Before & After Photos

The second floor of a Cape suffers from inadequate insulation, and air leaks from the soffits into poorly insulated kneewall spaces. This results in cold drafty rooms in winter that are harder than necessary to heat, and hot rooms in the summer as roof heat radiates in unchecked. Kneewall spaces are dusty and too cold or hot which is unsuitable for clean storage.

First, our SilverGlo™ foam insulation panels are installed on the bottom of the rafters in the kneewall spaces and the ceiling joist bays are blocked and sealed with foam to stop air leakage. Then the roof slopes are dense packed with TruSoft™ cellulose insulation to stop air flow and insulate. Finally, the flat ceiling is insulated with TruSoft™ cellulose insulation.

This homeowner in Chicopee, MA called us with issues he was having with his energy bills being extremely high. He had original insulation from when the house was first built -- meaning the blown-in fiberglass insulation was over 50 years old and showing its age! We were able to help this customer by re-insulating his attic. We first sealed the many various points where air in his home was leaking into the attic. We then sealed and insulated other spots in his attic that were more tricky. We then replaced that insufficient fiberglass with blown-in TruSoft™ cellulose insulation -- keeping his energy bills lower and his home more comfortable. 

The owner of this Enfield, CT home reached out to Fogarty's Home Services because her home was feeling drafty and cold. After completing her free home energy evaluation, we found that one of the contributing factors to this discomfort was a kneewall space in her attic that wasn't properly insulated. A kneewall space is created when a finished room is built within a sloped roof. A short wall called a "kneewall" forms a triangular space which mar or may not be accessible with a short door or access panel. The floor of the kneewall space forms the ceiling of the room below it. The floor and kneewall space side with exposed fiberglass batts. Since fiberglass does not stop air flow, the insulation does next to nothing to air seal and insulate. The floor of the upper level, the ceiling of the lower level and the kneewall are all cold in winter and hot (from radiant roof heat) in the summer. The kneewall space is not suitable for storage since it is dusty and very cold or hot. Fogarty's Home Services installed blocks of SilverGlo™ foam insulation between the ceiling joist bays. Outside the blocks, the surface of the ceiling was sealed with sprayed foam or SilverGlo™ foam. (Fiberglass insulation may be installed on top). SilverGlo™ foam insulation is installed under the rafters up to the kneewall and sealed at the top with foam sealant. SilverGlo™ is expanded polystyrene foam insulation with graphite infused into the foam, which increases the R-value by 24% compared to regular EPS foam. SilverGlo™ also has a radiant barrier on both sides to reflect roof heat out in the summer and house heat back in during the winter. The addition of this radiant barrier gives some thermal benefit so the insulation isn't left alone to do all the work. After installation, inside air can't get out of the house through the kneewall spaces and outside air can't get in. Insulation can now be added, with integrity, to the correct surfaces. This happy homeowner will now see results such as significantly warmer upstairs rooms in the winter, cooler rooms upstairs in the hot weather, less drafts, more comfort, less dust, a kneewall space that can be used for clean storage, and lower energy costs.

Fogarty's Home Services was contacted by this homeowner as she was experiencing a high level of condensation in her attic. This was causing her ceiling to stain and she had restless nights from trying to catch all the excess moisture into a bucket. Fogarty's home Services discovered that the homeowner's attic scuttle hole was leaky and uninsulated, causing excess moisture and a LOT of air that was leaking out. All this air leaving the top of the house was being replaced with cold outside air entering at the lower levels of her home, causing drafts, cold floors, and uncomfortable rooms that are hard to heat. 

We weather-stripped the attic scuttle cover to stop air leakage. We then insulated the cover with a SilverGlo™ foam insulation panel. SilverGlo™ has graphite infused into the foam which bumps up the R value (insulation value) by 24% over standard EPS foam. In addition, it has a radiant barrier on top to reflect heat from a hot summer attic. This very satisfied customer is now the proud owner of a more comfortable, less drafty home.. Her rooms are easier to heat and she'll have lower fuel and electric bills.

This homeowner called us because the attic insulation in his home was pretty nasty and ineffective. Over many years it  collected dirt, dust, pollen, bugs, and all kinds of undesirable things. Old insulation like this cannot be moved aside for a proper air sealing job that must be done prior to adding enough blown cellulose insulation to today’s standards.

Fogarty's Home Services conducted the unpleasant task of removing the damaged, soiled insulation in his attic.  Loose fill insulation was vacuumed with a giant vacuum located outside with giant filter bags and a very long, fat hose.

Result - Now this attic is clean! It’s ready for proper air sealing and installation of clean, new, fresh cellulose insulation or one of our other Dr. Energy Saver strategies to make your home comfortable and energy efficient.