Before & After Photos

This homeowner in Coventry, CT called us because of her concern over her crawl space. She was concerned due to the possibility of rodents and mold that were in her dirt crawl space. This is something we see often. Millions of homes were built with vented dirt crawl spaces. Now all building scientists agree - that was a big mistake. Now building codes are changing. In the winter, vents let cold air directly into our home. Floor insulation sags away from the sub floor and the cold air gets above it - rendering the insulation useless. In the summer the vents let warm humid air in which is cooled by the subterranean crawl space. This caused the relative humidity to go way up and condensation to form all over the crawl space surfaces including floor joists and ducts. Mold grows and wood rots, while insect and other pests flourish. Musty odors can be noticed upstairs as mold spores travel upwards into the living space. Eventually rotted floor joist must be replaced and mold must be remediated. An unending stream of water vapor comes up from the ground adding to the moisture load in the crawl space and house. The damp air is harder to heat and cool. Result - condensation, mold, rot, pests and odors, cold floors, drafts, uncomfortable home, higher fuel and electric bills.

Fogarty's Home Services helped this homeowner by encapsulating her crawlspace. The vents and other air leaks to the outside were sealed, often using our insulated vent covers. Walls were insulated with SilverGlo™ insulation with a reflective radiant barrier face. SilverGlo™ foam has graphite infused into the foam to increase the R-value by 24% over standard foam. A dimpled plastic drainage matting was installed across the floor to create an airspace and thermal break, and TerraBlock™ floor insulation was installed over it. Finally the heavy duty, 20 mil thick CleanSpace™ crawl space encapsulation liner was installed permanently across the dirt floor - sealed with mechanical fasteners to the walls and spiked to the floor. CleanSpace™ features Ultrafresh™ anti-microbial ingredients in the product. Results - much lower humidity, much warmer floors upstairs, less drafts, more comfortable house, lower fuel and electric bills.

With the rim joists and basement walls insulated this home now has a warmer/more comfortable basement and has less summertime condensation. 

Our team Insulated the exterior walls of this home and it made the home less drafty and quieter. 

This homeowner in Palmer, MA had reached out to us hoping that we would be able to insulate their basement for them. They wanted to finish their basement, but first needed the basement insulated so that it would be comfortable.

We first removed the fiberglass insulation from the rim joist in the basement. (The rim joist is the perimeter of the floor framing system along the exterior of the house). We then replaced it with two-part expanding spray foam. This closed-cell spray foam expands to seal all gaps and cracks in the rim joist. 

After that, we needed to insulate the walls. To do this, we used our Foamax™ foam insulation board. Foamax has flame retardant properties - meaning that they are able to leave it exposed while we craft the basement of their dreams!

Now, their basement is much more comfortable! 

This homeowner called us because they were having a serious issue with ice dams. Water was leaking in, even though they had a new roof.

When our Building Science Specialist evaluated the home, he realized that the second floor of the Cape style home suffered from inadequate insulation and air was leaking in through the soffits into the kneewall spaces.

To solve this problem, we first removed all existing batt insulation and prepped for new insulation in the attic area and air sealed the can lights in the cathedral ceiling. We then installed our SuperKneeWall™ Insulation System with SilverGlo™ on the walls and between floor joists as needed. We dense packed the roof, through the soffits with blown-in TruSoft™ Cellulose, air sealed the floor with ZypFoam™ and then insulated the attic floor with TruSoft™ Cellulose.

The second floor of this home is now properly air sealed and insulated and airflow will be distributed evenly throughout the home resulting in lower energy bills and no more ice dams!