Whispering Pines, NC
5 miles west
5,505 people, about 5 times Vass' population
Attic insulation in Whispering PinesAttic Insulation in Vass, NC
Blown-in attic insulation for Vass, NC, 5 miles from Whispering Pines, plus removal and air sealing.
About Vass and Its Homes
Vass was incorporated in 1907 and named for a railroad treasurer, and it grew up around a cotton mill built beside the Seaboard Air Line tracks in 1909. Even so, the mill-era houses are now outnumbered: by the Census count shown on this page, most Vass homes date from 1970 on.
Vass, in Moore County, grew from 959 people in 2020 to 1,062 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimates), on 3.36 square miles.
Vass has about 670 housing units, 1 percent of Moore County's; about 72 percent of the town's households own their home.
Vass at a Glance
- County: Moore County
- Population: 1,062 (2025), 959 (2020), up 10.7%
- Land area: 3.36 square miles (316 people each)
- Housing units: about 670 (±177)
- Owner-occupied: 72% (±10); Moore County: 76%
- Detached houses: 88% (±8); Moore County: 74%
- Apartments: under 8%
- Mobile homes: 9% (±7)
- Climate zone: 3 on both maps
- ENERGY STAR target for Vass attics: R-49 from bare, R-38 over 3 to 4 inches (R-value guide)
Census Bureau estimates for Vass, 2020 to 2024 (± margin of error).
Vass Homes and Their Attics
The Mill Village Across the Tracks
Angus Cameron built the Vass Cotton Mill in 1909, and the National Register nomination behind its 2025 listing places the old mill village across the railroad to the south and southeast. The village is under separate ownership and was left out of the listing, so the nomination does not describe its houses. The nomination does record that when the mill closed for spells in the Depression, workers stayed on in their houses with free electric service. A mill house from those years was framed decades before 1978, the first year a North Carolina law tied new homes to insulation standards. What its attic holds, and how deep, is the first thing the crew checks on install day.
Attic Insulation in Vass
About 20 percent of Vass' homes predate 1970; if your joists show above the insulation, ENERGY STAR says to add more insulation.
In 2010 or later, about 45 percent of Vass homes went up; check their air sealing as well as the depth.
The Local Climate
Vass' center sits about 310 feet above sea level, 9 miles from NOAA's Carthage Water Plant station, the best match for Vass. The station's 1991 to 2020 normals average about 3,170 heating and 1,640 cooling degree days a year, so at Vass' station, heating needs outweigh cooling.
NOAA estimated part of the Carthage Water Plant station's normals from nearby stations, so treat them as approximate.
Homes by Age: What It Means for the Attic
About 88 percent of Vass housing units are detached single-family houses.
From 1990 to 2009, about 20 percent of Vass homes were built to codes below ENERGY STAR's target; check their eaves, where ENERGY STAR says insulation is often thinnest.
About 30 percent of Vass' housing units predate 1980; nearly all predate the state's 1978 insulation rule too.
Homes by Year Built
- Before 1940: 7% (±6), about 45 units
- 1940s: under 2%
- 1950s: 5% (±4), about 30 units
- 1960s: 6% (±6), about 40 units
- 1970s: 12% (±5), about 80 units
- 1980s: 3% (±2), about 20 units
- 1990s: 10% (±6), about 70 units
- 2000s: 9% (±8), about 60 units
- 2010s: 31% (±11), about 210 units
- 2020 or later: 15% (±8), about 105 units
Air Sealing and Duct Sealing in Vass
In Whispering Pines, the nearest town to Vass with solid figures, about 97 percent of homes heat with electricity.
Air sealing comes first, as the EPA advises: wire and pipe holes, wall tops and soffits.
How Homes Here Are Heated
- Bottled or tank gas: under 12%, about 35 households
- Oil or kerosene: under 6%, about 15 households
Power, Gas and Rebates
Duke Energy Progress supplies Vass' electricity. For gas, Vass is in the Moore County franchise of Piedmont Natural Gas, whose mains may not reach every street in Vass.
Rebate to check in Vass: Smart $aver Insulate and Seal (Duke Energy; Insulation Pros is an approved trade ally). Before a job in Vass, check its current terms; the Moore County page lists every program.
Attic Insulation Removal in Vass
In a Vass attic, only wet, moldy or animal-soiled insulation is vacuumed out (ENERGY STAR's test), once the cause is fixed, and after mice that Vass attic is sanitized and deodorized; dry, clean insulation stays.
Also Serving Near Vass
Nearest to Vass first.
Cameron, NC
5 miles north
270 people, about a quarter of Vass' population
Attic insulation in CameronSouthern Pines, NC
8 miles southwest
Center about 190 feet higher than Vass'; 17,357 people, about 16 times Vass' population
Attic insulation in Southern PinesCarthage, NC
9 miles northwest
Center about 280 feet higher than Vass'; 3,070 people, about 3 times Vass' population
Attic insulation in CarthagePinehurst, NC
11 miles west
Center about 220 feet higher than Vass'; 18,670 people, about 18 times Vass' population
Attic insulation in Pinehurst
Vass Insulation FAQs
Does the Vass Cotton Mill's listing put any rules on my house?
No. The National Register lists two properties at Vass, the mill and its cotton warehouse in 2025 and a Victorian house of about 1879 in 2008, and each listing covers only that property. Even for those two, the state preservation office treats listing as an honor with no strings on what a private owner does at private expense. Its 2023 list of local preservation commissions has three in Moore County, none of them for Vass.
Why does the bonus room over the garage in my newer Vass house run hot and cold?
Because it has outdoors on almost every side. A room over a garage sits above unheated space, beside side attics behind its knee walls, and under the roof. The Building America guide for this spot calls for air sealing the garage ceiling whenever a room sits on it, with insulation pressed snug against the subfloor. Knee walls are the other weak side: ENERGY STAR puts the voids behind them and beneath them on its leak list. So the seal goes in first, at the floor and the knee walls, and then the insulation.
Does attic insulation in Vass need a permit?
Vass Town Hall can say whether Moore County Inspections & Permitting, the town itself or another office handles permits in Vass; ask before work starts.
Helpful Guides
- Power from Duke Energy Progress: high summer electric bills and home energy audits
Sources
Census Bureau figures for Vass, NOAA normals for the Carthage Water Plant station, Duke Energy Progress (October 2026). Compiled by Insulation Pros. How the town pages are made.
Sources for the Vass notes and questions (read October 20, 2026):
- Vass, in The North Carolina Gazetteer (William S. Powell, 2nd ed., UNC Press 2010), NCpedia
- Vass Cotton Mill, National Register nomination (NC HPO, listed 2025)
- Year Structure Built (table B25034), Vass town, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau via Census Reporter
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 143-139.2, Enforcement of insulation requirements; certificate for occupancy
- NC Listings in the National Register of Historic Places, NC State Historic Preservation Office
- Leslie-Taylor House, National Register nomination (NC HPO)
- 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)
- Floor Above Garage, Building America Solution Center (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)
- Attic Air Sealing Project, ENERGY STAR
Serving Vass, NC
Insulation Pros is an insulation contractor serving North Carolina, Vass and the rest of Moore County included.
Reach us
Send the square footage of your Vass attic, or call (336) 870-3893.