Jefferson County, OH Attic & Crawl Space Insulation

Home Environment Solutions was approached by this Toronto, OH home owner at the Tri-State Home & Garden Show.  The family had recently purchased a 100 year old Victorian home that they were remodeling.  They were concerned with a strong musty odor coming from their crawl space under the home.  A common complaint we receive here at HES.  

Out dated crawl space science and building codes permit crawl spaces to have dirt floors and to be ventilated.  These same crawl spaces use fiberglass bats in the floor joist above for insulation.  With nothing sealing the ground moisture comes up through the soil and into the crawl space.  The fiberglass bats absorbed some of this moisture become heavy overtime and fall out of place.  It is a very common site to see sagging insulation in a crawl space. No insulation means cold rooms and high energy bills.  

Crawl space vents become clogged and blocked over time making them completely noneffective.  This combination of moisture and stagnate air is the recipe for mold.  Mold in your crawl space is a serious health concern because 40% of the air in your home comes from your crawlspace.  Not only is it a health concern but also a structural concern.  Mold causes rot which can cause structural failure to your home.  

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Brian and his wife recently purchased a new multi-level home and the home inspector noted that the insulation was not sufficient.  They were referred to Home Environment Solutions by a friend who hired them and were very happy with the results.  Brian call the office to schedule an evaluation.

Mark came out to do a full inspection and to listen to what the home owners wanted to accomplish by insulating the home.  The home temperatures were uneven throughout and the air conditioning was running constantly.  They were worried about the cost to heat their home in the winter.  During the inspection, Mark found original fiberglass insulation as well as many areas where the home was leaking air from the living space directly into the attic.  Surprisingly a cold air return was found to be taking air directly from the attic into the living space.  Mark proposed a complete solution to air seal and insulate the attic. 

The production team consisting of Zach, Cameron and Jason arrived and described the daily job details to the home owners. Next they protected the home and work area to prevent any damage and keep the home clean.  During the project the team found and repaired many areas of the attic that had significant air loss from the living area. The home had many recessed lights throughout, so the team installed Tite Shell recessed can light covers on each to air seal and make it safe to insulate over them.  Due to the home being multi-level, the team installed SilverGlo insulation board on the attic walls with living space on the other side. Proper soffit attic ventilation was installed and TruSoft Cellulose insulation was blown in to R60.  We properly finished the job by air sealing and insulating the attic access points.

The home owners noticed comfort results immediately and were very happy with the end results.  They said, “!! In the short period of time since the project was completed, we already noticed the furnace turning on and running less!”  The biggest compliment given to Home Environment Solutions is referral of friends, family, and neighbors. Brian and his wife have referred multiple people who had similar problems in their home.

Debbie contacted us because her home was uncomfortable and her bills were getting too high for her family.  She wanted to know if there was a better way to insulate her home.   Her daughter had recently moved back into the home and she had complained about the home being too cold.  Debbie and her family have lived in the home for 20 plus years.  

Russell, our certified Home Comfort Specialist, came out to their home and performed a full inspection of the residence.  Upon inspecting the upper attic of the split level home, Russell found that the attic sheathing was covered in mold.  Russell also found that the bath room exhaust fan was vented directly into the attic which was adding to the moisture issue in the attic.  The inspection revealed that the attic had filthy fiberglass bat insulation which was loaded with mouse droppings.  Being a split level home, there are parts of the attic wall which is against conditioned space.  This area was uninsulated and causing the bedroom walls to be cold.   It was determined that the garage ceiling was not insulated properly and it was causing the upper bedrooms to be cold as well.  After speaking with the homeowners and completing his inspection, Russell provided the homeowner with a detailed proposal.  The proposal listed all things to meet the homeowners compaints of having a cold home and high bills.  The homeowner opted on having the mold remediated and the attics properly air sealing and insulated to an R-60.  The homeowner decided to wait on dense packing the garage ceiling.  She wanted to see if she received comfort from just air sealing and insulating the attics properly first.  If she wanted more comfort down the road, she would have the garage ceiling insulated.

