One Bellmore house in five was built before 1940. That is 22.6% of the hamlet’s 5,470 housing units, 1,236 homes, and they stand among 1,608 houses from the 1950s and 1,241 from the 1960s. The median home dates from 1957. 92.9% of units are detached houses and 91.4% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, so nearly every insulation decision in Bellmore is made by the person who lives in the house.
Bellmore is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Hempstead on the South Shore. Together with North Bellmore it is known as “the Bellmores,” but the two are separate hamlets with their own mix of houses and fuels; for the other one, see insulation in North Bellmore. Bellmore heats with 68.0% utility gas, 24.7% fuel oil, 3.9% electricity and 1.0% bottled gas, and 1.5% of homes list solar as their heating fuel.
The apartment buildings, 2.0% of units in buildings of ten to nineteen and 2.4% in buildings of twenty to forty-nine, are run as whole buildings, so the roof and the outside walls belong to the owner or the association, and the decision on them is theirs. The rest of Bellmore is houses, from the ones that grew up around the 1867 railroad station to a small run of construction in the 2010s.
The houses we insulate in Bellmore
The 1950s houses are the largest group, 29.4% of the stock, with 6.7% more from the 1940s. They are capes and ranches. A cape’s upstairs sits inside its roof, so its losses follow the edge of that floor: knee walls with open attic behind them, joist bays running out to a cold eave, and sloped ceilings with room for only a few inches of insulation. A ranch spreads its losses across one attic: old fill thinning toward the eaves, open tops of interior walls, ceiling boxes, the flue chase and a bath fan that may still exhaust into the attic.
The 1960s added 22.7% of the stock and the 1970s 5.7%: split-levels, high-ranches and larger colonials. The split loses heat through the bedroom over the garage, whose floor is a row of open joist bays above an unheated space, and through the short wall where the upper level faces the lower roof’s attic. A colonial of that era has a full attic over the bedrooms, a wall shared with an attached garage and a basement rim nobody ever sealed.
Bellmore built 7.3% of its houses in the 1980s and none in the 1990s. A 1980s house went up with insulated walls, and its problems are overhead: cathedral and vaulted ceilings without baffles, skylight wells with thin sides, recessed lights cut through the ceiling, and ductwork running through a vented attic. The 3.9% built in the 2010s are the tightest houses in the hamlet; there the job is usually attic ductwork or a room over the garage, and sometimes nothing, which we will tell you.
Fuel shapes the payback. On gas, 68.0% of homes, sealing and insulating shows up on the National Grid bill. In the 24.7% burning oil, it shows up as fewer deliveries each winter, and the leakier the house was, the more deliveries it saves. The 3.9% on electric heat see it on the PSEG Long Island bill.
From New Bridge to the station: Bellmore’s oldest houses
Bellmore began as farming and fishing settlements. Smithville was named for its many Smith families, and New Bridge for the bridge joining the peninsulas south of Merrick Road. When the railroad came through in 1867 and named its stop Bellmore, both communities grew toward the station; the post office took the name in 1900, and by 1920 about 3,000 people lived here, with stores along Bedford Avenue. The 1,236 houses built before 1940 come from that long stretch, and most have been changed more than once since.
We start at the bottom of an old house. Foundations of this age are stone, brick or early block, and on low ground toward the bay a cellar can run damp. The sill and rim joist on top of that foundation are framing above grade and the longest leak line in the house, and closed cell foam seals and insulates them in one pass. The foundation walls are a separate decision. Foam sprayed onto masonry that wicks water holds moisture against it, so gutters, downspouts, grading and cracks come first, and the walls are insulated only once the cellar stays dry.
Many of these houses were added onto. A back room, a kitchen bump-out or an enclosed porch often sits over a crawl space or on piers rather than the cellar, with little or nothing under its floor and a low-slope roof above, and it is usually the coldest room in the house. Either the crawl space gets its rim sealed and the floor above it insulated, or its walls get closed cell foam and it becomes part of the heated house. Which one depends on whether it stays dry.
Upstairs, a pre-1940 house often has plaster walls over empty bays, sometimes balloon-framed from cellar to attic, and an attic partly floored for storage. An old chimney may carry an oil burner’s flue or nothing at all, with an open gap around it at the attic floor. Knob-and-tube wiring is possible at this age, and we check for live circuits before any cavity is filled.
We seal before we insulate
Insulation resists heat flowing through a surface; it does not stop air. A Bellmore house breathes in at the bottom, through the sill, the rim and any crawl space, and out at the top, through the attic floor. Sealing both ends is what lets the insulation do its job.
In a 1950s Bellmore ranch the order is: in the attic, move the old fill where needed and seal the top plates of the walls, the flue chase with sheet metal and high-temperature sealant, the ceiling boxes, the hatch and the bath fan, ducted outdoors; set a baffle at each eave so new insulation cannot choke the soffit vents; then in the basement, foam the rim joist and seal every pipe and wire hole through it. Only then is the attic blown to depth.
If a quote specifies a depth of insulation and never mentions air sealing, it is half a job.
What insulation costs in Bellmore
Most of our projects run between $3,500 and $12,500. A 1950s ranch with an open attic and a basement rim sits at the lower end. A cape adds knee walls and slopes, and a split-level adds the garage ceiling and the wall between levels. A pre-1940 house is priced on its cellar, any crawl-space addition and whether the walls get filled; a 1980s house on its cathedral ceilings and attic ducts. Any drainage fix a damp cellar needs comes first and is separate from the insulation price.
