Biscoe, NC
6 miles east
Median home built 1977 (Troy: 1972); Its NOAA station logs about 240 fewer heating degree days than Troy's
Attic insulation in BiscoeAttic Insulation in Troy, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Troy, NC, in Montgomery County, plus removal and air sealing.
About Troy and Its Homes
Troy was laid out as the Montgomery County seat in 1843 and incorporated in 1852. North of its courthouse square, a residential historic district on a hilltop ridge holds five houses from 1871 to 1940, and four of them started out as Queen Anne homes.
Troy, in Montgomery County, grew from 2,838 people in 2020 to 3,020 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 3.66 square miles. No town in Montgomery County has more people than Troy.
Troy has about 1,400 housing units, 9 percent of Montgomery County's; about 48 percent of the town's households own their home.
Troy at a Glance
- County: Montgomery County
- Population: 3,020 (2025), 2,838 (2020), up 6.4%
- Land area: 3.66 square miles (825 people each)
- Housing units: about 1,400 (±157)
- Median year built: 1972 (±6); Montgomery County: 1984
- Owner-occupied: 48% (±7); Montgomery County: 75%
- Detached houses: 66% (±6); Montgomery County: 65%
- Attached houses: under 3%
- Apartments: 25% (±9)
- Mobile homes: 8% (±6)
- Climate zone: 3 on both maps
- ENERGY STAR target for Troy attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Troy, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Troy Homes and Their Attics
Victorian Houses Rebuilt in Classical Dress
Troy's district nomination, written in 2005, traces houses that were rebuilt more than once. The oldest began in 1871 as two rooms and grew in the 1890s, gaining a round corner tower and a kitchen wing at the back. Three of its neighbors were given classical fronts in 1903, 1927 and 1930, and one of those picked up new wings at its gable ends. Every addition with a roof of its own may enclose a separate attic pocket, reached from a different hatch or not at all. We look for each pocket and bring them all to one even depth.
Chimneys Up the Middle of Troy's Older Houses
The nomination describes interior chimneys in three of these houses. The 1871 house has a big central stack through its ridge. Another has a pair of stuccoed stacks with doubled flues, and even the modest 1940 rental house has two interior chimneys. Each one climbs through the attic floor, leaving a gap around the stack where house air escapes. ENERGY STAR's method is aluminum flashing sealed with heat-resistant caulk, then a sheet-metal collar to keep insulation at a distance. For masonry, the usual code distance is 2 inches.
Attic Insulation in Troy
About 45 percent of Troy's homes predate 1970; if your joists show above the insulation, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
Built from 1940 to 1969, about 35 percent of Troy homes often have little insulation.
The Local Climate
Troy's center sits about 660 feet above sea level, 17 miles from NOAA's Albemarle station, the best match for Troy. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 3,280 heating and 1,600 cooling degree days a year, so at Troy's station, heating needs outweigh cooling.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
About 66 percent of Troy housing units are detached single-family houses.
Built from 1970 to 1989, about 30 percent of Troy homes may hold settled fiberglass; check its depth against the joists.
About 60 percent of Troy's housing units predate 1980; nearly all predate the state's 1978 insulation rule too. About 25 percent of Troy units sit in buildings of two or more homes, where the attic is often shared. Renters hold about 52 percent of Troy's occupied homes, so many attic decisions rest with landlords.
Homes by Year Built
- Before 1940: 13% (±5), about 175 units
- 1940s: 3% (±3), about 50 units
- 1950s: 21% (±8), about 300 units
- 1960s: 8% (±5), about 115 units
- 1970s: 16% (±7), about 230 units
- 1980s: 15% (±8), about 205 units
- 1990s: 11% (±7), about 155 units
- 2000s: 8% (±4), about 115 units
- 2010s: under 5%, about 30 units
- 2020 or later: under 4%, about 20 units
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Troy
In Troy, about 74 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: 74% (±8), about 850 households; Montgomery County: 77%
- Piped gas: 6% (±6), about 75 households
- Bottled or tank gas: 10% (±6), about 115 households
- Oil or kerosene: 9% (±5), about 100 households
Power, Gas and Rebates
Duke Energy Progress serves most of Troy, Randolph EMC its edges; your bill says which. For gas, Troy is in the Montgomery County franchise of Piedmont Natural Gas, whose mains may not reach every street in Troy. Duke's free House Call fits many Troy homes: about 74 percent heat with electricity.
Rebate to check in Troy: Smart $aver Insulate and Seal (Duke Energy; Insulation Pros is an approved trade ally). Before a job in Troy, check its current terms; the Montgomery County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Troy
In a Troy attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Troy attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Troy
Nearest to Troy first.
Candor, NC
10 miles southeast
823 people, about a quarter of Troy's population
Attic insulation in CandorMount Gilead, NC
12 miles southwest
Center about 260 feet lower than Troy's; Its NOAA station logs about 280 fewer heating degree days than Troy's
Attic insulation in Mount GileadBadin, NC
13 miles west
Power from Duke Energy (Troy: Duke Energy Progress)
Attic insulation in Badin
Troy Insulation FAQs
Is attic work restricted for houses in Troy's residential historic district?
Not because of the National Register. Listing there, according to the state's preservation office, never restricts how a private owner spends private money on a building. Troy's district is tiny anyway: five houses on the hilltop along North Main and Blair streets. And on the 2023 statewide roster of preservation commissions, Mount Gilead is the lone Montgomery County town with one. Whether and how to insulate is up to you.
Should an electrician see my old Troy house before the attic is insulated?
Yes, before we start. ENERGY STAR flags knob-and-tube, the open wiring found in houses wired before 1930, as a hazard once insulation covers it, and wants a pro to correct it first. In Troy's district the oldest house goes back to 1871, with several from the 1890s. Where that old wiring is still live, its stretch of attic floor is left bare until new wiring replaces it.
Could the old insulation in a Troy attic be vermiculite?
It could: about 40 percent of Troy's homes predate 1960. If a Troy 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 Troy need a permit?
Troy Town Hall can say whether Montgomery County Inspections Department, the town itself or another office handles permits in Troy; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- Power from Duke Energy Progress: high summer electric bills and home energy audits
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Troy, NOAA normals for the Albemarle station, Duke Energy Progress (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Troy notes and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- Troy, in The North Carolina Gazetteer (William S. Powell, 2nd ed., UNC Press 2010), NCpedia
- Troy Residential Historic District, National Register nomination (NC HPO)
- Adding Attic Insulation, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- Furnace Flues Require Special Sealing Techniques, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- 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)
- Attic Insulation Project, ENERGY STAR
Serving Troy, NC
Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Troy and the rest of Montgomery County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your Troy attic, or call (336) 870-3893.