Sustainable Remodeling: Enhancing Comfort & Efficiency

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Sustainable remodeling is the process of renovating a home in a way that minimizes its environmental impact, which can be done by using sustainable materials and finding ways to conserve energy. 

At Evergreen Home Performance, we believe that homes should be beautiful, comfortable, functional, and sustainable. With our expertise, we can help you improve your home’s energy efficiency, reduce your environmental impact, and save on your energy bills. We can even help you plan your home upgrades to get the most out of federal and local incentives and make your dream, green home in MidCoast Maine more affordable!

Start With an Energy Audit

When you’re remodeling your home for energy efficiency, it’s important to know where it needs improvement before you get started. A free energy assessment  from Evergreen Home Performance takes the guesswork out of home upgrades by giving you a big-picture understanding of your home’s performance. 

We use specialized tools like infrared imaging and blower door testing to evaluate your home’s insulation and discover any significant air leaks that contribute to energy loss and inconsistent temperatures. When the analysis is complete, our team will give you a detailed proposal for our recommended services so you can plan your path forward.

How to Remodel for Energy Efficiency

There are several home upgrades we offer at Evergreen Home Performance that can improve the energy efficiency and comfort of your home. Here are just a few of the services we provide to help with your sustainable remodel: 

Insulation Removal 

Typical fiberglass insulation degrades over time and can be contaminated by pollutants such as mold, making it less effective and even harmful to your indoor air quality. It’s important to remove old insulation before installing new insulation—especially if it is damaged—because it can affect the performance of your upgrade. 

Not sure if you need insulation removal in your home? Here are some signs to look out for:

  • Your insulation has been wet

  • There was a fire in your home

  • You have had a pest infestation

  • Your insulation is old and contains contaminants, like asbestos

Attic Insulation Upgrades

Your attic significantly contributes to your comfort and efficiency. Without proper attic insulation your home is susceptible to ice dams in the winter, high energy bills, and several other issues. Adding insulation to your attic is one of the most cost-effective ways to increase your home’s energy efficiency because it works to stabilize the temperatures within your home. Insulation creates a barrier between your living space and the outdoors and even lessens the wear and tear on your HVAC equipment, making your heating and cooling more efficient as well. 

Basement Insulation, Encapsulation, & Leakage

Because your basement is the foundation of your home, it’s exposed to moisture, potential air quality issues, and even structural damage. Cracks and holes in your foundation can lead to pests and harmful contaminants like mold or radon finding their way into your living spaces. As warm air rises up and out of your home it gets replaced with air from its lower levels, so the contaminants found in your basement air will eventually get distributed throughout your home. 

Adding basement insulation along the walls can help keep the area protected from the elements. Some basements also struggle with high humidity and moisture levels and insulation alone won’t solve the issue. In these cases, we recommend basement encapsulation to help control moisture and prevent unwanted air leakage. By installing drainage and a vapor barrier in addition to spray foam insulation, your basement will be airtight, reinforced, and safe from moisture, radon, and other pollutants.    

Whole Home Road Map from Evergreen Home Performance

Sometimes remodeling your home is overwhelming and expensive—that’s why we offer planning services to help you with a Whole Home Road Map so you can phase in energy efficiency upgrades at your own pace and budget. Using a phased approach not only allows you to break down each upgrade into manageable sections, but it also helps you maximize your savings with incentives!

At Evergreen Home Performance, we stay up to date with what rebates, tax credits, and incentives are available in MidCoast Maine, and part of our Whole Home Road Map process includes planning and phasing in upgrades so you can get the most out of Inflation Reduction Act federal tax credits and Efficiency Maine rebates. 

Are you ready to get started with your sustainable remodel?

Schedule your energy audit today. Call 207-594-2244 or contact us online.

Want your dream green home?

Call Evergreen Home Performance! 207-594-2244

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I made the mistake of NOT hiring this company last year when I bought and renovated my home. I have brought them in now and what a difference. This group knows what they are doing. They take a complete look at everything and believe they can make your home more energy efficient. They are very professional in the way they approach problems and solutions. And they find ways to save me money. Don't bother with anyone else. Bring Evergreen in before you do anything. Let them assess your issues and give you the right solutions.

Shaw

Owls Head

We had Evergreen come out to our tiny old (100+ year old) house to see what they would recommend for decreasing our carbon footprint, saving money, and increasing our comfort in the cold season. Richard and Bryan were great to work with, patiently answering our many questions and walking us through multiple options. We could only afford to tackle a few areas this year; we ended up replacing some windows and having them weatherize the entire house.

Alan M.

Falmouth

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

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 is a terrific company to deal with. Polite and efficient crews, meeting deadlines and major reduction in our heat bills. They corrected a lot of issues we suffered from doing work with a shoddy building contractor. We would recommend them to anyone.

Mary Carey

I used to spend winters in the bathtub because my house was so cold. This was my first winter roaming around my whole house comfortably. This even led me to decorate a little. My heating oil usage has been reduced by over a quarter: I rarely have to boost the thermostat because the temp stays at a constant. The Efficiency Maine rebates, together with the energy savings, make it affordable for me to pay for the loan I took out to finance the project. I do not worry about my pipes freezing.

Claire Helene Bevan

Camden

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

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

The Evergreen Team did a fabulous job and was very tuned and responsive to the particular needs we had. The job was done right on budget and we are thrilled with the improved warmth and energy efficiency.

Ira M.

Rockland

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

Really great experience from start to finish with Evergreen. They helped us prioritize what needed to be completed first, and has made a significant difference in our hearing costs already. Plus they were really friendly and considerate to work with!

Amy W.

Kennebunk

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

Working with Brian and with Nate and the rest of the crew was a pleasure. They made everything very easy and understandable. This was a major renovation and they were always at the ready with a lot of information. We had an extensive renovation on the basement which was a dirt basement and it came out beautifully. We can already tell from all of the insulation work what a difference it's made in sound and temperature. Brian worked with me on the rebates that are available when you do this kind of work. I would highly recommend this company to…

Valerie L.

Rockland

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 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

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

190 Riverside St. #2A,
Portland, ME 04103

315 Main Street, Ste. 205,
Rockland, ME 04841

207-358-3706

info@evergreenyourhome.com