Open cell foam runs R-3.9 to R-4.2 per inch. Closed cell runs R-6.9 to R-7.1 per inch and also acts as a vapor retarder, which is why it costs more and why it is right in some assemblies and unnecessary in others. All products are manufactured in the United States and meet applicable building code and safety standards. ENERGY STAR says sealing air leaks and adding insulation can save up to 10% on annual energy bills.
Insulation rebates in Bellmore
Bellmore’s electric company is PSEG Long Island, and National Grid gas is available on many of its streets, though not all. The electric company decides the program: Bellmore homes are not eligible for NYSERDA’s Comfort Home, and PSEG Long Island’s rebates take its place.
That route starts with PSEG Long Island’s free Whole House Energy Assessment, which includes a thermal scan for hidden heat loss and a blower door test for air leaks. PSEG Long Island lists a $2,500 insulation rebate and a $1,000 air-sealing rebate for market-rate single-family homes, with higher amounts for income-qualified homes and homes in state-designated disadvantaged communities, paid through its participating contractors. Single-family homes heated with oil, natural gas, propane or electricity are all eligible, so Bellmore’s oil-heated houses are included. The insulation has to go in together with blower-door-assisted air sealing.
For income-eligible households, NYSERDA’s EmPower+ covers air sealing and insulation at no cost up to $14,000 in its lower-income tier (at or below $98,925 for a Nassau family of four), or half the cost up to $7,000 in its moderate tier (below $131,900 for four), and federal HEAR money adds up to $1,600 for air sealing, insulation and ventilation. Renters can apply, and Long Island households should confirm eligibility on the MyEnergy portal. PSEG Long Island’s REAP program offers income-qualified customers a free in-home energy survey and can install door sweeps and attic hatch covers, but it does not install insulation. National Grid’s Long Island insulation rebate program is closed to new applications.
Each program pays through its own participating contractors, so check the contractor against the program before you sign. The federal Section 25C insulation credit ended for work placed in service after 31 December 2025; be wary of anyone still advertising it for a 2026 job. New York has no state tax credit for insulation. See our New York and New Jersey rebate guide.
Code and climate in Bellmore
87.1% of Bellmore’s housing was built before 1980. New York’s first statewide energy code took effect on 1 January 1979, long after the pre-1940 houses, the 1950s ranches and the 1960s splits were finished. Nassau County is Climate Zone 4.
A new house is built to the 2025 Energy Conservation Construction Code of New York State, in force since 31 December 2025: R-49 ceilings, with R-38 accepted where it covers the whole ceiling at full height over the top plates at the eaves; R-30 floors; basement and crawl space walls at R-15 continuous, R-19, or R-13 plus R-5 continuous; U-0.27 windows; and a tested air-leakage limit of 3.0 air changes per hour at 50 pascals.
None of that is imposed on an existing Bellmore house. Parts you do not alter need not comply, and no blower door test is required to insulate an existing home. When a renovation opens a wall or roof-ceiling cavity, though, that cavity is to be insulated to full depth. For attics, ENERGY STAR recommends R-60 where there is no insulation and R-49 where 3 to 4 inches are already in place.
Common questions about insulation in Bellmore
Do you install insulation in Bellmore, NY?
Yes. Most Bellmore work is the 1950s cape and ranch, 29.4% of the hamlet, and the 1960s split-level or high-ranch, 22.7%, with rooms over garages and unsealed rims. The 22.6% built before 1940 get more care: damp cellars, crawl-space additions, plaster walls and a wiring check. We also work on 1980s houses with cathedral ceilings and attic ducts, and in North Bellmore, which is a separate hamlet next door.
How much does insulation cost in Bellmore?
Most projects run $3,500 to $12,500. A 1950s ranch with an open attic and a basement rim is at the lower end; a cape adds knee walls and slopes, and a split-level adds the garage ceiling. An older house is priced on its cellar, any addition over a crawl space and whether the walls are filled. A damp cellar needs its drainage fixed before insulation, and that is separate. You get a written scope and price after a free walk-through.
Are there insulation rebates in Bellmore?
Yes, through PSEG Long Island, Bellmore’s electric company. It lists a $2,500 insulation rebate and a $1,000 air-sealing rebate for market-rate single-family homes, more for income-qualified homes, paid through its participating contractors after a free Whole House Energy Assessment. Oil-heated homes qualify. Comfort Home is not available to PSEG Long Island customers. Income-eligible owners and renters can check EmPower+ on the MyEnergy portal. The federal 25C credit is gone for 2026 work, and New York has no state insulation credit.
The cellar under our old Bellmore house is damp. Should the foundation walls be spray foamed?
Not until the water is dealt with. Foam on a masonry wall that wicks moisture traps it against the wall, and a wet cellar wall stays wet. First the gutters, downspouts, grading and any cracks. The sill and rim joist above grade can be sealed with closed cell foam right away, because they are framing and they leak the most air. If the cellar has ever flooded, keep insulation off its walls and insulate the floor above instead.
Free energy audit in Bellmore
In a Bellmore house we start low: the cellar walls and floor for signs of water, the sill and rim, the boiler or furnace and the oil tank if there is one, and any crawl space under an addition. Then the attic for depth, eaves, the chimney gap and the hatch, the knee walls of a cape, the garage ceiling of a split, or the cathedral ceilings and ducts of a 1980s house. If the cellar needs drainage work before insulation, we say so first. Then a written scope and a price, no charge and no obligation.
Call 914-825-6824 or use our contact form. We are open 8am–8pm, seven days, and work out of New Rochelle, NY with a 100-plus in-house crew that never subcontracts.
Learn more
- Insulation contractors across Nassau County
- Insulation in North Bellmore
- Insulation in Merrick
- Insulation in Wantagh
- Basement and rim joist insulation
- Crawl space insulation
- Insulating an older home