A Radiant Barrier is fundamentally a massive sheet of highly reflective aluminum foil reinforced with woven polyethylene. While the material itself is affordable, installing it requires technicians to stand on ladders inside a 140°F attic, stapling sheer sheets directly to the angular roof rafters.
Pricing Breakdown
Standard installation in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex ranges from $0.85 to $1.30 per square foot of roof deck.
Note: The "roof deck" square footage is always larger than your home's "living space" square footage because roofs are pitched at an angle (the hypotenuse).
The "Paint" Warning
Many cheap contractors will offer to spray "Radiant Barrier Paint" (liquid foil) onto your roof deck for half the price. Do not accept this. Spray paints require perfect, thick, uniform application to achieve adequate reflectivity, which is impossible inside a dark, truss-filled attic. A physical stapled foil sheet guarantees 97% reflectivity on day one and never degrades.