DEVERE INSULATION HOME PERFORMANCE

Several of the workers did not speak English. One severed a main water pipe with their ladder during the installation of the insulation in the basement causing our basement to flood with water. The insulation that the installers were going to insulate the basement with became saturated with water. Many boxes were soaked with the rapidly rising water. My husband panicked and tried to help the workers find the shut off valve but by the time the water was shut off, out basement sustained water damage. We contacted the company that subcontracted for insulation work and the responder dispatched a plumber to repair the broken pipe and Serv Pro was hired to help mitigate water damage. We are still waiting on a replacement vanity as our bathroom vanity sustained water damage and is ruined. Never again!! We are supposed to receive a rebate for having the service performed as an energy cost savings measure any way regardless of the water damage. I don't think it was worth the time and aggravation to have this done through this BGE cost savings initiative at least not through this company. If you do go with the BGE Home Energy iProgram, as if there will be subcontractors involved and refuse to allow Devere to be the subcontracted company.

They came out and gave us the price and we scheduled the work. The team arrived as scheduled and removed all of the old batting insulation. They cleaned up so well there was no evidence of them being here. The following day they arrived early and did the work. They requested that no one be home during the installation due to the high level of odor of the foam. We have noticed a big difference in the warmth of the floor.

All of the people were extremely responsive and punctual. The work - when finally completed- was very good. We had some safety issues identified when they arrived to do the work that needed to be fixed including rescrewing/gluing the drywall as it had begun to sag. We also need to fans vented properly to line up to code. They were legitimate issues but I wish they were identified when the estimate was completed. It ended up taking three visits ( two unsuccessful safety checks) and a months time to finally have to insulation work done. I liked these guys very much and would consider them again but this was much more of an adventure than anticipated.

They removed old batt insulation from stud portions of the wall and replaced it with closed cell spray foam insulation. They also installed spray foam in two cantilever portions of the house for both air sealing and improved comfort. In addition to the spray foam they also installed 2" foil faced insulation panels on the CMU portions of the basement walls. Careful meticulous work and I would happily recommend them to anyone who needs insulation work. Dave Hillery was our point of contact and worked with us on somewaht compllex scheduling

The team was here when expected. They were very professional, dressed in uniforms so it was easy to identify that they were from Devere. Job was well done, the supervisor walked me through everything that had been done before they left. The men all wore shoe covers throughout the service job and then even vacuumed my bedroom, hall and staircase before leaving. I would hire them again in a minute!

My 35-year-old home was anything but cozy. My constantly battled drafts and our den, converted from a garage by the previous owners, was a three-season room - meaning it was unbearable three seasons of the year as it was either too hot or too cold. I received four estimates for new insulation work. While DeVere was a bit higher than the other three, their inspection work for the estimate was far superior. I feared I'd have to send a rescue crew to find the DeVere rep who spent a considerable amount of time crawling around my attic and compiling the information needed for the estimate. In comparison, two reps from other companies basically popped their heads through my attic door like a Whac-A-Mole game, looked around and somehow came up with details of what they needed to do. They might be good at their work but DeVere sold me on their thoroughness and professionalism. That professionalism also was exhibited by the first crew that came last week. After his preliminary inspection, the foreman told me he was worried about some gaps between the sheetrock and the joists. He left the decision to me as whether to continue. I opted to hold off. I called in a carpenter to check it out and he assured me yesterday that all was OK. I called DeVere and they scheduled me for the next day. Yes, we lost about a week but we gained peace of mind that DeVere was cautious enough to make sure we wouldn't be sitting in a toasty home and all of a sudden have a lap-full of ceiling. The crews returned today. They started at 9 a.m. and just wrapped up after more than 9 hours. We can already feel the difference, especially with the formerly drafty areas. The bottom line is you cannot beat their service and professionalism. Dealing with DeVere staff at every level has been a joy.

