Enfield, CT's Insulation & Mold Removal Company

This homeowner in Enfield, CT called us hoping that we would be able to help him with an entrance to his crawl space. He had a "makeshift" cover to the entrance. Since the old thinking was that crawl spaces could have dirt floors and be vented, it was okay for access doors to be loose fitting and unsealed. Today we know that to have a comfortable, energy efficient home, free of mold, rot, bugs, and odors we must seal off all air (and water) leaks from the outside. But an old crawl space access door doesn’t do that. And wells fill up with leaves, water, and weeds grow in them, a constant maintenance issue. Open wells can also be a fall hazard. Results - Warm, humid air leaks in during summer, causing condensation all over the crawl space, cold air leaks in during winter causing cold floors above and cooling heating ducts, higher fuel and electric bills.

We had the perfect solution for this customer. The Turtl™ Crawl Space access system is an airtight door and a sealed access well in one durable unit. This highly specialized product is the only one of it’s kind manufactured anywhere and is perfect for it’s purpose. The homeowner can open the lid and crawl into their crawl space without getting wet or dirty. The Turtl™ even has a place for a lock on it, and will never rust, rot or need paint! It’s airtight and watertight and people can jump on it without a problem! Result - An airtight, watertight, durable crawl space access that keeps the home clean and healthy. Lower fuel and electric bills.

This homeowner in Enfield, CT called us stating that she had moisture in her attic. A professional recommended that she talk to us to figure out what was wrong with her attic. When our Home Comfort Specialist came out to the home, he noticed that there was mold in the attic as a result of the moisture. Attic insulation in a home can get pretty nasty, especially when it is moldy. In cases like this, it is best for the health of the home for the attic insulation to be removed and replaced. 

For this homeowner, we started our process with simply removing all of the insulation in the attic. They had both batt insulation and blown-in insulation. We started with bagging the batt insulation. Then, we vacuumed up the loose fill insulation with a giant vacuum located outside with giant filter bags and a very long, fat hose. Result - Now the attic is clean! It’s ready for proper air sealing and installation of clean, new, fresh cellulose insulation or one of our other strategies to make this home comfortable and energy efficient.

This homeowner in Enfield, CT called us hoping we would be able to provide an estimate for basement insulation. She needed insulation specifically in the rim joists in her basement and removal of the fiberglass insulation. When our Home Comfort Specialist arrived, he noticed that there was old and damaged fiberglass batt insulation in the basement. Fiberglass batt insulation has paper facing and organic material in the resin used to set the fibers into a batt - both are mold food.

This customer's solution was an easy one - but first, we had to remove the old insulation. Insulation has hostile fibers when it’s disturbed. The insulation is very bulky and takes up a tremendous amount of space in trucks and our dumpsters which must be emptied. But it’s necessary to have a healthy home in the end. Result - now the basement is ready to be fixed properly with other solutions.

This homeowner called us hoping that we would be able to replace his windows. He was renovating the house, and hoped to replace his old and inefficient windows. During the winter months, old, badly installed, leaky windows with poor insulation value made the home feel colder and more uncomfortable than they otherwise would with better windows. In the summer, these same windows allow more of the heat from the sun into the home, making the homeowner feel hotter than he should. Results: Cold and drafty rooms in the winter, hot rooms in the summer, higher heating and cooling bills

We had the perfect solution for this customer. This homeowner chose our Sunrise double-hung windows. The vinyl material used to construct a Sunrise Window frame is already thermally superior to any other window framing material. Then it is made even better by the injection of polyurethane insulation foam into the frame channels which delivers an industry high-bar of R-7. Our expert window installers will also inject low expansion foam between the window frame and the wall studs to further insulate the window unit, improving the thermal barrier and infiltration resistance properties of the entire window assembly. Results: Warmer and less drafty rooms in the winter, cooler rooms in the summer, lower heating and cooling bills.

This homeowner in Enfield, CT called us hoping that we would be able to evaluate whether or not his attic insulation was adequate. As this is something we do every day, our Home Comfort Specialist had no issue coming out to see what the problem was. When he arrived, he noticed that the attic was poorly insulated and not air sealed at all. Air leaking in from the outside had blown dirt into the insulation, and even worse, had pushed the insulation around the attic! It’s possible that old insulation like this can be moved aside for a proper air sealing job that must be done prior to adding enough blown cellulose insulation to today’s standards - but with the inadequacies already present in the insulation, it was better to just start fresh.

