Stockbridge, MA's Leading Insulation & Mold Remediation Company

This homeowner in Stockbridge, MA called us after a home renovation revealed insufficient insulation. Our Home Comfort Specialist arrived to assess the insulation and found that it had been removed anyway during the renovations, leaving it fully uninsulated. The problems this causes are obvious. Heat flows from more (inside) to less (outside in winter) right through the walls, and the opposite in summer. Nearly all walls leak air, insulated or not, causing drafts. The cold wall surface cools interior air which then sinks and travels across the floor and up the warmer interior wall, and across the ceiling back to the exterior wall. This is called a “convective loop” and makes rooms feel even draftier. Result - cold, drafty rooms, uncomfortable home, heating and cooling systems run much more and need more service, difficult to keep house at comfortable temperature, higher fuel and electric bills, dry home in winter, more dust/pollen, more humidity in the house in summer when air conditioned.

Luckily, Fogarty's Home Services had the perfect solution for this customer. Siding was removed temporarily as necessary and 29/16” holes were drilled through the wall sheathing. A fill tube was inserted up (and down) into wall cavities to not only fill, but dense pack the wall cavities. Dense packing is a technique that packs the insulation in very tightly - so tightly that all irregular shaped cavities and crevices in the wall cavities are filled, and air will not penetrate the dense packed cellulose. It’s remarkable, and something that can’t be achieved with fiberglass - not even close! Dense packed cellulose stops air flow through the wall and insulates. TruSoft™ Cellulose is treated to be highly fire, mold and pest resistant. Holes were plugged and siding was put back. Result - A less drafty, warmer, quieter, more comfortable house, less dust/pollen, house not so dry in winter, lower fuel/electric bills, heating system runs less - less maintenance.

This homeowner in Stockbridge, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help him re-insulate the attic in the home he had just purchased. When our Home Comfort Specialist came out to the home, he noted that the attic insulation that was currently there was insufficient. Vented attics are hostile places - 30˚F in winter and 125˚F in the summer. They are very bad places to store things, and the worst place to lo-cate ducts because they are the extreme opposite temperature as the air in the ducts that the homeowner paid to heat or cool. The attic floor (aka the ceilings in a home) allows air from inside the house to leak into the attic where it is lost. For each cubic foot of air that leaks out, a cubic foot of air from the outside enters the bottom of the house, making the lower levels cold and drafty. Heat from the house in the attic melts snow on the roof where it refreezes at the eaves causing destructive ice damming. In the summer, the sun heats the roof to 160˚F, which radiates to the attic and then to the ceilings and rooms. Results - Major heat loss to the attic from house and ducts in winter, and heat gain in summer, uncomfortable rooms, more drafts upstairs and downstairs, higher fuel/electric bills.

After discussing with the homeowner, it was clear that a SuperAttic™ attic system was what they needed. SilverGlo™ EPS foam insulation board with graphite was installed on the underside of the roof deck. The graphite gives it superior R-value and a foil face on both sides reflects heat out in summer and back in during winter. The roof is still vented, kept cold in winter to prevent ice damming. In summer, excess heat is vented out. No harsh chemicals are sprayed in the home, like spray foam. The attic is now part of the conditioned space in the home, and ducts in the attic are no longer in a hostile environment. The attic is clean, less dusty and suitable for storage. The homeowner can even finish their attic! Results - The home is less drafty, warmer in winter and cooler in summer, lower fuel and electric bills, less dust.

This homeowner in Stockbridge, MA called us stating he had bad odor coming into his home from his crawl space. Our Home Comfort Specialist came out to find the source of the issue. One of the biggest problems was that there was a large amount of mold in the crawl space caused by a high amount of moisture. 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?

Luckily, Fogarty's Home Services had a perfect solution for this homeowner. We utilized our Mold-X2 cleaner and Mold-X2 botanical treatments for this customer's issues. 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 surface 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. 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 Stockbridge, MA called us when he realized that his crawl space had a moisture problem that needed a solution. When our Home Comfort Specialist arrived at the home, he noted that there was moisture in the crawlspace as well as damage to the beams due to it. Most crawl spaces were built with dirt floors - and not much care to preventing them from leaking groundwater. As a result many of them do leak. No exterior drainage and no outside waterproofing on the walls leads to heavy rains leaking in. To have a healthy, energy efficient crawl space, standing water must be pumped out. Otherwise the relative humidity will never be under control, and mold, rot and pests will flourish in the space right under the homeowner's feet. As the air makes it’s way up through the home, it will carry moisture, mold spores and odors to the living space. Results - Mud, mold, rot, pests, insects, odors, higher heating and air conditioning costs, uncomfortable home.

Our solution for this homeowner was simple. For crawlspaces like this, we utilize our SmartSump™ crawl space drainage system. The SmartSump™ is a sump pump system designed just for crawl spaces. It features a heavy, specially shaped sump liner to fit in crawl spaces and accept the CleanSpace floor liner, a 1/3 hp cast iron Zoeller pump with automatic float switch, a stand for the pump, and an airtight lid that keeps moisture from evaporating out of the sump hole. The “smart” part is an alarm that sounds in the event of a pump failure OR a plumbing leak (when installed with the CleanSpace™ Crawl Space Encapsulation System) as it drains the plumbing leak water away. A discharge line takes the water safely outside. The drain in the lid has a special check ball to let air down but moisture and odors can’t come up. Result - no water depth accumulation in the crawl space, the crawl space is ready for other solutions needed for complete results.

Are you experiencing Sagging or bouncy floors over your crawl space?

Structural problems, such as settling columns or sagging beams and floor joists, are common within a crawl space. Settling of columns in a crawl space is most often caused by weak foundation soils. Over time, these soils shift and settle with changes in moisture content and density, causing movement of the columns and the beams above. Sagging beams and floor joists are often the results of improper spacing of existing pier columns, effectively overloading beams and causing them to bend and sag.

We used a SmartJack system on a home in Stockbridge, MA

The SmartJack System Will level and stabilize the existing beams and floor joists in your crawl space. A solid base of engineered fill addresses problems with weak foundations soil by effectively transferring the load to competent strata. The SmartJack is made from high-strength steel components and provides the best opportunity to lift the above floors and walls back to their original level. This job resulted in immediate stabilization of the floors and the floors being level.