Insulation Services Before & After Photos

Kevin reached out because his home felt drafty and his energy bills were higher than expected. Even without major temperature swings, the home just wasn’t holding comfort the way it should.

After evaluating the attic, we found that air leakage and insulation issues were allowing conditioned air to escape. When that happens, even a well-functioning heating system must work harder to keep up.

Our team focused on tightening the attic system from the top down. We sealed attic air leaks, sealed penetrations and top plates, and upgraded insulation levels to improve overall performance.

A key part of this project was improving attic access. The existing access made it difficult to properly reach and treat all areas, and it also allowed air to leak through. By improving and sealing the attic access, we eliminated a major source of energy loss and made the attic fully accessible for proper insulation coverage.

By combining air sealing, insulation upgrades, and improved attic accessibility, we were able to restore how the attic functions as a system. Now the home feels less drafty, holds temperature more consistently, and runs much more efficiently.

Owners Josh and Sydney called us to improve the comfort and efficiency of their 130 year old home.

 Upon inspection many deficiencies were discovered including very inadequate insulation, large air gaps and over 100 years of dirt and pest droppings.

 Foreman Mike Y. and his team first removed all of the insulation, dirt and debris out of the attic. Next they air sealed the attic and properly insulated with cellulose insulation to R60 to give the optimum results.

A Cape Cod home is a story-and-a-half design. Most Capes have second-floor bedrooms featuring 4-foot kneewalls and two sections of sloped ceiling. The sloped ceiling sections usually rise to meet a narrow horizontal ceiling in the center of the house. Most Capes have triangular attics behind the second-floor kneewalls and a tiny third-floor attic that is too cramped to stand up in. If you squeeze behind the kneewall in a Cape, you never know what you’ll see. You might see a space with no insulation at all — or perhaps just some thin insulation between the kneewall studs. You might see a space with insulation on the floor, but not along the roof slope.You might see a space with insulation everywhere — on the floor, between the studs of the kneewall, and following the roof slope — with all of the insulation in terrible shape.You will almost never see any attempts at air sealing work.

The basic problem with a Cape is that most examples have a poorly defined thermal boundary. Should the triangular attics behind the kneewalls be considered indoor space or outdoor space? From a building science perspective, the answer is clear — these attics should be inside the home’s thermal boundary. However, most builders don’t have the foggiest idea where the thermal boundary in a Cape belongs. That’s why builders and homeowners are always scratching their heads when they contemplate where to put the insulation in a Cape.

This is why you should call the professionals at Home Environment Solutions! 

Kelsi called Home Environment Solutions saying she would like to schedule an appointment to determine why her energy bills are high and where she is loosing her heating and cooling. We scheduled our expert Russell to perform a free energy audit of her home. Russ found old batt insulation, uninsulated scuttle cover, numerous penetrations left unsealed such as recessed light, wire and pipe runs. We sent our insulation team out to remove all of the old insulation and dispose of it. They air sealed and insulated the scuttle cover with Silverglo, installed Titeshell recessed light fixture covers, sealed all pipe/wire runs and insulated attic floor with Trusoft cellulose.

Monica wanted to improve the overall performance of her home by addressing areas where energy loss commonly occurs. Even without major comfort complaints, the basement is often a hidden source of inefficiency.

Our team focused on sealing and insulating key areas that impact the entire home. We spray-foamed the rim joists to stop outside air from entering and conditioned air from escaping. We also insulated exposed pipes to reduce heat loss and protect them from temperature fluctuations.

These improvements may seem simple, but they play a major role in how well a home holds temperature and how efficiently it runs.

Now the home is tighter, better protected, and operating more efficiently from the ground up.