We were able to help this homeowner by removing their old insulation. The loose fill insulation was vacuumed with a giant vacuum located outside with giant filter bags and a very long, fat hose. Result - Now the attic is clean! It’s ready for proper air sealing and installation of clean, new, fresh cellulose insulation or one of our other strategies to make the home comfortable and energy efficient.

This homeowner in Enfield, CT originally called us hoping for insulation in her converted sunroom. When our Home Comfort Specialist arrived in the home, he noted that the home was losing a lot of heat around the can lights that they had installed. Outside air leaking in at the bottom of a home only happens because warm air leaked out of the top. Can lights are holes in the ceiling. Air leaks between the fixture and the drywall, and through the fixture itself because of the many holes and seams in it. To make matters worse, when the light is on, incandescent and halogen bulbs burn at 380˚F and this hot air rises faster and causes the can light to leak faster. Most can lights are not rated to have insulation against them because of the fire hazard when these fixtures get hot. And gaps in attic insulation cause heat loss in addition to the can light air leakage problem. Results - more drafts and colder rooms downstairs. Higher overall home air leakage rate. Higher heating and cooling (fuel and electric) bills.

Luckily, Fogarty's Home Services had the perfect solution for this homeowner. Our TiteShell™ can light covers were installed over can lights, fitted around wires and fixture struts, and sealed air tight with expanding foam. TiteShell™ covers are safe from the fire hazards of hot bulbs and fixtures. Once TiteShells™ are installed, TruSoft™ insulation can be blown into the attic against and over them, eliminating costly gaps in insulation and adding R-value.  Results - less drafts and more comfortable rooms - including downstairs. A tighter more energy efficient house, lower heating and cooling (fuel and electric) bills, house is easier to heat and cool.

This homeowner in Enfield, CT called us when she realized that her home was letting in chipmunks as well as cold air. When our Home Comfort Specialist arrived, he noticed that her basement was very poorly and the rim joist had nothing in it that would actually seal the gaps. 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 your 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.

Fogarty's Home Services was able to help this customer with our two part expanding spray foam. Two part expanding spray foam was 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. Plus, no chipmunks! 

This homeowner in Enfield, CT had a home that did not have insulated walls. A lot of it was also being torn out - providing a perfect time for our Home Comfort Specialist to evaluate the structure of the home. Heat moves from more to less - out of a building in winter, and into a building in summer. Insulation is needed to slow this heat flow down - the slower the better. Fiberglass insulation does a poor job stopping heat flow because it allows air to flow through and around it. Results - Uncomfortable spaces, high fuel and electric costs for heating and cooling.

Fogarty's Home Services had the perfect solution to fit this customer's needs. We insulated the walls with closed cell spray foam. Closed cell spray foam is different from fiberglass. Because it adheres to all surfaces, expands in place, and air cannot pass through it, it not only stops air flow through all the holes and cracks in the building assembly and materials, but it is superior insulation. With an R-value of 6.3 per inch (double or triple of fiberglass) and it’s ability to stop air flow, you simply can’t get better insulation. One inch of closed cell foam sprayed in place is worth many inches of other insulation materials. This is why spray foam is used in most “zero energy” homes. Results - A much more comfortable interior space, less drafts, space is easier to heat and cool.

This homeowner in Enfield, CT called us hoping to improve his basement insulation. When our Home Comfort Specialist arrived, he noted that the homeowner had inadequate windows. Home builders paid little attention to the energy efficiency or looks of basement windows, often choosing the cheapest option available. This leaves many homeowners today with single pane glass windows with metal frames that let lots of cold air leak into their homes. Single pane clear glass lets heat from the home escape by conduction through the cold glass. Metal is highly thermally conductive and a poor material for a window frame. And metal rusts in the damp environment near the ground. Perhaps the worst part is that these basement windows leak air - lots of it, because the house has lower air pressure at the bottom and sucks cold outside air into the home, causing a cold basement and cold floors above. And let’s face it, these windows are ugly. Results - cold basement, cold floors upstairs, drafts, higher fuel and electric bills, more condensation in the basement in the summertime, less comfortable home.

