Butner, NC
4 miles south
Median home built 1991 (Stem: 2011); 8,112 people, about 8 times Stem's population
Attic insulation in ButnerAttic Insulation in Stem, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Stem, NC, 4 miles from Butner, plus removal and air sealing.
About Stem and Its Homes
Stem grew around a station at the end of a Richmond and Danville Railroad spur in southern Granville County and was incorporated in 1911. Since the town's water and sewer system was finished in 2005, new building has spread around the few houses left from its railroad days.
Stem, in Granville County, grew from 997 people in 2020 to 1,023 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 1.24 square miles. That makes Stem the fourth-largest town in Granville County.
Stem at a Glance
- County: Granville County
- Population: 1,023 (2025), 997 (2020), up 2.6%
- Land area: 1.24 square miles (825 people each)
- Housing units: about 480 (±128)
- Climate zone: 4 (state code), 3 (2021 map)
- ENERGY STAR target for Stem attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Stem, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Stem Homes and Their Attics
New Houses After the 2005 Water System
By the late 1990s many local wells had become unsafe to drink from. The town won grants for a public water and sewer system, finished in 2005, and the town credits it with setting off new development. Most of the town's houses postdate 1970, a pattern the housing figures on this page bear out. Up in a newer attic, the place to look is the eaves. ENERGY STAR notes that the edges sometimes hold much less insulation than the middle. Baffles at each rafter bay keep the soffit vents open, so the blown insulation can run all the way out without blocking the airflow.
Attic Insulation in Stem
Some 13 percent of Stem's homes predate 1970; if your joists show above the insulation, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
The Local Climate
Stem's center sits about 470 feet above sea level, 10 miles from NOAA's Oxford Ag station, the best match for Stem. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 3,570 heating and 1,550 cooling degree days a year, so at Stem's station, heating needs outweigh cooling.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
At about 480 housing units, give or take 128, Stem is too small for the survey to date its houses. For Stem, the nearest town with solid figures is Butner, 4 miles off: median year built 1991 and 17 percent of homes built before 1970.
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Stem
In Butner, the nearest town to Stem with solid figures, about 62 percent of homes heat with electricity.
Air sealing in a Stem attic covers wire and pipe holes, wall tops, the attic stair and bath fans.
How Homes Here Are Heated
- Electricity: 75% (±13), about 320 households; Granville County: 65%
- Piped gas: 20% (±8), about 85 households
- Bottled or tank gas: 4% (±3), about 15 households
Power, Gas and Rebates
Duke Energy serves most of Stem, Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative its edges; your bill says which. For gas, Stem is in the Granville County franchise of Enbridge Gas North Carolina, and about 20 percent of the town's homes heat with piped gas.
Rebate to check in Stem: Smart $aver Insulate and Seal (Duke Energy; Insulation Pros is an approved trade ally). Before a job in Stem, check its current terms; the Granville County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Stem
In a Stem attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Stem attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Stem
Nearest to Stem first.
Creedmoor, NC
5 miles southeast
Median home built 1995 (Stem: 2011); Its NOAA station logs about 250 more heating degree days than Stem's
Attic insulation in CreedmoorOxford, NC
12 miles northeast
Median home built 1976 (Stem: 2011); 8,985 people, about 9 times Stem's population
Attic insulation in OxfordKittrell, NC
16 miles east
Power from Duke Energy Progress (Stem: Duke Energy); Its NOAA station logs about 320 more heating degree days than Stem's
Attic insulation in KittrellFranklinton, NC
16 miles southeast
Median home built 1959 (Stem: 2011); 2,890 people, about 3 times Stem's population
Attic insulation in Franklinton
Stem Insulation FAQs
I own one of the older houses in Stem. What comes first before insulating?
The wiring and any chimney. Granville County's 1988 survey found a few simple Queen Anne houses left in town from the railroad years. Old knob-and-tube wiring, used up to about 1930, can be a fire hazard under insulation, ENERGY STAR warns. An electrician looks it over and corrects it before we start. A brick chimney rising through a ceiling leaves a gap around it. We cover that gap with aluminum flashing bedded in heat-proof caulk, then fit a metal collar to hold insulation off the masonry.
Is there a historic district in Stem I need to check with?
No. The state's National Register list for Granville County has no entry in this town. The 1988 county study did judge the old Stem Lodge, a two-story brick store with lodge rooms upstairs, worthy of listing, but that is a commercial building. Oxford holds the only local preservation commission in the county. So attic work here answers to no district review.
Does attic insulation in Stem need a permit?
Stem Town Hall can say whether Granville County Building Permits, the town itself or another office handles permits in Stem; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- Median home built 2011: a hot upstairs and bonus rooms over garages
- Power from Duke Energy: high summer electric bills and home energy audits
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Stem, NOAA normals for the Oxford Ag station, Duke Energy (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Stem notes and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- About Stem, Town of Stem
- Stem, in The North Carolina Gazetteer (William S. Powell, 2nd ed., UNC Press 2010), NCpedia
- Historic and Architectural Resources of Granville County, North Carolina, National Register multiple property documentation form, 1988 (NC HPO)
- Year Structure Built (table B25034), Stem town, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau via Census Reporter
- Adding Attic Insulation, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- About Attic Ventilation, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- Attic Insulation Project, ENERGY STAR
- Furnace Flues Require Special Sealing Techniques, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- 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)
Serving Stem, NC
Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Stem and the rest of Granville County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your Stem attic, or call (336) 870-3893.