Basement Insulation or Encapsulation: Which do you need?

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Most Maine homeowners don’t spend much time in their basements—using them mostly for storage, and maybe laundry if space is tight upstairs. As a result, it can be easy to miss the signs that your basement is contributing to poor home performance, unhealthy air, and high energy costs.

Evergreen Home Performance is here to help Mainers in Rockland, Belfast, and Bath improve their home health, comfort, and efficiency with basement services. But which service will best suit the needs of your home? Learn more about what signs could indicate that you’d be best served by basement insulation, or exploring basement encapsulation.

Top Signs Your Basement Needs Attention

Between the moisture in seacoast air and Maine’s temperature fluctuations throughout the year, our basements need to put up with a lot. Often, these spaces are under-cared for because homeowners underestimate a basement’s impact on whole-home comfort and health.

Common signs of home performance problems caused by your basement can include:

  • Mold growth in your basement

  • High humidity

  • Musty smell in your basement and even on the first floor

  • High heating and cooling costs

  • Uneven temperatures in your home

How to Know if You Need Basement Encapsulation or Insulation?

Encapsulation

An un-encapsulated basement is a common cause of allergy symptoms in a home, and can lead to more comfort issues than homeowners often realize. 

Signs that your basement would benefit from encapsulation include:

  • High moisture at home, leading to mold growth

  • Presence of pests & rodents

  • A drafty basement

Evergreen wants to be sure that our services create a comfortable, healthy environment for you and your loved ones. Our 4-step basement encapsulation process includes solutions for draining excess moisture, installing a vapor barrier, improving the durability of your basement, and helping you prepare to eliminate radon,, a common problem in Maine basements and homes, . 

Insulation

Adding wall insulation and more to the basement of your MidCoast home is the best way to keep the heat you pay for from escaping. This can help regulate your heating and cooling costs year-round and reduce strain on your HVAC systems—which saves you money on system maintenance costs too. Since the rise in popularity for heat pump installation in Maine, adding insulation to your basement ceiling can also help increase your ground floor comfort.

Signs that your basement would benefit from insulation include:

  • Cold floors in the winter months

  • High energy bills

  • Inconsistent temperatures on your first floor

Evergreen Home Performance is Here to Help!

Whether you have the symptoms that indicate a need for one basement service, or both, Evergreen is here to help you improve the efficiency, health, and comfort of your MidCoast home.

Furthermore, our expert technicians are trained to help you care for your home from the floor of your basement to the top of your attic, and everything in between with air sealing, wall insulation, attic insulation, and more. No matter what ails your MidCoast Maine home, Evergreen has you covered. 

Boost home efficiency before spring brings moisture, allergy symptoms, and warmer weather. Call 207-594-2244 or contact us online today!

Keep moisture and warmth out of your home!

Evergreen has home performance services to help. 207-594-2244

We just finished a large project of air sealing and reinsulating our 1890s basement and attic which had been completely renovated 8 years ago but still felt cold and lacked proper energy assessment and corrections. We met with Justin in December and were very impressed with his knowledge, professionalism and communication skills and knew Evergreen was who we wanted to work with. Dave was our on hands project manager and was excellent. The office staff has been quick to respond and helpful as well when needed.

Emily Gallant

Evergreen has just completed Phase 2 of 2 at my home. They are professional, hard-working and courteous. They communicate well..no surprises. They've gone above and beyond to make my home comfortable and were very respectful of my home.I recommend them unequivocally!!!Many thanks to Brian, Brian, Rick, Eddie, Dawson and the rest of the Evergreen crew!!

David Henry Feldman

I highly recommend Evergreen! 1st, I had a home efficiency inspection (that was free) & Bryan P. was great! He took the time needed, asked & listened to what I thought were priorities, explained clearly what he thought were priorities & why, then gave me numerous options. No pressure whatsoever. Then I had my attic sealed & insulated as the 1st step & Bryan came along on day 1 to introduce everyone & make sure we were all on the same page. Bruce's team (inc. Kelsey & Roland) did the work - they were exceptional!!

Melissa M.

