Attic Insulation & Mold Removal Company in Holyoke, MA

This homeowner in Holyoke, MA called us hoping that we could replace his bulkhead door. They were interested in replacing their old bulkhead door as it was rusting and peeling. 

Fogarty's Home Services was able to help this customer. We were able to install a beautiful new bulkhead door. We caulked around the edges and installed flashing behind the door to ensure a tight fit. Now, it looks amazing, and the homeowner is happy! 

This homeowner in Holyoke, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help her with her home. She needed multiple windows replaced -- they were old, ugly, and caused drafts. During the winter months, old, badly installed, leaky windows with poor insulation value will make people feel colder and more uncomfortable than they would with better windows. The homeowner may turn up the thermostat, causing their heating bills to go up. In the summer, these same windows allow more of the heat from the sun into the home, making them feel hotter than they should. They may turn up the air conditioning, causing their cooling bills to go up. 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 - our Sunrise double-hung replacement 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 Holyoke, MA called us hoping we would be able to help him with his home. He wanted to know about attic insulation options that were not fiberglass. He needed to upgrade his insulation before winter started. 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 homeowner in Holyoke, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help him with his basement. His water tank had failed, and a lot of the basement had to be redone. This includes the insulation. 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 Holyoke, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help him with his basement. He was looking to get it insulated, as well as hoping to get his foundation looked at. 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 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 Holyoke, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help him replace his basement windows. One of them was broken, and they were not energy efficient. Usually, home builders paid little attention to the energy efficiency or looks of basement windows, often choosing the cheapest option available. This leaves the home with single pane glass windows with metal frames that let lots of cold air leak into the home. 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.

Luckily, Fogarty's Home Services had the perfect solution for this customer. The window sashes were removed and Everlast™ basement window inserts were installed and sealed airtight. They feature 2 panes of high performance “Low E” glass, which let’s visible light through but block 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. And the new efficient windows will look great! 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 Holyoke, MA called us when water was coming up through the floor of his basement and through the wall. This was a known issue - he had previously had flooding in the home, and the current protection just wasn't effective enough anymore. Sump pump holes are typically open holes in the basement floor with a pump stuck in there. Besides being ugly, the house sucks air up from the hole; air that is cool, and contains moisture, odors, and radon gas. The open sump hole is a safety hazard. If objects fall in they could clog the pump or switch operation, cause pump failure, and a flood. Results - A more humid basement, greater home air leakage, hazards and possible floods.

Luckily, Fogarty's Home Services had the perfect solution for this customer. In this solution, we installed a SuperSump®. The SuperSump is a well engineered sump system. It features a sturdy liner, airtight lid, 1/3 hp cast iron pump which can discharge up to 2200 gallons per hour, 8 feet high, and a stand to keep the pump out of silt and sediment. A WaterWatch® Alarm System alerts the homeowner to pump failure before the basement floor gets wet. Results - a more reliable sump pump, less air leakage from the sump hole, a drier basement, less radon gas and odors, and a much safer and better looking installation!

This customer in Holyoke, MA called us after being informed during an energy audit that she had no insulation whatsoever in her home. When our Home Comfort Specialist arrived to her home, we found an incredibly humid crawlspace. High humidity in your crawl space 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 crawl space is humid and smelly, so is the upstairs because of it. Once air and water leaks in a crawl space 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.

Luckily for this homeowner, Fogarty's Home Services knew exactly what to do to help her. We found that the best solution for this customer was to install a SaniDry™ Sedona crawl space air system in combination with other treatments. The SaniDry™ Sedona crawl space air system is a powerful but energy efficient dehumidification and air filtration system in one unit. It’s made specifically for the cooler temperatures found in below grade crawl spaces. 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 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 is suitable for storage, lower air conditioning cost, upstairs is drier. 

This homeowner in Holyoke, MA called us after a water main break flooded their basement, destroying it. He wanted to get it fixed and to ensure it did not happen again. Our Home Comfort Specialist came out to take a look at his request. One thing they immediately noticed was the fact that the basement had uninsulated, poured concrete walls. Poured concrete basement walls are buried in the cool earth and are perpetually cold - about 17˚F cooler than we like the interior of our homes to be. In the winter the part of the foundation that sticks up above the ground is much colder than that. Heat moves from more to less. The dense concrete has a lot of mass and heat from our basement constantly flows into and through the wall by conduction. You can never heat them up. If you have a furnace, boiler, or water heater in the basement, the heat that comes off this equipment is wasted - lost into the cold concrete, instead of warming the basement and floors above it. In the summer, warm humid air from outside hits your cold basement walls and condensation forms, supporting mold. Results - cold basement, cold floors above the basement, higher fuel bills, more difficult to heat the house.

