Dependable Home Insulation & Spray Foam Company in Montague, MA

This homeowner in Montague, MA called us about her home. The underside of her bedroom floors are exposed, and the insulation was falling down. Some homes or additions are designed with floors that have the outside air under them. Other times a home or addition was originally used as a summer home or “three season room”, and was converted to all season heated space later. When the outside air flows under a floor it feels very cold and uncomfortable in the winter - especially with ceramic tile, linoleum or laminate floors. Since the floor is the surface of the room we are in contact with most, it’s very important to fix, in order to be comfortable. There are two issues - air leakage through the floor, and conductive heat loss through the floor, because heat moves from more to less through solid materials. Even if there is fiberglass batt insulation in the floor, because it sags down away from the sub floor, the same outside air gets over it (“thermal bypass”) rendering it useless. Mold on the floor joists and sub floor is also a concern. Results - cold floors, drafts, uncomfortable rooms, greater overall home air leakage rate, higher fuel and electric bills.

We had the perfect solution for this customer. In this solution, SilverGlo™ foam insulation board is installed across the bottom of the floor joists with special long screws and 3” washers, SilverGlo™ is expanded polystyrene foam with graphite infused into the foam, which bumps up the insulation (“R”) value by 24% over standard EPS foam. Further, SilverGlo™ has a radiant barrier to reflect heat, so the insulation isn’t doing all the work by itself. All seams are sealed. If necessary a skirt board can be installed around the perimeter of the insulation so the edge is not visible. The skirt board may require painting after we are complete. Result - Much warmer floors, less drafts and more comfortable rooms, quieter home, lower fuel and electric bills.

This homeowner in Torrington, CT called us hoping to replace his window wells. He had lived in his home for over a decade, and the window wells were collecting a lot of water when it rained. This was causing leaks as well as rusting window wells. He knew about our SunHouse™ window enclosures and knew he wanted them for his home.

We were able to help this customer with their home. We removed their old, rusty window wells and replaced them with our SunHouse™ window enclosures. These window enclosures are beautiful -- providing natural light to the basement while preventing weed growth, splashing mud, and collected rainwater and debris. Now, this homeowner has a great addition to their home, and no longer has water collecting in their window wells during the heavy spring rains! 

This homeowner in Montague, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help them. They were looking to insulate above a room in their home that was being repurposed. 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 locate 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 (ceilings), 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.

We had the perfect solution for this customer -- our Foamax™ insulation board. In this solution, Foamax™ Polyisocyanurate foam insulation board is installed on the underside of the roof deck. The superior R-value and a foil face on the outside reflects heat out in summer. Foamax™ has a class A fire rating and can be left exposed to living area without a thermal barrier. 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 attic can also be finished! Results - The home is less drafty, warmer in winter and cooler in summer, lower fuel and electric bills, less dust.

This homeowner in Montague, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help him with his home. He had a uniquely shaped home that had a mold problem. In a basement, the “rim joist” is the perimeter of the floor framing system along the exterior of the house. The joints and gaps between all the framing members allow for a lot of air leakage into the house. The rim joist is seldom insulated and never air sealed. Basement ceiling insulation, especially fiberglass batts, doesn’t stop the flow of cold air into the home. Results - cold floors, drafty, uncomfortable rooms, cold basement/lower level, higher heating and cooling bills and more condensation in the basement or crawl space in the summer.

We had the perfect solution for this customer. In this solution, we spray foam the rim joist in the basement in order to seal and insulate it. Two part expanding spray foam is installed on the rim joist and over the sill plate to seal all air leaks from the outside and insulate this important area of the home. Our spray foam has a high insulation value per inch of R7, and because it expands, it seals all cracks and gaps and joints where air from the outside enters the home. Results - warmer floors, less drafts, more comfortable rooms, the house is easier to heat and costs less to heat, less summertime condensation on cold basement surfaces.

This homeowner in Montague, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help her with her insulation. It was old and damaged, and it needed a change. We came out and saw that there was no insulation in the rim joist in the basement. The “rim joist” is the perimeter of the floor framing system along the exterior of the house. The joints and gaps between all the framing members allow for a lot of air leakage into the house. The rim joist is seldom insulated and never air sealed. Basement ceiling insulation, especially fiberglass batts, doesn’t stop the flow of cold air into the home. Results - cold floors, drafty, uncomfortable rooms, cold basement/lower level, higher heating and cooling bills and more condensation in the basement or crawl space in the summer.

We had the perfect solution for this homeowner. In this solution, we spray foam the rim joist in the basement in order to seal and insulate it. Two part expanding spray foam is installed on the rim joist and over the sill plate to seal all air leaks from the outside and insulate this important area of the home. Our spray foam has a high insulation value per inch of R7, and because it expands, it seals all cracks and gaps and joints where air from the outside enters the home. Results - warmer floors, less drafts, more comfortable rooms, the house is easier to heat and costs less to heat, less summertime condensation on cold basement surfaces.

This homeowner in Montague, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help him with his home - he was looking to convert a barn he owned into a studio space and home. One of the most important things was that it was not well insulated, and it was cold and drafty. It had a small attic. 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. Attics are dramatically under-insulated compared to today’s standards. Result - cold drafty rooms downstairs, colder floors, house is harder to heat and keep comfortable, higher fuel and electric bills.

We had the perfect solution for this homeowner. 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 we first carefully air sea 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. Results - a warmer, more comfortable, less drafty house that the homeowner will notice everywhere - even downstairs! House is quieter. Fuel and electric bills are lower.

This homeowner in Montague, MA called us saying that her basement was flooding and they needed a permanent solution for it. They had a sump pump, but it was not working. Sump pump holes are typically open holes in the basement floor with a pump stuck in there. Besides being ugly, the house sucks air up from the hole; air that is cool, and contains moisture, odors, and radon gas. The open sump hole is a safety hazard. If objects fall in they could clog the pump or switch operation, cause pump failure, and a flood. Results - A more humid basement, greater home air leak-age, hazards and possible floods.

Fogarty's Home Services had the perfect solution for this homeowner -- the SuperSump sump pump system! The SuperSump® is a well engineered sump system - with all the parts working together. It features a sturdy liner, airtight lid, 1/3 hp cast iron pump which can discharge up to 2200 gallons per hour, 8 feet high, and a stand to keep the pump out of silt and sediment. A WaterWatch® Alarm System alerts the homeowner to pump failure before the basement floor gets wet. Results- a more reliable sump pump, less air leakage from the sump hole, a drier basement, less radon gas and odors, and a much safer and better looking installation!