My husband and I have lived in our house for ten years, and it has always been drafty, the floors were always cold and the master bedroom was an icebox. We bought a new furnace a few years ago, and even that didn't make much of a difference. Now that we have children, we knew we had to fix the problems. Stallmer & Sun inspected our house and explained that the problems were mostly in the basement, with unsealed rim joist and unsealed ductwork. Who knew that was even a thing?! Our house is now so much more comfortable. The floors aren't cold, and if I wake up during the night, I don't run to my kids' rooms to make sure their noses haven't turned blue. Sometimes I don't even wear socks to bed anymore! Thanks, guys!
I am so pleased with the outcome of the work that Stallmer & Sun did at my home. I'm a single Mother and just bought my first home a few years ago. The first winter I lived here, I used 600 gallons of oil and my electric bill was about $350 per month. That's a lot of money for me, so I called Stallmer & Sun. Todd and his crew inspected my home and did a blower door test to find out where air was leaking from. They explained what could be done to seal the leaks, and they also explained how NYSERDA could help cover some of the costs. My home is so much warmer and my light bill is very afordable now. This winter (2016-17), I used only 200 gallons of oil and my electric bill has dropped to about $100 per month. I can't thank Todd and his crew enough.
I fully recommend Todd and Greg. We had a few quotes and it seems that the industry is packed with people who seem to have the motto “foam baby foam!” without much science behind their application. Sometimes the application is harmful to the house and sometimes it is just too expensive to get a return on your heating bill. Most companies do not want to seal penetrations. It is like they only want to do flashy work, not tedious, dirty practical work. There are also environmental and health concerns with standard foaming. You have to evacuate your house temporarily. Sure it is an option but not for everyone.
The great thing about Todd is that he is knowledgeable about all the options. He advised combining sealing penetrations, strategic placement of foam board to reduced outside air entering the attic in porch and garage areas, and using blown-in cellulose insolation. It’s a bit more complicated than that but that is the gist of things.
Todd came to our house to do an estimate. He was often very quiet as he evaluated our house’s individual needs. His brain was ticking away, taking in your situation to come up with a house-specific plan. This is way different than the “foam baby foam” guys who seem to have it all figured out with just a superficial look and chatter none-stop about inane subjects.
Todd also has a teaching background in regards to house construction which helps tremendously in figuring out what went wrong when your house was constructed. Once Todd had processed our house’s deficiencies, he presented us with the options. We had a lot of back and forth conversation before and after the initial contract was written by Todd. We sometimes asked very educated questions had received an educated response. We sometimes asked extremely basic questions and received a thoughtful response. All this was done with Todd having the patience of a saint.
Once the contract was in it’s final form, we understood completely what the process would entail and what we were getting for our money. The contract was detailed, nothing like contracts we have had before with home improvement projects.
Throughout the project, Todd or Greg would send us pictures of the process so that we were fully aware or what they were doing and we have a digital record for future reference.Our “creep detectors” didn’t go off. I am referring to that feeling when less than reputable people are in your presence. Todd and Greg were like friends, people we trusted in our house. They were neat, left no messes behind for us to clean up. After the job was essentially finished, Todd fixed a problem with our roof ridge vent because our roofer was too busy to come back and finish it himself! We were abandoned after the final payment to the roofer. You know that story... Humidity would have built up in our attic, causing damage, if Todd didn’t take a chance with possibly offending the roofer. He knew we would never stir up trouble for him with the roofer so he did the right thing to protect our house.
The proof is in the pudding! Our house is much less drafty. Our heating bills are lower. We have more stable heat. No more condensation on the walls. No more frozen pipes. No more ice dams. We haven’t had to call Todd and Greg back to fix any problems but I would be confident that we could if needed. Reputation and referrals seem to be a priority for them. You won’t be disappointed. Todd is intelligent, conscientious, honest, does community service and is a good family man. His wife Amy is awesome, part of the process, helped with communication. Greg is a also very respectful and conscientious. You will have a great value.
I haven't felt so compelled to recommend anyone in a very long time.
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