Insulation Commandos Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Insulation Commandos is a home services franchise installing and upgrading residential and commercial insulation. Franchisees run local operations, managing assessments, crews, and installation projects within a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A INSULATION COMMANDOS franchise requires a total initial investment of $220K – $515K, including a $65K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $220K – $515K
- 80th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Incl. company outlets
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 5th pct Home Services
- Units
- 64
- 51st pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $220K – $515K including a $65K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 also discloses per-job KPIs (Average/Highest/Lowest/Median Ticket, jobs completed, % of tickets meeting/exceeding average, Average Revenue Per Truck) which are per-transaction/per-vehicle metrics, not whole-unit revenue, and were excluded from avg_gross_sales per extraction rules. The disclosed 'Gross Revenue Less COGS, Other Disclosed Expenses & Imputed Fees' line is not a true franchisee net income/bottom line because Note F states it excludes numerous operating costs (office supplies, telephone, computer system expenses, certain insurance premiums, accounting fees, payroll taxes, bank charges, repairs/maintenance, meals & entertainment, owner compensation/draws, and other costs).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 75/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 6100.0% CAGR over 3 years with 64 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Insulation Commandos Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Commando Holdings, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Dustin Ingle
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 1170 Dunlop Lane, Building 300, Clarksville, Tennessee 37043
- Auditor
- DA Advisory Group
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.5M
- vs $1.1M prior year
Affiliated brands
- Commando IP
- currently offer
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Dustin Ingle
- Headquarters
- Tennessee
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 13
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 63% above the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $65K | $65K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $50K | $120K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $105K | $330K |
| Total initial investment | $220K | $515K |
Source: INSULATION COMMANDOS 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $220K – $515K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $120K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $65K – $65K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $250 |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $0 – $10K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
INSULATION COMMANDOS did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one INSULATION COMMANDOS unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
22%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 19 also discloses per-job KPIs (Average/Highest/Lowest/Median Ticket, jobs completed, % of tickets meeting/exceeding average, Average Revenue Per Truck) which are per-transaction/per-vehicle metrics, not whole-unit revenue, and were excluded from avg_gross_sales per extraction rules. The disclosed 'Gross Revenue Less COGS, Other Disclosed Expenses & Imputed Fees' line is not a true franchisee net income/bottom line because Note F states it excludes numerous operating costs (office supplies, telephone, computer system expenses, certain insurance premiums, accounting fees, payroll taxes, bank charges, repairs/maintenance, meals & entertainment, owner compensation/draws, and other costs).
Includes company-owned outlets
- Item 19 type
- actual results
- Highest reported
- $854K
- Only the top of the cohort is disclosed — no low to range against
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 321 Home Services brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.0% — below the Home Services average of 8.9%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports actual results rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System expanding at 6100.0% CAGR over 3 years across 64 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Home Services averages
How Insulation Commandos Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 64
- Opened
- N/A
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 4
- Turnover rate
- 3.2%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 97%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 32
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 2
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 13 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
13
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 5 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 5
- Loan volume
- $1.5M
- Median loan
- $350K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (5 loans) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 2
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Insulation Commandos presents moderate-to-high risk due to explosive unsustainable growth metrics, lack of transparent financial performance disclosures, and high capital requirements relative to verifiable profitability claims.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $2
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · DA Advisory Group
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 75 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORExplosive unit growth of 3100% YoY suggests either newly launched franchise system or severe data anomaly — growth this extreme is unsustainable and indicates instability
- 02MEDMinimum royalty structure not disclosed — if monthly minimum is high, could create cash flow pressure for early-stage locations
- 03MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representations in FDD — $340k avg net income cannot be independently verified against disclosed figures
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 350,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 60 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 28 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 7 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | State court of general jurisdiction closest to franchisor headquarters (Clarksville, TN) or U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | TN |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 44 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 20 hrs
- Training location
- Clarksville, Tennessee (designated training facility) plus remote virtual training
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee, subject to franchisor approval of site and demographic criteria
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- CRM Software Platform
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: CRM Software Platform
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
2 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
INSULATION COMMANDOS · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a INSULATION COMMANDOS franchise?
The total investment to open a INSULATION COMMANDOS franchise ranges from $220K – $515K, with an initial franchise fee of $65K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do INSULATION COMMANDOS franchise owners earn?
INSULATION COMMANDOS does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the INSULATION COMMANDOS FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the INSULATION COMMANDOS FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is INSULATION COMMANDOS's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for INSULATION COMMANDOS (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many INSULATION COMMANDOS franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, INSULATION COMMANDOS has 64 total units in the United States, including 62 franchised units and 2 company-owned units.
Is INSULATION COMMANDOS a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates INSULATION COMMANDOS as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 75 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.