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This homeowner in Granville, MA called us saying that he had found mold and damp insulation in his attic. Our Home Comfort Specialist came out to the home and was able to do a full evaluation. He noted that among other issues such as improper ventilation, the attic was not air sealed and had ineffective insulation.
In order to help this attic customer, we first had to remove the old fiberglass insulation. There were two types of insulation, blown-in fiberglass and fiberglass batt insulation. We bagged the batt insulation and vacuumed the rest out with a long hose.
We then set to work re-insulating the attic. We first air-sealed all cracks and gaps in the attic floor using Zypfoam one part spray foam. We used our TiteShell™ can light covers to cover up the can lights and sealed around them.
After that, we insulated the attic floor using our TruSoft™ blown in cellulose insulation. We insulated to R-60, which is the recommended level of insulation for attics in our region.
Now, this homeowner has a much more comfortable home - he was already feeling a noticeable difference less than a week after this job was completed!
This homeowner in Granville, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help him with mold in his attic. He wanted his insulation replaced and the mold removed. 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 initially reached out to us saying that he wanted his attic and exterior walls insulated. Many older homes have no insulation in the exterior walls. Most homes without insulation experience cold, drafty rooms, their heating and cooling systems run much more and need more service (causing higher energy bills!), and it's difficult to keep house at a comfortable temperature.
We had the perfect solution for this homeowner. We dense packed the exterior walls using TruSoft™ cellulose insulation. His siding was removed temporarily 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. Dense packed cellulose stops air flow through the wall and insulates. TruSoft™ Cellulose is treated to be highly fire, mold and pest resistant. The holes were plugged and the 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.
Out Side Storm Door Replacement in Adams, MA to protect the home from leaks and drafts.
This homeowner in Adams, MA called us out to their home for an estimate on spray foam insulation in their basement because they were getting a lot of cold air in the area. We conducted our full home energy evaluation and noticed an old, open sump pump hole in the basement floor! This was for one, dangerous, and two was letting tons of air leak out from their home! This will create humid basements in the summer, and possible floods.
Now we know what we need to do to fix this problem. Dr Energy Saver SuperSump system is well engineered. We dig a hole in the floor to make sure the pump will fit. Then we drill the pipe to the rim joist. The water that would be in the basement then goes into the ground and discharges through an outlet. The water then is pumped outside away from the house where it is properly drained.
Now this home no longer has an open hole allowing air, and water into the basement thanks to Dr. Energy Saver by Eco Energy Solutions!