Fogarty's Home Services had the perfect solution for this customer's needs. We were able to install Everlast™ high efficiency vinyl windows in their basement. Their old windows and frames were removed. New Everlast™ basement windows were installed in their place. The sliding windows have double pane glass with a special metallic “Low E” coating on the inside of both panes of glass to reduce heat flow in or out through the glass. The frame and sashes are made completely from vinyl - the perfect material for a window so close to the ground in a damp environment - they will never rust, rot, or need paint. Results - warmer basement, warmer floors above the basement, less drafts, less condensation in summer, lower overall home air leakage, lower fuel and electric bills.

This homeowner in Enfield, CT called us after being referred by her plumber. The home was experiencing flooding coming from the floor drain, which flooded the basement multiple times. When our Home Comfort Specialist arrived in the home, he noted that there was an inefficient sump pump. A sump pump is a critically important part of a home because it keeps an entire level of the home protected against flooding - which could cause many thousands of dollars in property damage, clean up time and aggravation. A single sump pump will fail one day due to mechanical failure, a power outage, a circuit breaker tripping, or it may not be able to keep up with the volume of water in a heavy storm. Results -- A flooded basement, mess, property damage, and mold -- just what this homeowner was trying to avoid! 

Our solution for this customer was the TripleSafe™ sump pump system. The TripleSafe™ system has 3 pumps to protect from flooding. The first pump is a 1/3 hp, cast iron Zoeller pump that can pump up to 2200 gallons per hour, 8 feet high. Should the first pump fail or not be able to keep up with the temporary heavy flow of water, a 1/2 hp AC back-up pump on a separate discharge line can pump 3900 gallons of water per hour. If the power fails, then a third, battery operated "UltraSump" pump automatically pumps up to 12,000 gallons of water out of the basement! An airtight lid keeps moisture, odors and radon gas out of the basement. The TripleSafe™ system is the highest quality sump pump protection in the world! Results -- the homeowner has peace of mind knowing she has both AC and DC powered back up pumps to keep her basement dry. 

This homeowner in Enfield, CT called us when she received an energy evaluation from a separate service that claimed that she had "absolutely no insulation in her home". She had spent several cold winters in the home since she had purchased it, and did not want to spend another winter in her home when it was that cold. When our Home Comfort Specialist arrived in her home, he confirmed that she had no insulation in her home. This included her crawlspace. A lack of insulation can cause issues, including high relative humidity. High relative humidity in a crawl space will cause mold to grow on the surfaces of framing lumber, sub floors, insulation, and everywhere. Spores are the airborne seeds of mold, which are produced when the mold is growing and active. These spores float on airstreams up from the crawl space into the living space, and people with sensitivities can react to them. When we fix a crawl space properly, the crawl space will dry out enough so mold will not continue to grow. But what can be done to treat and eliminate the mold that’s already there?

Our solution to this issue was simple. This customer had her home treated with Mold-X2 Cleaner and Mold-X2 Botanical treatments. Mold-X2 Cleaner effectively eliminates mold and mildew stains on contact. It is non-abrasive and non-flammable, and is sprayed on effected areas. There is a temporary odor from the product, so we recommended that the homeowners leave the house for a few hours. Once Mold-X2 Cleaner was applied, the mold disappeared instantly, leaving wood surface looking nearly new. Mold-X2 Botanical, a plant-based disinfectant with a pleasant, temporary scent, was sprayed on the surfaces, which prevents mold from growing back. Now the crawl space is ready for other solutions. Results – The mold is eliminated, with no odors or potential for wood rot. The crawl space is now ready for a permanent repair to keep humidity low.

This homeowner in Enfield, CT called us due to concerns that she needed additional insulation in her attic. Our Home Comfort Specialist arrived to the home and noted that she was using the attic to store items. This is a very common occurrence, but it is hard to store things in a properly insulated attic. In the winter, air that you paid to heat leaks up into the vented attic and is lost to the outside - which draws cold outside air in at the bottom of your home causing drafts. A poorly insulated attic floor allows heat from your living space to be lost to the outdoors through the vented attic. If the attic is needed for storage, then blowing 17” of loose fill insulation on the attic floor is not an option. Results - An uncomfortable drafty house that’s hard to heat and cool, and a dilemma as to how best to fix it.

