I am thinking about having my 60-year-old house insulated.  Does anybody have a recommendation for a good contractor?  I'm interested in environmentally-friendly insulation products.  Thanks!

During our renovation,we had an opportunity to insulate some walls decided to further insulate our attic with an environmentally friendly mulch. The product: greenfiber.com. It also is fire retardant and dampens noise really well. The company who installed it: www,5Starperinsul.com

It was relatively inexpensive and for the first time during a 100+ degree day our A/C unit actually turned itself off. Usually it just keeps grinding away all day. The real test will be a noticeable drop in our exorbitant bill, which I'll be able to compare after the renovation is done and we're back to baseline usage.

I'm happy with the product but wasn't happy with the nails they left behind for our tires to find. Maybe more than one company installs this product.

I priced having this soy-based spray insulation installed in my basement, but it would have cost $1600, plus the contractor's policy was a $2500 minimum contract--so I would have had to have him add insulation to my attic as well, for an additional $900. Plus I would have had to do the vapor barrier myself or find someone else to pay to do it.

So I'm doing it myself, using fiberglass batts. The basement work will cost about $240 for the insulation, if I add another layer in the basement it will cost about $300. A roll of vapor barrier and tape cost $50. Some brands of fiberglass are recycled, check the package. Equipment needed to install the insulation in the attic consists of a filter mask, gloves, and clothing that covers the arms and legs completely. To install in the basement, the above plus a staple gun.

Thanks for the info, Gretchen and William.  I should've clarified - I want insulation blown into the walls.  My house is on a concrete slab (no basement) and the attic crawlspace is already insulated.  I'm going to check into 5 Star.  Does that store on H Street (it used to be called Green Sacramento when it was on Fulton) sell insulation?

The company I mentioned does walls too. That's where I really noticed the noise dampening qualities. For instance, this morning I could barely hear a drill being used in the room on the other side of the wall.

Green Sacramento is no longer a contractor, unfortunately. 5 Star were the folks I got the estimate for the foam insulation above--they are highly rated.

Thanks so much for the information.

P.S. - William, I just saw you on KVIE!  :)