Kennebunk

We initially contacted Evergreen through Efficiency Maine for an energy audit, which was conducted promptly and professionally by Justin McEdward, one of their Energy Advisors who is BPI-certified. After a thorough inspection of our newly purchased home, Justin explained in great detail what we needed and did not need. It was agreed that Evergreen would remove all of the existing attic insulation, which was not adequate, and replace it with blown in cellulose, to a rating of R-60.

Thomas W.

Scarborough

Evergreen is the "go-to" company for improving the efficiency of your home. There are others to choose from but none so effective, honest, and capable as Evergreen. They did a great quantity of dense packing cellulose to improve our home (both for energy efficiency and for sound insulation) and it was totally successful. They are on-time, helpful, and caring. They clean up to a level that can't be over emphasized. This was the second time we employed them and we'd use them again if the opportunity came. You'll not be sorry to select Evergreen.

Dirk F.

Belfast

Evergreen completed the work at my home thoroughly and professionally. An inspector from Efficiency Maine came to inspect afterwards and described it as "state of the art" and "outstanding". The crew was very pleasant and considerate during the project. Their cleanup each day was perfect. Communications with the office were easy and reliable. I am very satisfied.

Catherine H.

South Portland

The crew members from Evergreen Home Performance each made sure to greet us every day, while maintaining their distance in this time of the pandemic. Their work took a total of nine days, spread over three weeks. Even though they were working in multiple rooms of our house, as well as the basement and attic, they were unobtrusive and always cleaned up after themselves every day. The on-sight manager kept us informed of their daily schedule so we'd know which parts of the house they'd be working on.

Bob & Sue

Whitefield

Evergreen did an amazing job insulating our historic home. Their professional staff worked hard to ensure the tough areas in the attic were covered, and clearly communicated their progress. We are seeing the results with our discounted heating bills. Thank you, Evergreen!

Melissa Knoll

Portland

I had gotten estimates from several other companies, but Evergreen was in another league entirely with their professionalism. If you want the job done correctly, I couldn't recommend this company enough.

Rayna Mayo

Freeport

Our basement was the eyesore of the house. I wanted to make improvements, but first needed to make structural, insulating and moisture mitigation improvements. Evergreen was professional and competent in taking on a complex project of not only encapsulation and insulation of basement and crawlspace, but completed needed improvements to the structural integrity of the wood floor platform above a crawlspace and brought in a concrete contractor to pour where there was once a rotting, tiered wood platform - replacing that area with a more functional and tight tiered concrete area.

Duane B.

East Boothbay

Evergreen has insulated two homes that we've owned now and both times we experienced exceptional service and craftsmanship. Our rep, Justin, went above and beyond answering questions and the installation team was attentive to every detail, including pulling out old poorly installed insulation and redoing a bathroom fan that wasn't up to current code. They also left the place spotless every day! Our home is already so much warmer this fall and we are looking forward to using less oil this winter.

Eva G.

Falmouth

Evergreen did everything they said they would and more. I actually don't mind going into the basement now since they sealed it. The air quality in the house is noticeably better and it's warmer in the winter. We can even store clothing down there where before, whatever was in there would mildew. Even the spider population declined! I used to vacuum so many of them from the corners of the ceilings in the house. Not any more!

Loriel Van Dusen

Evergreen came out 2 years ago to do an assessment and insulate our roof. This year we had them come back and do the basement as well. They are hands-down the best crew we've ever hired to work on our house. They are experts at what they do, and super meticulous in their work. After working in our house for a week with blown insulation, there was no trace they were ever here. We've seen a huge decrease in our energy bills while at the same time the house has become way more comfortable. Can't recommend them enough.

RC Lations II

Portland

From start to finish, our experience was incredible. Justin was extremely helpful. The crew was fast, friendly, and efficient. And most importantly, our home is WAY warmer and our heating is less costly. I'd highly recommend evergreen to anyone looking to upgrade their home!

John S.

South Portland

We are so pleased with the work the team from Evergreen Home Performance did in our home. The project included encapsulation of our basement with a reinforced vapor barrier, installation of a sump pump, spray foam insulation on the walls and insulation of the heating duct work. Everyone at Evergreen was friendly and professional. The project was completed on time and in budget. Our home is much cozier and warmer since the project was completed.

Linda Metzger

Portland Buy Local
Efficiency Maine
EPA Lead-Safe Certified
Building Performance Association
BPI Certified