Langlais Sculpture Preserve gets energy efficiency updates

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The 90-acre Cushing homestead of renowned Maine artist Bernard Langlais will soon be gifted to the Georges River Land Trust as the Langlais Sculpture Preserve, but first it’s getting an energy efficiency makeover.

“The Georges River Land Trust is thrilled to work with Colby College and Kohler Foundation to celebrate Bernard Langlais’s legacy,” said Gail Presley, the Land Trust’s Executive Director. “Langlais was inspired by the Maine landscape, so this preservation project is focused on conserving natural resources as well as his work.”

While the Land Trust leads stewardship of the land, creation of trails, and restoration of perennial gardens, and Kohler preserves the ten large wooden sculptures that will remain on site, Evergreen Home Performance is upgrading the 18th century farmhouse. Home to Bernard and Helen Langlais for more than a decade, the house presents a perfect location for conservation and programming – as well as a number of efficiency challenges.

“Like a lot of old buildings, the Langlais house was long on charm and history, but short on comfort and efficiency,” said Brian Robinson, the Evergreen Home Performance Energy Advisor who assessed the property and engineered upgrades. “Fortunately, these buildings have the potential to function quite similarly to modern homes, once they’re fully upgraded.”

In the first phase, Evergreen improved the attic with air sealing and cellulose insulation, and installed a durable, operable attic hatch. These upgrades will keep warm conditioned air from leaking up and out during the heating season, and, in the summer, keep super-heated air from leaking down into the cooler interior. Phase two will likely include basement encapsulation to eliminate moisture problems and insulating walls to continue maximizing comfort and efficiency.

“The first phase of energy efficiency upgrades have addressed the critical needs for keeping the house warm,” said Presley. “We hope to be able to raise the funds to complete the second phase to assure the house will be dry and comfortable, and keep the Langlais legacy alive for many years to come.”

On July 12, Georges River Land Trust is hosting their 24th annual Gardens in the Watershed Tour and this year’s tour-goers can get a sneak peek of the Langlais property, sculptures, and more-efficient farmhouse during. For more information on the Preserve or the Garden Tour, visit www.georgesriver.org or call 207-594-2244. For more information on energy efficiency upgrades like those we installed at the Langlais house, contact us today.

Contact us today to learn more!

207-594-2244

I never leave reviews, but had a great experience with Evergreen and wanted to spread the word! In short, we worked with them to insulate our roof this winter and have noticed surprising immediate results. The constant ice dams I have wrestled with are completely gone, and the home is noticeably more comfortable. It's a little too early to tell if our oil bill is going to reduce, but I imagine we will see an impact there as well.

Joel W.

Portland

My experience with Evergreen was excellent. From their thorough and thoughtful initial consultation to their detailed post-work visit, the team was professional, knowledgeable, and responsive. Their workmanship was top notch. Our home is now much warmer and more efficient. I highly recommend their services!

Douglas R.

Edgecomb

From beginning to end – that is from the moment Justin McEdward stepped into our home to assess our energy conservation needs until the crew left – the Evergreen Home Performance process went absolutely smoothly. Justin made a thorough inspection and took pictures with an infrared camera. His proposal described the scope of work in detail, and he explained what we could expect the proposed work to accomplish. Our proposal was forthcoming within a couple of days, and Justin was available to discuss it and answer questions.

Adrienne Harkavy

This team of individuals was professional at all times. They set up barriers that kept the dust at a minimum. They conducted an air flow audit and cut the draft circulation from the outside in half by sealing cracks. They hauled out the old insulation and replaced it with blown in insulation with an R - 60 Value. They also did the rebate paperwork so that I could get my $1500.00 rebate from the state of Maine. I highly recommend Evergreen Home Performance!

Daniel B.

Rockland

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

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

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

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 removed and replaced the insulation in my attic. They did a great job!, Crew was excellent, and the whole thing went smoothly, and the attic was NOT easy to get into or work in, so kudos to some hard work done well!

Joel A.

Portland

Great team!

George S.

Bath

I have always been impressed by the high level of service, quality of work, and excellent follow-through provided by Evergreen Home Performance in the three projects that they completed at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm over the past several years.

Paul D.

Wells

Led by Brian Robinson, the Evergreen Home Performance team just completed an insulation refit at my home. It was truly a great experience from start to finish, a period of time that was a fraction of the time that I originally anticipated due to the team's unbelievable work habits and professional knowledge of their tasks. As impressive were the communication skills and friendliness of each and every member of the team.

Anne W.

Rockport

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

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

Bryan, Dave and the entire Evergreen team are wonderfully professional, prompt and thorough. I enjoyed working with them and look forward to continued work as we upgrade our home! Thank you so much for your professionalism, fairness, time and diligence.

Cait

Yarmouth

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