Your Preferred Spray Foam Insulation & Mold Specialists in Lenox, MA

This homeowner in Lenox, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help her with her attic. Her next door neighbor was having her attic insulated, and she was also having attic issues. When our Home Comfort Specialist came out to take a look, he noted that the attic had a mold issue that needed to be addressed. 

We had the perfect solution for this customer. In this solution, we utilize our Mold-X2 Cleaner and Botanical solutions. Mold-X2 Cleaner effectively eliminates mold and mildew stains on contact. It is non-abrasive and non-flammable, and is sprayed on effected areas. Once Mold-X2 Cleaner is applied, mold disappears instantly, leaving wood surfaces looking nearly new. Mold-X2 Botanical, a plant-based disinfectant with a pleasant, temporary scent, is sprayed or fogged on surfaces, which prevents mold from growing back. Now the attic is ready for other solutions. Result - Mold eliminated, no odors or wood rot.

This homeowner in Lenox, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help her with her attic space. She had a finished room she was using for storage, as well as kneewalls. 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 may 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 itself are open to the 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.

We had the perfect solution for this customer. We were able to insulate the kneewalls with SilverGlo™ insulation. In this solution, 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. 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.

This homeowner in Lenox, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help her with the attic in her condo. She and her adjoining neighbor both were having issues with lichen growing on their roof, and the homeowner was having home comfort issues as well. She wanted a Home Comfort Specialist to come out and investigate the issues with her home. When we arrived at the home, we noted that one of her issues was her inefficient fiberglass batt insulation in her attic, which was additionally being used as a storage space.

Before we could help this customer with her insulation, we first had to remove all of the old fiberglass batts. The batt insulation was bagged and then the attic was vacuumed to remove pieces, parts and dust. Result - Now the attic is clean! We could then begin our other treatments and solutions to help this homeowner stay comfortable in her home for years to come! 

This homeowner in Lenox, MA called us hoping to get his windows replaced. Old wood basement windows in stone foundation walls are inefficient and make the home cold in the winter. “Clear”, single pane glass lets heat escape by conduction through the cold glass. And old wood windows leak a lot of air because the house has lower air pressure at the bottom, and sucks lots of cold air in from outside. Basement windows are near the ground or even in window wells, where the damp environment causes rot and paint to peel. Rotted sills let outside air and even pests into the home. Results - cold basement, cold floors upstairs, drafts, less comfortable home, more condensation in the basement in the summertime, higher fuel and electric bills.

The old windows and frames were removed. New Everlast™ basement windows were installed. The sliding windows have double pane glass with a special metallic “Low E” coating 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 Lenox, MA called us requesting an evaluation of her crawlspace insulation. When our Home Comfort Specialist arrived at the home, he noticed that the crawlspace was very, very humid. High humidity in a 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, Fogarty's Home Services had the perfect solution for this customer. 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 dryer.

This homeowner in Lenox, MA called with concerns regarding the insulation in the basement of the home he had recently purchased. Our Home Comfort Specialist arrived to the home and immediately noted that his rim joist in his basement was uninsulated. 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 homeowner by installing spray foam in the rim joist. Two part expanding spray foam is installed on rim joist and over sill plate to seal all air leaks from the outside and insulate this important area of your 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 your home. Results - warmer floors, less drafts, more comfortable rooms, your house is easier to heat and costs less to heat, less summertime condensation on cold basement surfaces.

Problem: 

Homeowner contacted us wanting to save on energy bills. We talked with the homeowner and found out the walls were not insulated.

Solution: 

Our team discussed with the homeowner and planned everything out safely. The team got to work and carefully took off a few rows of siding of the house and drilled a small hole into the wood. We sprayed the insulation in these holes making sure every spot of the side is covered in the TrueSoft Cellulose. We covered up all the holes with new wood to ensure the home it structurally safe. Then finally the team cleaned up everything used in the process and let the homeowner know the job was done.

This homeowner called us out to their home in Lenox, MA looking to upgrade their insulation in their attic. We conducted our Full Home Energy Evaluation to take a look at the whole home. We noticed that this homeowner's crawlspace was filled with dirt and was damp and completely unusable. It also contained old, fiberglass insulation. This insulation sags away from the floor and cold air can get above it-rendering it useless.  In the winter, cold air is easily able to travel into the house. In the summer, warm and humid air is easily able to leak into the home. This causes relative humidity to increase, causing condensation in the crawlspace. This can be a breeding ground for mold. Since this area is so hard to keep at the temperature desired, as well as it not being accessible for storage, we needed to encapsulate this crawlspace.

We want to make sure that we can take care of these problems, properly, and right the first time. We make sure to plan according to the layout of the home for the encapsulation. First, we have to seal all of the vents without insulated vent covers. This will stop some of the air from the hostile outdoor environment from entering the home. We next install our SilverGlo foam insulation boards on the walls of the crawlspace. We screw the boards into place with long screws and washers. This SilverGlo foam insulation board has a reflective side to it, that makes it a radiant barrier, which slows down the transfer of heat into the home drastically. The next step to this process is to lay down our drainage matting on the floor of the crawlspace. Our TerraBlock floor insulation is then installed directly over the drainage mat. After installing the TerraBlock, we can finally install the heavy duty, thick Cleanspace Crawlspace Encapsulation liner. This is sealed with mechanical fasteners to the wall and spiked to the floor. This results in much warmer floors, lower cost to heat/cool the home, and much lower humidity. Thanks to Dr. Energy Saver by Eco Energy Solutions, this homeowner is living a more comfortable and energy efficient home!

This photo is the finished product.