Fogarty's Home Services serving East Hartland, CT

This homeowner in East Hartland, CT called us hoping that we would be able to insulate his home, even though it had vermiculite in it. Vermiculite often has asbestos in it, and the walls were filled with it. The Home Comfort Specialist came out to give his recommendations for replacement insulation, especially in the cantilever. A cantilevered floor sticks out past the wall below it. This building detail allows air to leak in, creating cold floors above and cold ceilings below. 

Luckily, Fogarty's Home Services was able to help this customer. Once the vermiculite was removed, we were able to dense pack the cantilever using TruSoft™ cellulose insulation. A 2 9/16” hole was drilled in each joist bay of the cantilever soffit. A special mesh bag was inserted into the hole and filled with TruSoft™ insulation via a hose and fill tube connected to a special blowing machine. Once packed full, the bag was pushed back towards the house and the cantilever spaces were “dense packed” with TruSoft™ cellulose insulation which stops air flow and insulates. Dense packing fills all spaces, however odd shaped they may be. The holes were then plugged. Result - warm floors and ceilings, less drafts, increased comfort, quieter home, lower fuel and electric bills.

Many older homes have no insulation in the exterior walls. 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. Nealy 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 floor and up the warmer interior wall, and across the ceiling back to the exterior wall. The is called a "convective loop" and makes rooms feel even draftier. Results - cold, drafty rooms, uncomfortable home, heating and cooling systems run much more and need more service, difficult to keep house at comfortable temperature, high fuel and electric bills, dry home in winter, more dust/pollen, more humidity in the house in summer when air conditioned. Siding is removed temporarily as necessary and 2 ⁹⁄₁₆" holes are drilled through the wall sheathing. A fill tube is 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 are plugged and siding is put back. With wood siding, old nail holes and new nails may be noticeable on close inspection. Very small new nail heads will be visible on aluminum siding. (If specified, siding will not be removed, but drilled and plugged instead). Results - 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. 

The building code requires that no combustible materials, including wood framing and insulation, be within 2" of a masonry chimney. This has left millions of homes with an airspace from the basement or crawl space right to the attic. Air that you paid to heat is continually leaking out of your home to the vented attic where it is lost. Results - a more drafty, uncomfortable house that harder to heat, and higher energy bills. First, the space between the wood framing and masonry is flashed with metal and then sealed airtight with special high temperature fire caulk. Then, completely fireproof "Rock Wool" insulation panels are installed around the chimney so that TruSoft™ cellulose insulation may be blown against the chimney. "Chimney Wrap" leaves no gaps in the insulation around your chimney, and seals one of the biggest air leaks in your home. Results - lower house air leakage, less heat loss, a more comfortable home that is easier to heat, and lower energy bills.

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. 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 of the 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 rooms in the winter, cooler rooms upstairs in the hot weather, less drafts, more comfort, less dust, and lower fuel costs. In addition, the kneewall space is now suitable for clean storage.