for Star attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Star, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Star Homes and Their Attics
Pyramid Roofs Along Owens Street
Star's 2013 nomination picks out a string of one-story houses with pyramid-shaped roofs on Owens Street, put up in the 1910s and 1920s close to the tracks. Norfolk Southern owned them early, and the nomination suggests the railroad may have built them for its men. A roof like that falls away on all four sides, so the attic peaks in the center and gets cramped along every outside wall. ENERGY STAR notes that the eaves are where attics so often come up short. Rafter vents go in first, keeping the soffit openings clear while the edges are filled.
Bungalows With Bedrooms Under the Roof
Some of Star's Craftsman bungalows rise a story and a half, from about 1911 to 1930, and at least one carries broad shed dormers on both its front and back. Upstairs in a house like that, the bedrooms borrow space from the roof, so their outer walls stand only a few feet tall. ENERGY STAR puts the pockets behind and below such short walls on its list of places where air slips out. Those triangular side attics get sealed and filled as well, along with the strip above the upstairs ceiling.
Attic Insulation in Star
Some 46 percent of Star's homes predate 1970; if your joists show above the insulation, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
Built from 1940 to 1969, before the state's 1978 insulation rule, about 30 percent of Star homes often have little insulation.
The Local Climate
Star's center sits about 640 feet above sea level, 16 miles from NOAA's Jackson Springs 5 WNW station, the best match for Star. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 3,040 heating and 1,780 cooling degree days a year, so at Star's station, heating needs outweigh cooling.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
With about 370 housing units in Star, read the figures as rough proportions.
Built before 1940, about 15 percent of Star homes can hide knob-and-tube wiring and vermiculite, jobs for an electrician and an asbestos contractor first.
Homes by Year Built
- Before 1940: 16% (±7), about 60 units
- 1940s: 13% (±7), about 45 units
- 1950s: 10% (±6), about 35 units
- 1960s: 7% (±5), about 25 units
- 1970s: 17% (±9), about 65 units
- 1980s: under 19%, about 30 units
- 2000s: under 11%, about 20 units
- 2010s: under 3%
- 2020 or later: under 4%
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Star
Air sealing comes first, as the EPA advises: wire and pipe holes, wall tops and soffits.
How Homes Here Are Heated
- Electricity: 88% (±13), about 285 households; Montgomery County: 77%
- Bottled or tank gas: 7% (±5), about 20 households
- Oil or kerosene: 5% (±4), about 15 households
Power, Gas and Rebates
Duke Energy Progress serves most of Star, Randolph EMC its edges; your bill says which. For gas, Star is in the Montgomery County franchise of Piedmont Natural Gas, whose mains may not reach every street in Star.
Rebate to check in Star: Smart $aver Insulate and Seal (Duke Energy; Insulation Pros is an approved trade ally). Before a job in Star, check its current terms; the Montgomery County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Star
In a Star attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Star attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Star
Nearest to Star first.
Troy, NC
7 miles west
Its NOAA station logs about 240 more heating degree days than Star's; 3,020 people, about 4 times Star's population
Attic insulation in TroySeagrove, NC
10 miles north
Power from Duke Energy (Star: Duke Energy Progress); Its NOAA station logs about 500 more heating degree days than Star's
Attic insulation in SeagroveRobbins, NC
11 miles east
Center about 210 feet lower than Star's; 1,305 people to Star's 824
Attic insulation in Robbins
Star Insulation FAQs
Did the railroad insulate those old houses on Owens Street in Star?
Nothing on record says so. The nomination only suggests the railroad may have built them for workers in the 1910s and 1920s, and it is silent on insulation. A state statute links the right to move into a new home with meeting insulation rules, but only where building started January 1, 1978 or later. So the crew goes up and looks, with you, before any work starts.
Will the Star Historic District stop me from insulating my house?
No. Star's district joined the National Register in 2013, and the state's preservation office says a Register listing does not limit a private owner working on a building with private money. Nor does the 2023 statewide roster of preservation commissions show one for Star. Air sealing and blowing insulation into an attic are inside jobs, so the choice rests with you.
Could the old insulation in a Star attic be vermiculite?
It could: about 40 percent of Star's homes predate 1960. If a Star 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 Star need a permit?
Star Town Hall can say whether Montgomery County Inspections Department, the town itself or another office handles permits in Star; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- Power from Duke Energy Progress: high summer electric bills and home energy audits
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Star, NOAA normals for the Jackson Springs 5 WNW station, Duke Energy Progress (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Star notes and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- Star Historic District, National Register nomination (NC HPO)
- Star, in The North Carolina Gazetteer (William S. Powell, 2nd ed., UNC Press 2010), NCpedia
- Adding Attic Insulation, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- About Attic Ventilation, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- Attic Air Sealing Project, ENERGY STAR
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 143-139.2, Enforcement of insulation and energy utilization standards
- 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)
Serving Star, NC
Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Star and the rest of Montgomery County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your Star attic, or call (336) 870-3893.