We had the perfect solution to fit this customer's needs. We worked with the customer and eventually, they decided to go with a "SuperDeck" system. The complete “Attic SuperDeck” is an innovative solution that air seals and insulates the top of your home while providing the maximum storage space possible. First, major air leaks and leaks along exterior walls are sealed with expanding polyurethane foam. Then foam blocking is installed between joist. If the ceiling joist cavities are not filled with insulation, cellulose is used to fill them. Then soffit baffles are installed as necessary to keep loose insulation out of the soffits. Then wood dams are installed as shown to contain loose insulation installed on the outboard side of the SuperDeck. Then thick SilverGlo™ board foam is installed across the bulk of your attic floor and sealed to provide superior R-value. Finally, wood sheets are installed with special long screws to provide insulated storage decking. Results - a much warmer, more comfortable home, lower fuel and electric bills, home easier to heat and cool, lots of attic storage.

This homeowner in Enfield, CT reached out to us due to a large amount of water she had in her basement. Upon arriving at her home, our Home Comfort Specialist noticed she did not have an adequate sump pump. A sump pump is a critically important part of a home because it keeps an entire level of a home protected against flooding - which could cause thousands of dollars in property damage, clean up time, and aggravation. A single sump pump will fail one day due to mechanical failure, a power outage, a circuit breaker tripping, or it may not be able to keep up with the volume of water in a heavy storm. Results - a flooded basement, mess, property damage, and mold!

Our team at Fogarty's Home Services worked with this homeowner to determine the best course of action for her home. Our first course of action was to install a TripleSafe™ sump pump system. The TripleSafe™ sump pump system has 3 pumps to protect from flooding. The first pump is a 1/3 hp, cast iron Zoeller pump that can pump up to 2,200 gallons per hour, 8 feet high. Should the first pump fail or not be able to keep up with the temporary heavy flow of water, a 1/2 AC back up pump on a separate discharge line can pump 3,900 gallons of water per hour. If the power fails, then a third, battery operated "UltraSump" pump automatically pumps up to 12,000 gallons of water out of your basement! An airtight lid keeps moisture, odors, and radon gas out of your basement. The TripleSafe™ system is the highest quality sump pump protection in the world! Results - you have peace of mind knowing you have both AC and DC powered back up pumps to keep your basement dry! 

To install this, we first dug the hole where the sump pump system itself should go -- removing the old sump pump. We then proceeded to build drainage lines both inside the home and outside it. We dug trenches in order to keep the drainage line safe in the yard. We set the spot where it would drain far away from the house in order to best protect it.

This homeowner in Enfield, CT initially called us out to his home due to a water leak he was having in his basement. Our Home Comfort Specialist came out to take a look at the basement and to ensure that we found the best solutions for this customer. High humidity in a basement or crawlspace is caused by a number of important conditions that must be addressed such as open vents, leaking groundwater and dirt floors - all which must be fixed otherwise. High humidity causes many problems in a home such as mold (which grows at Relative Humidities [RH] above 75%), rot (which happens above 90% RH) odors, airborne mold spores that aggravate allergies and asthma, increased pests and insects such as termites, and higher air conditioning and heating costs. Since air rises up from the crawl space to the living space, if the basement or crawl space is humid and smelly, so is the upstairs because of it. Once air and water leaks in a crawl space or basement are fixed and the soil is isolated from the earth, an additional measure is needed to ensure the relative humidity stays low at all times, in all seasons. Result - cold floors above, condensation, mold, rot, odors, drafty, uncomfortable home, higher fuel and electric bills

Fogarty's Home Services provided several solutions to this customer. The solution the homeowner and team settled on was to help control the humidity in his basement with our SaniDry™ Sedona air system. The SaniDry™ Sedona air system is a powerful but energy efficient dehumidification and air filtration system in one unit. Able to remove an incredible 100 pints of water per day and using only 5.9 amps of electricity, the SaniDry™ Sedona drains automatically to a sump pump or the outside with a condensate pump. It has a powerful 310 cfm blower to circulate the dry air completely around to dry building materials and contents. Mold doesn’t have a chance! An automatic control is easy - set it to 55% RH and forget it - the SaniDry™ Sedona does the rest! And there’s no buckets to empty! Results - Low Relative Humidity, mold stops growing, odors are reduced, crawl space/basement is suitable for storage, lower air conditioning cost, upstairs is dryer.

Home builders paid little attention to the energy efficiency or looks of basement windows, often choosing the cheapest option available. This leaves you with single pane glass windows with metal frames that let lots of cold air leak into your home. Single pane clear glass lets heat from your home escape by conduction through the cold glass. Metal is highly thermally conductive and a poor material for a window frame. And metal rusts in the damp environment near the ground. Perhaps the worst part is that these basement windows leak air, lots of it, because the house has lower air pressure at the bottom and sucks cold outside air into your home, causing a cold basement and cold floors above. And let’s face it, these windows are ugly.  Cold basement, cold floors upstairs, drafts, higher fuel and electric bills, more condensation in the basement in the summertime, and a less comfortable home are the problems.

