Before & After Photos

This homeowner in Jewett City, CT called us hoping to get his three season room insulated. Some homes or additions are designed with floors that have the outside air under them. Other times a home or addition was originally used as a summer home or “three season room”, and was converted to all season heated space later. When the outside air flows under a floor it feels very cold and uncomfortable in the winter - especially with ceramic tile, linoleum or laminate floors. Since the floor is the surface of the room we are in contact with most, it’s very important to fix, in order to be comfortable. There are two issues - air leakage through the floor, and conductive heat loss through the floor, because heat moves from more to less through solid materials. Even if there is fiberglass batt insulation in the floor, because it sags down away from the sub floor, the same outside air gets over it (“thermal bypass”) rendering it useless. Mold on the floor joists and sub floor is also a concern. Results - cold floors, drafts, uncomfortable rooms, greater overall home air leakage rate, higher fuel and electric bills.

We had the perfect solution for this customer. In this solution, SilverGlo™ foam insulation board is installed across the bottom of the floor joists with special long screws and 3” washers, SilverGlo™ is expanded polystyrene foam with graphite infused into the foam, which bumps up the insulation (“R”) value by 24% over standard EPS foam. Further, SilverGlo™ has a radiant barrier to reflect heat, so the insulation isn’t doing all the work by itself. All seams are sealed. If necessary a skirt board can be installed around the perimeter of the insulation so the edge is not visible. The skirt board may require painting after we are complete. Result - Much warmer floors, less drafts and more comfortable rooms, quieter home, lower fuel and electric bills.

Insulated attic floor with TruSoft Cellulose to make the home warmer, more comfortable, and lower fuel and electric bills.

This North Grosvenordale, CT homeowner reached out to Fogarty's Home Services because her pipes had frozen several times. She wanted to resolve this issue so it didn't happen again, and we were happy to help. Besides allowing heat to flow out by conduction, this homeowner's stone walls were letting outside air to leak in, since the home has lower air pressure at the bottom and sucks air in. The sill plate and rim joist above the stone wall were leaking air as well. To fix this very uncomfortable situation, Fogarty's Home Services sprayed the walls, sill plate, and rim joists two-part, expanding, closed cell, polyurethane foam insulation, about 1.5" thick. Because this basement isn't finished, the foam was covered with a white thermal coating. Our customer will notice a DRAMATIC difference in the temperature and comfort of her basement, the floors above it, and her home in general. The results are a much warmer basement, far less drafts, much warmer floors above the basement, a more comfortable home that is easier to heat, and lower energy bills. We Fix Uncomfortable Homes!

Insulating knee wall in Canton, CT to make home cooler upstairs in the hot weather.

These homeowners called us because they wanted the upstairs of their home to be more comfortable year-round and they also wanted their issues with Ice Dams resolved. These homeowners were also experiencing moisture issues throughout the home, especially in the basement.

Our Building Science Specialist was able to do a whole home evaluation based on the issues at hand and came up with the following solutions: First we would remove and dispose of old, dirty existing batt insulation in the attic and prep for fresh, clean insulation. Next we would extend the bath vent and duct bath fan through the gable end and to the outside so the air is no longer feeding into the attic and creating lots of moisture and mold. We air sealed and insulated the scuttle cover. We had to create a new entrance to the knee wall areas where we installed a Super KneeWall™ System with Silverglo™, then we dense packed the roof with TruSoft™ Cellulose insulation, air sealed the floor with ZypFoam™ and finished by insulating the attic floor with TruSoft™ Cellulose as well. Next we air sealed the basement with closed-cell Spray Foam insulation along the Rim Joists and installed Foamax™ board on the walls. We also Removed and replaced a few exterior doors.

Ice Dam prevention - Check! Energy Efficiency and lower energy bills - Check! Weather-proof and air seal the basement - Check! Dr. Energy Saver has resolved the issues and this job is finished! We Fix Uncomfortable Homes!