Common Health: Healthy Homes

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It was snowing Wednesday morning, but that didn’t stop me from driving to WERU to participate in Jim Fisher’s Common Health radio program. Bobbi Harris of Washington Hancock Community Agency and Maria Donahue of Healthy Acadia were also in the studio, and we had a lively talk about how to maintain safe, warm, healthy homes.

Some of the highlights:

Being cold is not just a comfort issue. Aside from the obvious mental health benefits to being comfortable in your home, there is plenty of evidence that people with respiratory problems, arthritis, high blood pressure, and a host of other issues feel better – and have shorter hospital stays – when their homes are warm.

Moisture is a problem for almost every home in Maine. It’s a function of our geography, and it’s not going away. Treating basement moisture with encapsulation can reduce the risk of asthma by a third and improve overall indoor air quality, so it’s worth addressing.

Lead paint, carbon monoxide, and other toxins are serious concerns. Serious enough that I’m going to devote the next few blog posts to tackling these. Stay tuned.

There are solutions for Mainers at all income levels. Efficiency Maine offers long-term, low-interest loans to help homeowners spread out the cost of improvement. If improvements are still out reach, low-income homeowners can turn to their local CAP agencies or Midcoast Habitat for Humanity’s Weatherization program.

I’ll post a link as soon as the audio archive of the show is up.

Contact us today to learn more!

207-594-2244

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

My husband and I bought a home on the water in Owls Head and decided to make the investment in Evergreen's recommendations for insulation. Brian Robinson spent 3 hours examining every nook and cranny before he made practical suggestions and explained them thoroughly to us.

Marie McNeely

Owls Head

The team members were very professional, worked very hard, paid very close attention to detail and cleaned up meticulously every day. I really appreciated the care they took knowing the smallest details were going to make a big difference to our heating bills. Thank you!

Pam B.

Brunswick

The Evergreen team was amazing from initial assessment and planning to the crew that came to complete the work. Our basement encapsulation is the best money we've spent on our house by far. The work was thorough and high quality. And what a wonderful group of people to work with. I highly recommend Evergreen!

Martha Bracy

We just finished a large project air sealing and reinsulating our 1890s basement and attic. It 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.

E Gallant

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

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

We had Evergreen Home Performance of Rockland come in to make our home more energy efficient, and what a TOP notch crew. Brian and his crew did an amazing job from start to finish. Very knowledgeable and professional. We would Definitely highly recommend this crew to anyone who is looking for energy efficiency in their home with a company that truly is an expert and knows how to do a quality job and truly cares about their customer.

Melissa S.

Owls Head

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

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

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

Very easy process, start to finish. Friendly, professional, and really know their stuff. They made some improvements to our condo and we were very happy with how it played out. Would definitely recommend them.

Clayton Eames

Evergreen listened and produced a thoughtful evaluation, proposal and comprehensive plan for our attic and basement. They exhibited excellent workmanship, teamwork, and came back as planned after the completion of the job to test the outcomes. Their overall performance as insulation and home improvement contractors is truly outstanding and we highly recommend them.

Susan S.

Saco

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

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

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