DR. ENERGY SAVER'S® SOLUTION is Everlast™ High Efficiency Vinyl Window Inserts.  Your window sashes are removed and Everlast™ basement window inserts are installed and sealed airtight. They feature 2 panes of high performance “Low E” glass, which let’s visible light through but blocks most of the heat flow with a special metallic coating on the inside of both panes of glass. The sash features a vinyl frame, the perfect material for a window in the damp environment near the ground. The vinyl looks great and will never rust, rot or need paint.  Your new efficient windows will look great! The result, a warmer basement, warmer floors above the basement, less drafts, less condensation in summer, lower overall home air leakage, and lower fuel and electric bills.

At Fogarty's Home Services, focusing on air sealing and insulating ceilings is critical to making a home comfortable and energy efficient, but some homes are constructed with rooms that have walls exposed to the hostile attic temperatures. It's part of why rooms are too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. If the fiberglass insulation in the wall between the room and attic is exposed (open faced to the attic), it will not give much insulation value at all because air and heat go through the fluffy open matrix of the insulation easily. Results - Uncomfortable rooms that are hard to heat and cool, and higher energy bills. SilverGlo™ is an expanded polystyrene foam insulation board with graphite infused into the foam. This gives it a 24% higher insulation value per inch than standard EPS foam. It also has a shiny radiant barrier to reflect heat as well, so the insulation isn't doing all the work itself. The SilverGlo™ is applied and sealed to the attic side of the interior walls to stop heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter. Results - More comfortable rooms that are easier to heat and cool, and lower energy bills.

Attic insulation in this customer's home was old and very dirty. Over many years, it sat there collecting dirt, dust, pollen, bugs, rodent feces (from mice, squirrels, bats, etc.), bird droppings and nests of all kinds of undesirable things. It's possible that old insulation like this can be moved aside for a proper air sealing job that must be done prior to adding enough TruSoft™ blown cellulose insulation to today's standards - but we removed the old, nasty insulation from our customer's home so she could start fresh. Fogarty's Home Services conducted the unpleasant task of removing the damaged, soiled insulation in your attic. The batt insulation was bagged and then the attic was vacuumed to remove pieces, parts and dust. Loose fill insulation was also vacuumed with a giant vacuum located outside with giant filter bags and a very long, fat hose. Result - Now our customer's attic is clean! It's ready for proper air sealing and installation of clean, new, fresh TruSoft™ cellulose insulation or one of our other Dr. Energy Saver strategies to make her home comfortable and energy efficient.

A kneewall space is created when a finished room is built within a sloped roof. A short wall called a "kneewall" forms a triangular space which mar or may not be accessible with a short door or access panel. The floor of the kneewall space forms the ceiling of the room below it. The floor and kneewall space side with exposed fiberglass batts. Since fiberglass does not stop air flow, the insulation does next to nothing to air seal and insulate. The floor of the upper level, the ceiling of the lower level and the kneewall are all cold in winter and hot (from radiant roof heat) in the summer. The kneewall space is not suitable for storage since it is dusty and very cold or hot. Blocks of SilverGlo™ foam insulation are installed between the ceiling joist bays. Outside the blocks, the surface of the ceiling is sealed with sprayed foam or SilverGlo™ foam. (Fiberglass insulation may be installed on top). SilverGlo™ foam insulation is installed under the rafters up to the kneewall and sealed at the top with foam sealant. SilverGlo™ is expanded polystyrene foam insulation with graphite infused into the foam, which increases the R-value by 24% compared to regular EPS foam. SilverGlo™ also has a radiant barrier on both sides to reflect roof heat out in the summer and house heat back in during the winter. The addition of this radiant barrier gives some thermal benefit so the insulation isn't left alone to do all the work. After installation, inside air can't get out of the house through the kneewall spaces and outside air can't get in. Insulation is added, with integrity, to the correct surfaces. Results - significantly warmer upstairs room in the winter, cooler room upstairs in the hot weather, less drafts, more comfort, less dust. A kneewall space suitable for clean storage. Lower fuel and electric bills.