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

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

I cant say enough about this company and the benefits that it created for our family. They are very professional and have effectively re-insulated our home. The heating bill proves the point.

Bob O.

Springvale

Last week, my oil company asked if we were using some other kind of fuel because our usage was so much less than they had expected We are very happy with the results; the house is much more comfortable

Steve T.

St. George

Thorough, smart, informative, integrated, and communicative -- that's how my experience was with Evergreen even with the covid interruption midstream. The team picked up where they left off, insulated basement and air sealed attic and knee wall in 100' temps under the eaves! This business group was a pleasure to work with.

Karen W.

Gray

I was extremely pleased with the professionalism and quality of service that I received from the Evergreen team. I met Richard to discuss options for insulation. I knew immediately that I wanted to do business with them because he did not try to over-sell extra services that I did not need. Dave was the project manager. He was not only kind, but very respectful of my home. I would highly recommend this company.

Darlyann M

Bath

We needed basement encapsulation to stop moisture coming up into the house from our regularly flooding basement. We had mold growing on windowsills and furniture. All the staff were friendly, respectful of our home, and easy to work with. Humidity has gone from 70% down to 40% and mold has not grown back after two months. Very grateful.

Sarah C.

Belfast

Evergreen Home Performance shows its expertise from start to finish. Evergreen did three house projects in winter/spring/summer 2020 for me, attic insulation, crawl space under a porch insulation, and basement foam/vapor barrier. From my initial discussion with Bryan, I understood the reasons for choosing different types of insulation, the associated costs, and time estimates. Evergreen scheduled in advance, came when they said they would, and the crews were highly professional in their work and demeanor.

Iris S.

Portland

Nothing but good things to say. The guys that came and did the actual work were extremely nice and did a great job. The energy audit was thorough and I was presented with multiple improvement options, I was even given ideas for improvement that Evergreen didn't offer. I never felt like I was being "sold".

Ryan Adams

Evergreen has a professional and reliable team of people who do excellent work. If you want the best of the best in the area, select Evergreen to accomplish your insulation needs.

Mary E.

St. George

Great company. Very professional and thorough. They take the time to explain everything and offer options to fit your budget. Wonderful experience from start to finish.

Bonnie Eustace

Highly recommended. Our heating usage is now less than half what it was before we had our roof insulated. Evergreen was knowledgeable, friendly, and left no trace they were ever in our house. Not only is our heating bill much lower now, but our home is generally more comfortable year-round with less temperature fluctuations. Money well spent.

RC Lations

I cannot say enough great things about working with Evergreen Home Performance. Everything including the initial consultation, the fabulous work crew, the office support and the final resolution was handled in a caring and professional manner. My only regret is that I did not know about them earlier. I enthusiastically recommend Evergreen to anyone with concerns about home energy use.

Darlene R

Bath

The Evergreen crew from initial inception to installation were professional, on time, and left our place spotless. The end result was exceptional.

John Brown

Great job installing windows and insulation.

Bob S.

Rockland

First we have Evergreen do a BIG project worth about $20K (windows, basement, insulate & rebuild an entire wall, a door, attics, and air sealing). They were so great we had them come back later when we decided we did want to do our other door. They are professional and do great work. They take care of your home and are trustworthy, and on top of all that friendly! I highly recommend you call them!

Garreth C Debiegun

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