Home Insulation Services Before & After Photos

Home builders were just beginning to understand the harmful effects of moisture in crawlspaces back in 1985 when they installed overlapping plastic sheets directly onto the dirt crawlspace floor beneath this townhouse in Berlin, MD.  Their efforts, though well-intended, were not entirely effective.  Ground water water, which seeps into the dirt of the crawlspace, evaporates into water vapor, and then travels right around the edges of the thin plastic sheets.  That moisture is then absorbed by the wooden structure inside the crawlspace, somewhat like a sponge.  You may be surprised to learn the vents those builders installed in the foundation walls for the purpose of venting moisture out of crawlspaces actually provide one of the primary ways moisture gets into a crawlspace. This is especially true in warmest months here in the Mid-Atlantic region when the relative humidity of the outside air is most often above 80% (100% when it is raining). The recommended indoor relative humidity should be maintained between 45%-55%.  But that’s not the end.  The old methods of venting crawlspaces to allow outdoor air to circulate through the crawlspace results in another big problem, especially in Winter: cold floors.  

The owner of this home opened the access door to her crawlspace and noticed a foul, musty smell. When she looked up at the structure above the crawlspace, she discovered mold was growing, not only on the underside of the subfloor plywood, but on the wooden floor joists that supported it all.  She made a great decision to call Lawson Home Services.

You can see in the “Before” picture, what Lawson Home Service’s energy auditor saw when he opened the access door and went inside to inspect the crawlspace:  a cold, damp, nasty environment full of moldy wood, the perfect home for all kinds of creepy crawly things and the spiders who love to eat them.  Who wants to live in a place like that, knowing all the nastiness that is going on just inches below your feet?

Our production team had their work cut out for them before they could begin “encapsulating” the crawlspace. The first thing they did was remove the old plastic sheets and junk from the crawlspace. Next, they sprayed the wooden structure with Mold-X2, special, all-natural anti-microbial product which kills the mold and bacteria, cleans the stains off the wood, and removes the “musty” odor of mold. They sealed off the foundation vents from the inside. And finally, trenches were dug around the edges of the foundation for the drainage system.  Once the preparation was completed the team installed the following:

·      SmartSump™ and Hydrolink XG™ groundwater removal system

·      TerraBlock™ drainage mat and CleanSpace™ liquid water and water vapor barrier

·      Sedona SaniDry™ dehumidification equipment

·      Everlast™ Crawlspace access door

As you can see in the “After” picture, this crawlspace is now a nice white, clean, dry space.

This homeowner in Chester, MD was suffering from old, dirty attic insulation. This may seem like a minor problem, but the results turn into major problems. Over the years, old attic insulation collects dust, dirt, pollen, bugs, etc.

It's time to get rid of the old insulation and welcome the new! Dr. Energy Saver can remove a homeowners old insulation and replace it with new TruSoft Cellulose Insulation. 

The new TruSoft Cellulose Insulation also helps the homeowner with their vented attic. Vented attics allow air to leak from inside the home through the attic floor. Once the air from within the home reaches the attic it is lost. This causes drafty rooms, cold floors and higher fuel and electric bills. 

With the new TruSoft Cellulose Insulation being installed the homeowner can now receive results such as warmer floors, less drafty rooms and lower fuel/electric bills. 

Keeping your home comfortable year around can be stressful. With air finding the path of least resistance, the money that you are spending on heating and cooling could increase if your home isn't probably insulated.

The homeowner of this home located in Chester, Maryland, very aware of his leaky home called Dr. Energy Saver out to figure out a way to make his house more energy efficient. 

Upon the inspection, we came across multiple problems related to why he was experiencing discomfort inside his home and also some health risk. There was little to no insulation inside of his attic causing the air he paid to heat and cool his house to travel through the living space and out into the attic. Also a big eye opener for both, the homeowner and our specialist was that the bath fan was vented straight into the attic causing humidity levels to rise and microbial growth started to form.

 Dr. Energy Saver then came in and first, removed the previous insulation inside of the attic then vented his bath fan to the exterior of his home. This prevents microbial growth growing all over your roof deck, rafters, and ceiling joist. Next we converted the attic into conditioned space by installing 3' of closed-cell spray foam to the roof deck. This will make your home less drafty, more comfortable, warmer in the winter, and cooler in the summer. Also lowering your fuel and electric bills! 

Dr. Energy Saver has now fixed this homeowners problem of comfort inside of his home and disintegrated the microbial growth in the process. 

Jerry’s home was not that comfortable.  He had recently upgraded his HVAC equipment to help heat and cool the home and wanted to make sure he was reaping the most benefits possible. (Upgrading your equipment won’t necessarily solve your problem if you are losing conditioned air to the exterior of your home envelope.) 

We noticed some accent features (what we label as adjacent attic walls) in his ceiling that had less insulation than other areas.  On top of that his whole attic really needed more insulation and to be air sealed to decrease conditioned air (heated/cooled air you are paying for) escaping from the home.  Jerry also had a significant amount of duct work in the attic, so on top of his other improvements, we increased the efficiency and effectiveness by covering them in closed cell spray foam.

Homeowners in Wittman, Maryland were not happy about their HVAC system not properly cooling the house. The lack of insulation and the amount of open air penetrations inside of the attic were causing the owners misery by high fuel and electric bills. 

They called Dr. Energy Saver who came out and inspected their home and informed the couple on the necessary steps it would take to fix their uncomfortable home. 

We then arrived at the home, immediately getting to work.  We installed our Cap Existing Insulation with TruSoft Cellulose. This involves blowing cellulose over the bed of fiberglass insulation. The bed of fiberglass is then compressed by the heavy cellulose and adds to the R-Value(the capacity of an insulating material to resist heat flow. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating power). This results in a more comfortable house and lowers your fuel and electric bills.