Beautiful & Lasting Basement Finishing in Longmeadow, MA

This homeowner in Longmeadow, MA called us regarding her attic. She had an issue with the upper floor of her home, and needed her insulation checked. When our Home Comfort Specialist went out to the home, he noted that there was very little space in the attic due to the HVAC system. He was able to see that the homeowner had inefficient fiberglass batts. These were getting extremely hot and burning a bit due to coming into contact with unprotected electrical equipment. The attic was not air sealed, and had a lot of mold due to the amount of moisture in the air. 

We had the perfect solution for this customer! Before we could remove the mold, air-seal, and re-insulate, we needed to remove the old insulation. We first bagged the batt insulation and removed it from the home. After that, we were able to use a large vacuum to remove the leftover pieces from the batt insulation. The hose from the vacuum was routed out a window and into our truck, where it was bagged and sealed. Now, we will be able to dispose of the old, dirty insulation, and we will be able to re-insulate the home! 

This homeowner in Longmeadow, MA called us regarding her attic. She had an issue with the upper floor of her home -- the ceilings were very hot, with a lot of condensation that began dripping from the ceiling. This happened multiple summers in a row. The homeowner decided that it was time to take action and get her attic evaluated. When our Home Comfort Specialist went out to the home, he noted that there was very little space in the attic due to the HVAC system. He was able to see that the homeowner had inefficient fiberglass batts. The attic was not air sealed, and had a lot of mold due to the amount of moisture in the air. 

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 Longmeadow, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help them. They had previously had a water problem, which was fixed, but the basement was still very humid. High humidity in a basement is caused by a number of important conditions. 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. Result - cold floors above, condensation, mold, rot, odors, drafty, uncomfortable home, higher fuel and electric bills.

We had the perfect solution for this customer. The SaniDry™ Sedona air system is a powerful but energy efficient dehumidification and air filtration system in one unit. 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, basement is suitable for storage, lower air conditioning cost, upstairs is dryer.

This homeowner in Longmeadow, MA called us while doing a whole-home renovation. When our Home Comfort Specialist arrived, the homeowner and him collaborated on what he wanted the insulation in his home to look like. That included re-insulating all of the walls of his home. There would be a huge problem without insulation. 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.

The team proposed the perfect solution for this customer, and he loved it. We were able to dense pack the walls with ProWool™ insulation. The 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 ProWool™. It’s remarkable, and something that can’t be achieved with fiberglass - not even close! Dense packed ProWool™ stops air flow through the wall and insulates. ProWool™ Rockwool is fireproof, 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.

Warm air has the capacity to hold much more water than cool air. Basements are cool because they are below ground. Mold grows at Relative Humidity of 70% or higher at the surface. When you combine these 3 facts, it’s a recipe for problems in the summer when warm outside air enters a basement, and is cooled without taking any water out of it. The Relative Humidity goes way up, and condensation forms on cold floors, walls, air conditioning ducts, water pipes and storage tanks. Mold grows on organic materials and produces spores and odors. This air travels up and affects the living space upstairs, and air conditioning has to work harder to remove humidity.  Finished basements develop a smell and are ruined.

The SaniDry™ system is a high performance, energy efficient dehumidification system made for cooler temperatures found in basements, with particulate filtration, in a single unit. It’s easy to dehumidify hot air - but basements are cool.  The SaniDry™ is designed specifically for basement environments. It features a heat exchange core, and much larger cold coil surface area inside than a household dehumidifier. A large blower moves 300 cfm of air into the machine to dry, and circulates the dry air throughout your basement to dry building materials and contents, and makes that damp smell go away. A two stage high efficiency filtration system takes particles out of the air down to an incredible 2 microns in size - which includes all mold spores. Digital controls are easy to use, set it to the desired Relative Humidity (55%) and the machine does the rest and there are no buckets to empty.  The results are a dry basement, smells go away, mold stops growing, basement is much more comfortable, less humidity upstairs, and the house is easier to cool.

PROBLEM: Attic insulation in your home can get pretty nasty. Over many years it sits there collecting dirt, dust, pollen, bugs, rodent feces (from mice, squirrels, bats, etc.), bird droppings and nests and all kinds of undesirable things. Old insulation like this cannot be moved aside for a proper air sealing job that must be done prior to adding enough blown cellulose insulation to today’s standards. We remove it all and start fresh!

SOLUTION: Fogarty's Home Services  will conduct the unpleasant task of removing the damaged, soiled insulation in your attic. Batt insulation is bagged and then the attic is vacuumed to remove pieces, parts and dust. Loose fill insulation is vacuumed with a giant vacuum located outside with giant filter bags and a very long, fat hose.

Result - Now your attic is clean! It’s ready for proper air sealing and installation of clean, new, fresh cellulose insulation or one of our other Dr. Energy Saver strategies to make your home comfortable and energy efficient.

Your poured concrete basement walls are buried in the cool earth and are perpetually cold - about 17°F cooler than we like the interior of our homes to be. In the winter, the part of the foundation that sticks up above the ground is much colder than that. Heat moves from more to less. The dense concrete has a lot of mass and heat from our basement constantly flows into and through the wall by conduction. You can never heat them up. If you have a furnace, boiler, or water heater in the basement, the heat that comes off this equipment is wasted - lost into the cold concrete, instead of warming the basement and floors above it. In the summer, warm humid air from outside hits your cold basement walls and condensation forms, supporting mold. Results - cold basement, cold floors above the basement, higher fuel bills, more difficult to heat the house. Foam insulation board is installed on your basement walls with Dr. Energy Saver's proprietary Foam-site fasteners. But not just any foam - Polyisocyanurate foam has the flame retardant properties to satisfy building codes to leave it exposed in a basement - unlike expanded or extruded polystyrene foam (EPS, XPS). In addition, the "polyiso" board has a foil facing to reflect heat so the insulation isn't doing all the work by itself. Results - warmer, more comfortable basement, warmer floors above basement, less condensation in the summertime, lower fuel bills, house is easier to heat.