Before & After Photos

This homeowner in West Springfield, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help him with his home. He had bad attic insulation and no basement insulation. He also had a rodent problem in the past and did not want it to reoccur. He wanted to be able to insulate the basement to increase the comfort levels in his home. In a basement, the “rim joist” is the perimeter of the floor framing system along the exterior of the house. The joints and gaps between all the framing members allow for a lot of air leakage into the house. The rim joist is seldom insulated and never air sealed. Basement ceiling insulation, especially fiberglass batts, doesn’t stop the flow of cold air into the home. Results - cold floors, drafty, uncomfortable rooms, cold basement/lower level, higher heating and cooling bills and more condensation in the basement or crawl space in the summer.

We had the perfect solution for this customer. In this solution, we spray foam the rim joist in the basement in order to seal and insulate it. Two part expanding spray foam is installed on the rim joist and over the sill plate to seal all air leaks from the outside and insulate this important area of the home. Our spray foam has a high insulation value per inch of R7, and because it expands, it seals all cracks and gaps and joints where air from the outside enters the home. Results - warmer floors, less drafts, more comfortable rooms, the house is easier to heat and costs less to heat, less summertime condensation on cold basement surfaces.

This homeowner in West Springfield, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help with his attic insulation. He believed he did not have enough insulation, and had had rodent issues that meant that he wanted his insulation removed and replaced. Since attics are vented, we should think of them thermally as outside in the winter. In summer because of the suns radiant heat, they are much worse than outside, reaching 130˚ on summer days. Clearly, we need to keep an absolute boundary between our living space and the attic so inside air doesn’t move to the attic in the heating season (convection), and heat doesn’t pass up through our ceilings in winter (conduction), and down from our ceilings in the hot summer (conduction, radiation). To reduce overall air leakage, the attic is the first priority because warm air rises to the top of the house and finds any and all holes to leak out into the cold vented attic and is lost. Holes, gaps and joints include between drywall and framing at the top of walls, around pipes, wires, electric boxes, fixtures, duct, penetrations, ceiling grilles and joints in framing. And the only reason cold air leaks in from the outside at the lower levels of the house, is that warm air leaked out of the top and created a suction at the bottom. 

We had the perfect solution for this customer. Adding insulation in an attic without sealing all air leaks first should never be done, because it is just burying air leaks and making them impossible to seal later - and insulation DOES NOT STOP air leaks. That’s why, in this solution, we first carefully air seal the many various points where air from the home leaks up into the attic and is lost. Our premium TruSoft™ cellulose insulation is blown to the optimum R-value (typically R60). TruSoft™ will not burn, get moldy, or attract pests. Blown insulation fills all gaps and odd shaped voids, and by filling over framing members, “thermal bridging” is avoided.

This home owner in Greenfield, MA called us out to see if we could help make her home more comfortable. When our building science specialist was on his inspection, he noticed all the mold in the attic. Fixing this issue became priority number one. This mold was growing because in the winter, the heat you they paid for was leaking into the attic. Now this heat in the attic was hitting the cold roof deck and creating condensation. This condensation was what was allowing mold to grow.

To stop this from occurring, we have to properly air seal and insulate the attic space so no hot air can escape into the attic. To do this, first we remove all the old insulation. Then we have to air seal every top plate and penetration into the attic. Once this is done, we can blow our Trusoft cellulose insulation to an R-value of R-60.

Now that Dr Energy Saver by Eco Energy Solutions has come and finished this project, this home owner will not have to worry about mold ever again!

This homeowner called us out to their home to take a look at a serious problem they were experiencing. The original problem was that these homeowners had a large mold problem in their attic. While conducting our Full Home Energy Evaluation we noticed that they had a very old, corroded wooden basement window.We asked the homeowner if they were paying a high heating bill, and they agreed that they were. We assessed the mold problem, and used our Dr. Energy Saver treatments to resolve this. Next we had to explain to this customer that an old wood basement window in a stone foundation are very inefficient. When this type of window is in a stone foundation it allows a lot of heat to escape buy conduction through the cold glass. This is because a home has lower air pressure at the bottom, the basement, and sucks a great deal of cold air in from the exterior of the home. Another issue that was occurring was because of the damn environment near the ground, causing rot on the existing window. Now we know what we need to do.

To fix this basement window, we know that we need to fully replace the entire window with our Dr. Energy Saver High Efficiency Window. We must first remove the old window, and frame completely. We make sure to clean and properly prep the window area for a new window to be put in. The next thing we do is install our new High Efficiency Windows. These windows are double pained, with a special metallic coating on top to reduce heat flow in or out through the glass. The last step is to seal the window with our window and door foam! These windows will never rot, rust, or need to be repainted. Now that this new window is set and put in these customers can live more healthy, happy, and energy efficient in their home!

This homeowner called us and asked for an estimate on insulating and basement air sealing. When we arrived, the customer described concerns of cold floors and a damp crawlspace. Upon further inspection, we found mold and wood rot. The musty odors traveled upstairs into the home and living space causing an uncomfortable situation.

We removed the mold, replaced the wood floor and applied our Dr. Energy Saver Crawl Space Insulation System. We took out all of the old insulation and make sure the dirt floor was level. We sealed up the vents and air leaks with our insulated vent covers. Next, we insulated the crawlspace walls with 4' SilverGlo insulation boards. We blanketed a dimpled plastic drainage mat to create an airspace and thermal break. TerraBlock floor insulation was installed over the dimple mat. Finally, a heavy duty, 20 mil thick crawl space insulation liner was inserted across the entire dirt floor. This was sealed with mechanical fasteners and spiked to the floor. The crawl space insulation contained anti-microbial ingredients, helping to keep protect the area from bacteria and fungi growth.

Now that this crawlspace is fully insulated, air sealed, and insulated, these homeowners will enjoy a more energy efficient home!