The Causes of Wet Maine Basements

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You may have heard in the past that you shouldn’t let moisture linger in your basement (perhaps you even heard it from us, a year ago…). But what is it that can cause moisture to infiltrate and collect in that space under your Maine home, and most importantly how can you prevent it from happening in the first place?

Whole Home Moisture Issues

It would be easy to assume that if you have moisture in the basement, the basement is also the only place where the issue stems from. However, there are areas all over the home that can contribute to the moisture and humidity that make their way down to the basement. 

Air Leaks

The easiest way for moisture to infiltrate the basement is through the visible and invisible holes, cracks, and gaps in the construction of your home. These leaks are common in the attic and basement, as well as around improperly installed windows and doors and even right through concrete foundations!

Insulation (or Lack Thereof) 

It surprises many homeowners to learn that insulation plays an important role in the overall moisture control in a basement or crawlspace. Insulation prevents the transfer of heat between your living space, the outdoors and / or basement and attic, meaning a home that is properly insulated will have more stable temperatures all year round. As these temperatures are stabilized, there will be fewer indoor drafts, and the moisture in the air will be less likely to settle out (condense) on the surfaces in the basement. 

Whole Home Moisture Solutions

Gaining total control over the moisture in your home isn’t usually a quick fix. Even if you have removed the current moisture or resulting mold from your basement, it is vital to the long-term health of you and your home to make sure the underlying causes of the moisture have been remedied from top to bottom. Here at Evergreen, we do this through a number of home improvement upgrades — and we determine which upgrades each home will need with a home energy audit

The Evergreen energy audit utilizes an infrared camera inspection to locate weak or missing insulation, a blower door test to determine exactly how much and locate where leakage is present in the home, health and safety inspections to ensure your equipment is operating properly, a look at your historical energy usage, and an overview of the design of your home to locate any structural factors. Once your energy audit is complete, we will develop a customized plan to tackle your wet basement issues, which can include the following home improvements:

A Drier Basement Means a Healthier Home!

Mainers know the problems that come with moisture in a home. Mold, water damage, and musty odors aren’t something any homeowner wants to deal with once, not to mention over and over again. If you are ready to take control of your wet basement and rid your home of moisture issues once and for all, schedule an energy audit with the home performance professionals that homeowners throughout Southern Maine trust, Evergreen Home Performance. 

You can even take a look at what it took to relieve this 1930s bungalow home of almost half of its total air leakage, cold morning floors, and headaches that came with moisture issues in the basement. From your first consultation to the final day of work, Evergreen Home Performance is here to help you feel more comfortable and spend less on your energy bills!

Ready to take action against your wet basement? Get started with an energy audit from Maine’s basement experts at Evergreen Home Performance. Call 207-594-2244 or get in touch here.

Looking to dry out your wet basement?

Talk to our team about a solution. 207-594-2244

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

The Evergreen crew who installed insulation in my attic were fantastic! They were very professional, worked exceedingly hard, and they did an excellent job. They were very pleasant and friendly to be around. They cleaned up beautifully after each work day, and left my home in great shape on when they walked out the door for the last time. I can't believe they were able to accomplish all that they did with heat soaring into the 80s and 90s. It was pretty unbearable up there! They have my highest praise and my gratitude.

Cynthia F.

South Portland

I was very impressed by the professionalism of this company and the workers. Brian R. was very prompt in replying to my questions; the crew was meticulous in all parts of the work and attentive to the safety aspects concerning Covid; and Brian was extremely thorough in the final inspection. My attic is now snug and warm and I've noticed that the second floor is warmer as well.

Julia S.

Rockland

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

They were highly recommended. I found them to be very knowledgeable and so helpful, with practical ideas. Despite my not living within their service area, they were generous with their knowledge, describing the usual solutions to correct leaks in my basement, and what the result is likely to be by following path A, B or C, and why. I was discouraged. Talking with Evergreen helped me see that my basement problems are far from insurmountable and really, fairly common in 100-year old homes. There are proven solutions.

Rosalind J

Damariscotta

Greetings one and all! I am writing to express my gratitude to all involved in my insulation project.  From start to finish, I appreciate the universal theme which was maintained by each and every one of you, to ensure that my home was insulated and protected from freezing pipes as if it was your home. Andrea, thanks for helping me navigate my way to the project. Nate, thanks for the thorough initial assessment and the time you took to explain this project to me, step by step. Brian, thanks for setting up my project - so happy

Michele

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 was so helpful in securing us Efficiency Maine funding for a big attic insulation project early this winter. They did all of the paperwork, and totally guided us through a vermiculite removal process that included a payment from a trust for the procedure. I could instantly feel the second floor being so much warmer than before. The boiler does not kick on nearly as frequently since they completed the job. It was worth every penny! Brian Robinson was so thorough throughout the whole process including a full walk through after the job had been completed.

Todd W.

Camden

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 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

In the final stages of selling our home, and with a closing date set, an inspection came across an unanticipated issue in our attic. We quickly called in contractors, but nobody was able to identify the source of the problem. Then we thought of Evergreen. Brian Robinson was on site the next morning and immediately identified the source (a faulty roofing job completed three years earlier which had effectively sealed up portions of the ridge vent and restricted air flow - not easily visible with a quick inspection).

Robin McIntosh

Camden

We couldn't be more pleased with the easy, professional, high-value service from Evergreen. Having purchased an older home that had been in our family for generations, we needed multiple upgrades, including insulation throughout. Evergreen insulated our attic with blown-in cellulose, built a new, super-insulated attic hatch, sealed off the old one (which was just a piece of plywood in a closet ceiling), and also talked us through our best options to upgrade our heating system given the plans we have to add onto the house.

Tom G.

South Thomaston

Great team!

George S.

Bath

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

Evergreen came back this year to finish insulating our house. We have been remodeling and renovating an 1850s cape for several years. Their employees are very professional and pleasant to deal with. Over several years Brian Robinson has been able to schedule us in for several small areas that needed addressing and finally turning a room we used to close off in the winter into a comfortable usable space. We primarily heat with wood and since Evergreens great work our furnace has only come on ONCE this winter. Fantastic. Really satisfied customer in Thomaston.

Chris F.

Thomaston

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