The mold removal team arrived with their box truck fully equipped with specialized equipment to tacakle the job.  Dave and Dalton established containments in the home and set up HEPA air scrubbers and negative air machines so not to cross contaminate the rest of the home.  They removed the fiberglass insulation and performed the remediation of the mold.  The attic was now mold free and ready to be re-insulated.

The production team consisting of Zac, Cameron and Brandon arrived and described the daily job details to the homeowner.  Next they protected the home and work area to prevent any damage and to keep the home clean.  During the project the team found and repaired many areas of the attic that had significant air loss from the living area.  The team vented the bath exhaust fan out of the gable end of the home.  They air sealed and insulated the attic wall along the conditioned sapce.  The homeowner used her one attic for storage, so the team built her an insulated, air sealed storage deck.  

The homeowners noticed an immediate change to their comfort in their home.  Debbie and her husband were extremely satisfied with the work completed by the team at Home Environment Solutions.   

Sam in Bloomingdale, OH owns a large ranch home surrounded by landscaping. Sam loved the flower beds and topiaries surrounding his home but when a storm knocked down his gutters last winter, water began destroying his landscaping. Each time it rained, all of the water would wash away and erode the soil and mulch. Sam was watching all of his hard work wash away when he noticed the truck in the neighbors' driveway that mentioned gutters. Sam called and was relieved after describing his problem to Christi and setting up his free estimate. 

When home expert, Russ arrived the first thing he noticed was that there were no gutters at all because of the storm. He quickly measured the house, explained how the Gutter Shutter system would work to allow Sam to save the landscaping around his home. Sam was even able to select from the 18 available custom colors to find a match for his home. 

The Gutter Shutter by Home Environment Solutions team showed up in the morning and by that afternoon they were done, and Sam was replacing mulch under his new Gutter Guard gutters.

Ed in Bloomingdale, OH had a burst water pipe cause a lot of damage to his home.   Home Environment Solutions came out for the Water Damage Mitigation.   Using De-Humidifier and Air Scrubbers they were able to keep the water damage from turning into Mold. 

The team tore out the damaged materials including the damaged floor and we dry wall.   Dust barriers were used to keep the construction dust from spreading through the house. 

Brad wanted his attic insulated.  He called Home Environment Solutions and set up a free in home energy audit.   Russ came out and recommended Silverglo rigid foam. 

Rigid foam is a popular insulating product for its durability, high insulating value, and versatility.  

Nicole form Wintersville, OH saw the Gutter Shutter by Home Environment Solutions truck when she was at the Steubenville Mall. She called and explained that her gutters were clogged and pulling away from her home. The Gutter Shutter by Home Environment Solutions team showed up and removed Nicole's old gutters including the metal screen inserts that failed to keep out leaves and debris. The new Gutter Shutter system was installed with wide downspouts. Nicole's home looks great and the new gutters are working perfectly.  

Das was having a problem with water leaking into his basement when it would rain heavily.   He called Home Environment Solutions to get help with a solution.   Russ came out and immediately saw the problem.  The gutter downspouts were causing the area around the foundation to become saturated.   

The HES team came out and installed a LawnScape Well and Rain Chute  to redirect the water away form the foundation and stop the water back up.   

The attic bedroom in Brads home was always cold and uncomfortable.   He called Home Environment Solutions to schedule a free energy audit for his Richmond, Ohio home.   

When Russ arrived and saw the knee walls in the attic bedroom he immediately knew they were causing the problem.   The attic needed a thermal barrier.    

The HES team arrived and installed SilverGlo panels  and air sealed the attic.   They also added spray foam to the rim joist to prevent air transfer.  

Ron was experiencing ice damming on his Winterville, Ohio home.  Ice Damming is caused by heat loss melting the snow on the roof, causing the water to accumulate on the cold areas and refreeze damaging the building and the gutters.   He called Home Environment Solutions for help. 

The HES team arrived and air sealed the attic to stop the heat loss and added insulation to the attic.