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Holden Beach, NC
6 miles southwest
Median home built 1992 (Varnamtown: 1990); 916 people to Varnamtown's 525
Attic insulation in Holden BeachAttic Insulation in Varnamtown, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Varnamtown, NC, 6 miles from Holden Beach, plus removal and air sealing.
About Varnamtown and Its Homes
Varnamtown, a fishing community on the Lockwood Folly River in southern Brunswick County, became a town in 1988. Hurricane Hazel destroyed most of the buildings along its river in 1954, yet the county's 2010 survey still found an older house here with an unusual bowed hall ceiling.
Varnamtown, in Brunswick County, fell from 527 people in 2020 to 525 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 0.88 square miles.
Varnamtown has about 390 housing units; about 94 percent of the town's households own their home.
Varnamtown at a Glance
- County: Brunswick County
- Population: 525 (2025), 527 (2020), down 0.4%
- Land area: 0.88 square miles (597 people each)
- Housing units: about 390 (±116)
- Median year built: 1990 (±6); Brunswick County: 2002
- Owner-occupied: 94% (±10); Brunswick County: 85%
- Attached houses: 4% (±3)
- Mobile homes: 13% (±8)
- Climate zone: 3 on both maps
- ENERGY STAR target for Varnamtown attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Varnamtown, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Varnamtown Homes and Their Attics
Bowed Ceilings in Two Old Houses
The 2010 Brunswick County survey recorded a coastal cottage in Varnamtown from the 1870s or 1880s: a front porch, main rooms and rear shed rooms under one side-gable roof. A farmhouse nearby, finished in 1914, was modeled on it. The cottage's center hall has a ceiling that curves down toward the back, the farmhouse has a bowed ceiling too, and the survey thinks the form may be peculiar to this county. Over a curved ceiling the attic floor is not flat, and the shed rooms sit under the lowest part of the roof. Insulation has to be spread evenly over the curve with no thin spots, then carried to the low back edge without covering any soffit vents.
Attic Insulation in Varnamtown
About 35 percent of Varnamtown's homes predate 1970; if your joists show above the insulation, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
The Local Climate
Varnamtown's center sits about 30 feet above sea level, 8 miles from NOAA's Shallotte Ag station, the best match for Varnamtown. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 2,430 heating and 1,860 cooling degree days a year, so Varnamtown attics work in both seasons.
The state energy code marks Brunswick County warm and humid.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
With about 390 housing units in Varnamtown, read the figures as rough proportions.
Built from 1940 to 1969, about 30 percent of Varnamtown homes often have little insulation. Built from 1970 to 1989, 15 percent of Varnamtown homes may hold settled fiberglass; check its depth against the joists.
About 35 percent of Varnamtown's housing units predate 1980; nearly all predate the state's 1978 insulation rule too.
Homes by Year Built
- Before 1940: under 4%
- 1940s: 8% (±7), about 30 units
- 1950s: 8% (±5), about 30 units
- 1960s: 16% (±9), about 65 units
- 1970s: under 3%
- 1980s: 13% (±4), about 50 units
- 2000s: 13% (±7), about 50 units
- 2010s: under 3%
- 2020 or later: under 4%
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Varnamtown
In Varnamtown, about 84 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: 84% (±11), about 280 households; Brunswick County: 87%
- Bottled or tank gas: 13% (±10), about 40 households
- Wood: under 4%
Power, Gas and Rebates
Power in and around Varnamtown comes from Duke Energy Progress and Brunswick Electric; your bill says which. For gas, Varnamtown is in the Brunswick County franchise of Piedmont Natural Gas, whose mains may not reach every street in Varnamtown. Duke's free House Call fits many Varnamtown homes: about 84 percent heat with electricity. Bottled or tank gas, bought by the delivery, heats about 13 percent of homes in Varnamtown.
Rebate to check if Duke Energy Progress serves your Varnamtown home: Smart $aver Insulate and Seal (Duke Energy; Insulation Pros is an approved trade ally). Before a job in Varnamtown, check its current terms; the Brunswick County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Varnamtown
In a Varnamtown attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Varnamtown attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Varnamtown
Nearest to Varnamtown first.
Oak Island, NC
7 miles east
Median home built 1997 (Varnamtown: 1990); Its NOAA station logs about 230 fewer heating degree days than Varnamtown's
Attic insulation in Oak IslandSt. James, NC
8 miles east
Median home built 2011 (Varnamtown: 1990); 7,318 people, about 14 times Varnamtown's population
Attic insulation in St. JamesShallotte, NC
9 miles west
Median home built 2004 (Varnamtown: 1990); 5,335 people, about 10 times Varnamtown's population
Attic insulation in Shallotte
Varnamtown Insulation FAQs
After a hurricane, what should I check first in my Varnamtown attic?
Start with the insulation under the roof. The town's own history says Hurricane Hazel came ashore with record wind and storm surge on October 15, 1954, and destroyed most structures along the Lockwood Folly. Any storm that lifts shingles can let rain into the attic. ENERGY STAR says damp insulation points to a leaking roof, so the roof is fixed before anything else. We vacuum out the soaked layer once the roof is sound, and blow in fresh insulation.
Does any historic listing limit attic work on a Varnamtown house?
Not that the state knows of. The State Historic Preservation Office has no National Register listing in Varnamtown. Its roster of historic district commissions, dated February 2023, shows no commission anywhere in Brunswick County. The 2010 county survey did write up a few older Varnamtown houses and farms, but a survey entry is a record, not a listing. So attic insulation and air sealing are simply your decision as the owner.
Could the old insulation in a Varnamtown attic be vermiculite?
It could: about 20 percent of Varnamtown's homes predate 1960. If a Varnamtown 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 Varnamtown need a permit?
Varnamtown Town Hall can say whether Brunswick County Permits & Development, the town itself or another office handles permits in Varnamtown; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- Brunswick County is warm and humid by the state energy code: attic condensation and mold
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Varnamtown, NOAA normals for the Shallotte Ag station (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Varnamtown notes and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- About Us and Our History, Town of Varnamtown
- The Brunswick Beacon, October 6, 1988, page 1 (DigitalNC, North Carolina Digital Heritage Center)
- Comprehensive Historical and Architectural Survey of Brunswick County, 2009-2010 (listed by the NC HPO as the Brunswick County Survey, 2010)
- Adding Attic Insulation, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- About Attic Ventilation, ENERGY STAR do-it-yourself guide
- Attic Insulation Project, ENERGY STAR
- 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)
Varnamtown, NC
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Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Varnamtown and the rest of Brunswick County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your Varnamtown attic, or call (336) 870-3893.