Expert Radon Testing & Mitigation Company in Wethersfield, CT

This homeowner in Wethersfield, CT called us hoping to speak about attic insulation. We had previously insulated their basement, however, they wanted to hold off on the attic until the new year. They said that they knew that getting the attic insulated would help make the home even more comfortable. 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 in Wethersfield, CT approached us at a home show hoping we would be able to help her with her new home. She had purchased it recently and was looking to complete projects that the home had still pending from the previous owner. One of those projects was the basement, which needed a lot of work, including insulation, waterproofing, and basement finishing. However, she wanted to first insulate the basement. 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 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 Wethersfield, CT called us hoping that we would be able to help her with her basement. She wanted to get her basement finished, but they first needed to get it insulated. 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. In the summer, warm humid air from outside hits the 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.

We had the perfect solution for this custome. In this solution, our Foamax polyisocyanurate (Polyiso) foam insulation board is installed on the basement walls with our proprietary Foam-Tite fasteners. But not just any foam - Foamax polyiso 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 Foamax 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.

This homeowner in Wethersfield, CT called us hoping that we would be able to help her. She was having a hard time with her crawl space. The insulation was sagging and falling, and it just needed to be replaced. In a crawl space, 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. Crawl space ceiling insulation, especially fiberglass batts, doesn’t stop the flow of cold air into the home. Results - cold floors, drafty, uncomfortable rooms, higher heating and cooling bills and more condensation in the crawl space in the summer.

We had the perfect solution for this customer. In this solution, we spray foam the rim joist in the crawl space 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 crawl space surfaces.

This homeowner in Wethersfield, CT called us hoping that we would be able to help her with her basement. The basement had a flooding issue. When our Home Comfort Specialist came out to the home, he noted that the basement needed a new sump pump. A sump pump is a critically important part of a home because it keeps an entire level of the home protected against flooding - which could cause many thousands of dollars in property damage, clean up time and aggravation. Results -- A flooded basement, mess, property damage, and mold -- just what this homeowner was trying to avoid! 

Luckily, Fogarty's Home Services had the perfect solution for this customer -- the TripleSafe™ sump pump system. The TripleSafe™ system has 3 pumps to protect from flooding. The first pump is a 1/3 hp, cast iron Zoeller pump that can pump up to 2200 gallons per hour, 8 feet high. Should the first pump fail or not be able to keep up with the temporary heavy flow of water, a 1/2 hp AC back-up pump on a separate discharge line can pump 3900 gallons of water per hour. If the power fails, then a third, battery operated "UltraSump" pump automatically pumps up to 12,000 gallons of water out of the basement! An airtight lid keeps moisture, odors and radon gas out of the basement. The TripleSafe™ system is the highest quality sump pump protection in the world! Results -- the homeowner has peace of mind knowing she has both AC and DC powered back up pumps to keep her basement dry. 

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 fiber-glass batts, doesn’t stop the flow of cold air into your home. This leads to 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.

Two part expanding spray foam is in-stalled on rim joist and over sill plate to seal all air leaks from the outside and insu-late this important area of your home. Dr. Energy Saver’s spray foam has a high in-sulation value per inch of R7, and because it expands, it seals all cracks and gaps and joints where air from the outside enters your home.

Results - warmer floors, less drafts, more comfortable rooms, your house is easier to heat and costs less to heat, less sum-mertime condensation on cold base-ment surfaces.