Local Insulation and Spray Foam Company in Williamstown, MA

This homeowner in Williamstown, MA called us hoping that we would be able to help her when she was losing a lot of heat. When we arrived, we noticed that she had a humidity and mold problem in the basement. High humidity in a basement is caused by a number of important conditions that must be addressed such as open vents and leaking groundwater - all which must be fixed otherwise. 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. Since air rises up from the basement to the living space, if the basement is humid and smelly, so is the upstairs because of it. Once air and water leaks in a basement are fixed and the soil is isolated from the earth, an additional measure is needed to ensure the relative humidity stays low at all times, in all seasons. Result - cold floors above, condensation, mold, rot, odors, drafty, uncomfortable home, higher fuel and electric bills.

Fogarty's Home Services 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 Williamstown, MA called us stating that he had mold in his basement. Our Home Comfort Specialist came out to the home and confirmed that there was mold in the basement. High relative humidity in a basement will cause mold to grow on the surfaces of framing lumber, sub floors, insulation, and everywhere. Spores are the airborne seeds of mold, which are produced when the mold is growing and active. These spores float on airstreams up from the basement into the living space, and people with sensitivities can react to them.

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 surface 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 basement is ready for our other solutions. Results – The mold is eliminated, with no odors or potential for wood rot. The basement is now ready for a permanent repair to keep humidity low.

This homeowner called us when the water in her basement got worse. She said that the basement "has always been wet", but it had gotten worse recently, and she believed there was mold in the home. She had already tried having a sump pump installed and a dehumidifier, but it did not work. When our Home Comfort Specialist arrived in the home, he noted that the sump pump they had was very inefficient. 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. A single sump pump will fail one day due to mechanical failure, a power outage, a circuit breaker tripping, or it may not be able to keep up with the volume of water in a heavy storm. Results -- A flooded basement, mess, property damage, and mold -- just what this homeowner was trying to avoid! 

Our solution for this customer was 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. 

This homeowner in Williamstown, MA called us when she was having issues with her basement's insulation. When our Home Comfort Specialist arrived in the home, he noticed that she had a very poorly insulated basement -- fiberglass batts in the ceiling, and nothing on the walls. Basement walls are buried in the cool earth that is about 17˚F cooler than we like our indoor air to be. In the winter the part of the foundation that is above ground is much colder than that. Heat moves from more to less, and flows continually from inside to outside through the perpetually cold wall. Besides allowing heat to flow out by conduction, stone walls let cold outside air to leak in, since homes have lower air pressure at the bottom and suck air in. A stone wall is bumpy and uneven, and flat rigid foam board insulation is difficult to install properly. The sill plate and rim joist above the stone wall are uninsulated and leak air too. Results - cold drafty basement, colder floors above the basement, higher fuel bills, more difficult to heat the house.

Fogarty's Home Services had the perfect solution to meet this customer's needs. The basement walls, sill plate and rim joist were sprayed with two-part, expanding, closed cell, polyurethane foam insulation an average of 11/2” thick. From the concrete floor all the way up to the sub floor, they now have the best insulation, with the highest R-value per inch, and no air leaks at all! The foam is covered with a white thermal coating. All people and pets had to leave the house for 24 hours to ventilate - but it is well worth it! They will notice a DRAMATIC difference in the temperature and comfort of their basement, the floors above it, and their home in general. The results can be amazing! Results - a much warmer basement! Far less drafts, much warmer floors above the basement, home is more comfortable and easier to heat, lower fuel bills.

This homeowner in Williamstown, MA called us when she noticed that there was moisture damage in her home, and the moisture was "getting trapped". Our Home Comfort Specialist came out to the home and noted that she had moisture-damaged fiberglass insulation in her basement. The insulation had been installed in the ceiling of this basement. However, moisture-damaged insulation can provide several problems. For example, when it is very moist, the insulation is pulled by gravity away from the sub floor it is supposed to be insulating. The same cold air under the insulation flows into the space on top of it - rendering the insulation useless. As the insulation gets heavier with moisture content, it falls away from the sub floor even more and can even fall to the floor. Fiberglass batt insulation has paper facing and organic material in the resin used to set the fibers into a batt - both are mold food. Results - mold, smelly insulation that is not providing any insulation value and has sagged or even fallen.

Luckily, Fogarty's Home Services had the perfect solution for this customer. We will removed the existing insulation from this basement. This is best left to a professional. Insulation has hostile fibers when it’s disturbed. The insulation is very bulky and takes up a tremendous amount of space in trucks and our dumpsters which must be emptied. But it’s necessary to have a healthy home in the end. Result - now the basement is ready to be fixed properly with other solutions. No more nasty fiberglass insulation!

Problem:

This homeowner called us because she was having a terrible issue with mold throughout her home and increasingly high energy bills and insufficient heating/cooling. The homeowner asked us to perform a complete Energy Evaluation.

When our Building Science Specialist evaluated the home, he realized that the second floor of the home suffered from inadequate insulation and air was leaking in through the soffits into the knee wall spaces. Our Specialist also discovered that the source of the mold problem was certainly the basement which was not properly air sealed and also had old, weather damaged and inefficient windows that needed replacement.

To solve this problem, we would first need to remove all existing batt insulation and prep for new insulation in the attic area. We would then install our Super KneeWall™ Insulation System with SilverGlo™ on the walls and between floor joists as needed. Next we dense pack the roof, through the soffits with blown-in TruSoft™ Cellulose, air seal the floor with ZypFoam™ and then insulate the attic floor with TruSoft™ Cellulose. For the basement, we would properly air seal by installing Closed-Cell Spray Foam along the perimeter of the rim Joist. We would then remove and replace the inefficient windows with a Premium, Weather-Tight option and install a Premium Weather Resistant and Insulated Exterior Door at the bottom of the hatch steps.  

Problem:

This homeowner called us because he saw our T.V. commercials and needed to figure out why the roof above his stairway and crawlspace always seemed significantly warmer than the other areas in home. This problem with warm air being trapped was leading to more significant problems, namely Ice Dams in the winter months.

Solution:

Upon careful evaluation by our Certified Building Science Specialist, he was able to determine that the Knee Wall areas and Roof of his Cape Style home were improperly insulated and would be better suited by installing a Super KneeWall™ Insulation System with SilverGlo™ EPS Foam Board and Radiant Barrier along the roof line and Gable ends, and blocking between floor Joists. We will then properly Dense Pack the adjacent areas with TruSoft™ Cellulose Insulation, Air Sealing the floor with ZypFoam™ and then insulating the Attic Floor with TruSoft™ Cellulose Insulation. 

Bye bye hot spots and more importantly NO MORE ICE DAMS!