Tyringham, MA's Dependable Home Energy Contractor!

This homeowner in Tyringham, MA approached us at a home show asking if we could help him insulate his crawl space. 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 subfloor 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.

We had the perfect solution for this homeowner -- the CleanSpace™ encapsulation system! In this solution, vents and other air leaks to the outside are sealed. The crawl space 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 EPS foam. Then a dimpled plastic drainage matting is installed on the floor to create an airspace and thermal break between the CleanSpace and earth. 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. Results - much lower humidity, much warmer floors upstairs, less drafts, more comfortable house, lower fuel and electric bills.

This homeowner in Tyringham, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help him with his home's insulation. When our Home Comfort Specialist came out to the home, he noticed that there was a problem with the insulation in the crawl space. In addition, the crawl space was extremely 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 the 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 the 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.

We had the perfect solution for this homeowner. In this solution, we install a SaniDry™ Sedona in the crawl space to lower the relative humidity in the space. This is combined with other solutions. 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 Tyringham, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help him insulate his home that was built in the early 1800s. When our Home Comfort Specialist came out to the home, he saw that the home had a cathedral ceiling that needed to be insulated. In most areas of the United States, homes need R60 insulation in their attics - the equivalent of a 20” deep fiberglass batt. But cathedral ceilings only have the depth of the rafters (6” to 11”) for insulation. Two factors relating to the optional vented roof design make the situation much worse. First, some of the rafter space is used for airflow (cold in winter) - which means even less space for insulation. Second, this air flow “wind washes” open faced fiberglass batts, reducing the R-value of batts that were designed and rated to be used in closed cavities with no airflow whatsoever. Result - the cathedral ceiling is dramatically under insulated. Air in the home that the homeowner paid to heat, hits the cold ceiling and descends, creating a “convective” loop making the room feel cold and drafty. In the summer, the roofing heats up to 160˚ and the roof heat radiates through the ceiling and heats up the room.

We had the perfect solution for this homeowner. In this solution, we dense pack the cathedral ceiling with our TruSoft™ cellulose insulation. The soffit vent is blocked with a continuous board. The gutter and fascia board are removed and a TruSoft™ cellulose insulation is “dense packed” into the rafter bays through a long fill pipe inserted deep into the ceiling/roof. Dense packing fills all air spaces, compresses existing batt insulation, and stops air leakage. The ridge vent remains and functions not as an air vent, but a vapor vent. The fascia board and gutter are reinstalled. Result - Room is warmer in winter, cooler in summer, less drafty, more comfortable, lower heating and cooling bills, easier to heat and cool.

This homeowner in Tyringham, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help him insulate the crawlspace in his home. His home was having a lot of problems -- drafts, cold floors, and an odd odor. This was frustrating for the homeowner, and frankly, he was concerned that it would become a health hazard if the odors were a result of mold. 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.

Luckily, Fogarty's Home Services had the perfect solution for this homeowner. In this solution, the vents and other air leaks to the outside are sealed. 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. Results - much lower humidity, much warmer floors upstairs, less drafts, more comfortable house, lower fuel and electric bills.