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Our customer in Holmdel, NJ contacted us to help solve comfort issues in their hot home. The homeowner purchased their home during the cooler months and realized that the air conditioning did not adequately cool the home in the summer months. The first thing they did was upgrade their AC system to newer high efficiency equipment (with a local HVAC contractor). That did not make any difference!
Upon our evaluation we discovered dilapidated insulation with little to no insulating value as well as an original air duct system in the attic with significant air leaks, crushed ducts and a poor insulation.
Before pictures show old ineffective fiberglass, ductwork and an attic in overall poor shape. The after pictures show a fully mastic sealed and encapsulated duct system, full access to HVAC and R-60 TruSoft cellulose insulation. These upgrades design to last the life of the home.
A homeowner in Holmdel, NJ was struggling with high energy bills and uncomfortable rooms due to leaky ducts can lights, and poor insulation. Our team carefully sealed cracks, gaps, top plates, and pipe and wire penetrations throughout the attic. We then encapsulated the ducts with SilverGlo foam boards, which feature a radiant barrier to reflect the roof’s heat and prevent warm air from entering the ducts. After sealing the remaining duct connections with foam sealant, we built wooden retaining walls to create a safe catwalk for mechanical access. Finally, we added TruSoft cellulose insulation to reach an optimal R-60 level. The result: lower energy bills, improved comfort, and a properly insulated home.
The before photo shows a typical crawl space that meets local building code. However if left as is, this would create moisture, mold, rot and indoor air quality problems. The crawl is vented and has a 6 mil plastic liner, as per local code. The problem is that warm air moves moves toward colder air. Warm summer air moves through the vents into nice cool crawl space. As the warm air cools, the relative humidity rises 2.2% for every degree it cools. The result is high levels of moisture, on all surfaces, condensation on wood framing, fiberglass insulation and actual pooling on top of the plastic liner. Water below a house is bad! You can see where all the summer time puddles evaporated on top of the liner. That moisture went directly into the living space. In winter conditions the air blows right through open vents freezing floors above.
The AFTER picture shows our patented Clean Space crawl encapsulation system and properly insulated crawl space walls. The result is a dry, clean,warm crawl space year round. Reducing energy consumption, improving indoor air quality and protecting the house...
This was a NJ code compliant insulated crawl space.
The before picture shows a typical plastic liner over the earth floor in the crawl. The entire 1200 sq ft of plastic had water pooling on top of it. This was occuring due to warm air migrating towards the cool crawl space all summer long. As the warm air cools the relative humidity increases and condensation happens on every surface. This created a mold condition within less than 2 years of the crawl space being insulated with fiberglass and the liner put down.
The after picture shows our patented CLEAN SPACE crawl encapsulation system, that prevents such moisture problems in a crawl space, will help detect any plumbing leaks, improves the comfort above (warm floors in the winter) and greatly reduces energy consumption.
This customer in the Silver Ridge development in Toms River NJ found that the crawl spaces in her new home had major concerns. The #1 concern was that there was no insulation in a fully vented crawl space. The second concern was that the moisture level in this crawl space could buckle wood floors above, develop mold, and make the house smell musty in the summer.
The best solution was to have Dave Hoh's Home Comfort & Energy Experts install a patented CLEANSPACE crawl space encapsulation system. This method resulted in a very dry, warm, clean and safe crawl space that will last throughout the life of her home.
For more info contact us directly.