In order to ensure that his new basement would be comfortable, we decided to install insulation boards on the walls. Our Foamax polyisocyanurate (Polyiso) foam insulation board is installed on your basement walls with Dr. Energy Saver’s proprietary Foam-Tite fasteners. But not just any foam - Foamax polyiso foam has the flame retardant properties to satisfy building codes to leave it exposed in a basement - unlike expanded or extruded polystyrene foam (EPS, XPS). In addition, the Foamax polyiso board has a foil facing to reflect heat so the insulation isn’t doing all the work by itself. Results - warmer, more comfortable basement, warmer floors above basement, less condensation in the summertime, lower fuel bills, house is easier to heat.

Your poured concrete basement walls are buried in the cool earth and are perpetually cold. In the winter the part of the foundation that sticks up above the ground is much colder than that. Heat moves from more to less. The dense concrete has a lot of mass and heat from our basement constantly flows into and through the wall by conduction. You can never heat them up. If you have a furnace, boiler, or water heater in the basement, the heat that comes off this equipment is wasted - lost into the cold concrete, instead of warming the basement and floors above it. In the summer, warm humid air from outside hits your cold basement walls and condensation forms, supporting mold.

Our solution is:  Our Foamax polyisocyanurate (Polyiso) foam insulation board is installed on your basement walls with Dr. Energy Saver's proprietary FoamTite fasteners. But not just any foam - Foamax polyiso foam has the flame retardant properties to satisfy building codes to leave it exposed in a basement, unlike expanded or extruded polystyrene foam (EPS, XPS). In addition, the Foamax polyiso board has a foil facing to reflect heat so the insulation isn’t doing all the work by itself.  The results are a warmer, more comfortable basement, warmer floors above basement, less condensation in the summertime, lower fuel bills, and the house is easier to heat and cool.

The Problem: Millions of homes were built with vented dirt crawl spaces.  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 causes 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 level in the crawl space and house.

The Solution: Your vents and other air leaks to the outside are sealed, often using our insulated vent covers. Walls are 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 is installed across the floor to create an airspace and thermal break, and TerraBlock™ floor insulation is installed over it. Finally the heavy duty, 20 mil thick CleanSpace™ crawl space encapsulation liner is 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. The results - much lower humidity, much warmer floors upstairs, less drafts, more comfortable house, lower fuel and electric bills.

This homeowner in Holyoke, MA called us to come out to their home to help them reduce humidity and rodents. They had a dirt floor crawlspace in the home, and a window that was not air sealed which was allowing a lot of air, humid air, into the home and negatively affecting the living space. There were rodents in the space as well, due to gaps ad cracks they could enter and exit the home in this space. We went out to the home for our Free Home Energy Evaluation to figure out the best plan of attack for these concerns. We sat down with the homeowner to see what their most important concerns were to get a better understanding of how to help them. We noticed the dirt floor crawlspace and the window that was allowing a lot of air to enter and exit the home where you are paying to heat and cool the space! To fix this homeowner's problem, we first remove any old insulation out of the crawlspace. Next, we vacuum it all up making sure all debris is removed. Then, we insulate the walls including around the window with our SiilverGlo foam insulation board with a reflective radiant barrier face. Next, a dimple drainage matt is placed across the floor to create airspace. Now we install our 20mil thick liner across the floor and up the walls to encapsulate the space. The window is air sealed around with non-expandable spray foam and sealed with our special tape to ensure to air is able to enter or escape through the gaps around the window. Now, we use our spray foam around the rim joist in the crawlspace to seal up the perimeter of the home! Now, this area is encapsulated which does not allow space for rodents to enter, or hot humid air to enter and affect the home! Thanks to Dr. Energy Saver by Eco Energy Solutions, this home is comfortable, and energy efficient!

In this photo you can see the crawlspace and sealed window!