We wanted to keep the house warmer in winter and save on utility bills (we are expecting a rebate of 50% of the total from PEPCO). Their price was good compared to another estimate. There was a glitch in communication at one point: I thought we had scheduled a work date and had put it on my calendar, but somewhere the communication broke down and nobody came out .. I called, they apologized and we rescheduled. Workmen seemed competent and polite. They seemed to do a good job -- we'll find out when winter comes! After the work was done I called to discuss a potential minor concern; I was told someone would call me back. I never got this call. However, the guy who came out for the follow-up visit took care of the issue.

The company had been referred to us by the company that performed an energy audit of our home. We scheduled an estimate. The vendor gave us a 2-3 hour window, but never showed up or call. My husband took off from work to be here. We rescheduled, but they also failed to show up the second time. Please see the details above. UPDATE-- December 2014 With the help of EcoBeco, we were able to get an appointment scheduled. The estimate team that came to our house was very professional and answered all of our questions. We signed the contract a few days later and ultimately had insulation installed in the attic and in the ceiling space over our garage. The insulation team was also very punctual, efficient and professional. Our upstairs is noticeably warmer now, so the investment was worth it. I was very frustrated by the initial scheduling process with Devere, but I am glad that we tried again and had the work performed. We had a string of bad luck in the beginning, but I believe Devere responded to the concerns we posted in our initial review so I will happily revise my rating to reflect the work that they ultimately performed for us.

40 year old house with inadequate insulation and with improper venting. . Very thorough evaluation, work was done at the designated date and was completed promptly, no calls back for any issues. Reduced our air loss by 41%. We are are warm and toasty without having had to turn the furnance as of yet. Have referred several other folks to them.

They were slow to get the job done. Their communication could have been better as well as their equipment. I do love their product.

Rebecca, a representative from Devere, came on 17 August to determine what I wanted done and to draw up an estimate. She provided a very detailed estimate of work and answered every question I had about the proposal. She provided two options for the basement--replace just the damaged insulation or replace all the insulation--and costs for each. I returned the signed proposal opting for the more thorough basement work. Unfortunately she was on vacation when I sent back the proposal but the office personnel at Devere that I contact went ahead and set up the appointment, stating they would get the signed proposal afterward. The workmen arrived when they were scheduled to (actually a tad early) and were very efficient and thorough. (I did have to sign another copy of the proposal, so it appears the office folks didn't get the signed copy I sent back to Rebecca...but that didn't delay anything). They even went around the basement and inserted foam batting all along the top of the basement wall (which I didn't expect) as well as sealing up some areas such as around the bay window where we used to be able to see cracks of daylight. They were finished by early afternoon and swept up the work area to remove any stray insulation & spray foam they didn't catch with the large plastic drop sheet they had set out. They also took away all the old insulation and generally left things very tidy (I did find a few bits of batting in the garage afterward, but nothing significant). They even had a post-job checklist for me to go over with them to confirm everything was done to my satisfaction. I had already arranged with the office to pay via credit card and they did not bill me until after the work was completed as promised. I did have one minor hiccup with the billing--they actually billed me for the less-expensive option on the basement--but that was quickly resolved with a phone call.

Squirrels got into my attic and made themselves at home! They had shredded the existing insulation and made large nests in various places throughout the attic.Having the insulation "fixed" was the final step. First I had to have all the wiring in the attic replaced because they had chewed off the insulation. Next I had to have the exterior trim boards replaced because they had made holes on 3 sides of my house in order to have quick and easy access. Last was the insulation. The squirrels had pulled the insulation from the backing and rearranged it to make numerous large nest areas. In some places in my attic there was no insulation left at all. The saleswoman who came to give the estimate was very pleasant and professional. She spent a good while up in the attic. She explained to me that I had some options. The best way to go (most expensive, but most effective) was to remove all the existing insulation and replace it with new blown in to a value of R49. The other option was to smooth out the existing insulation and put blown in R30 insulation. Because all this was an unexpected expense and doing bad things to my budget, I decided to go the less expensive route. The crew arrived on the day and time that had been arranged. They worked quickly and quietly and left no mess. When they were finished the crew chief was very disappointed that I wouldn't go up into the attic to view his work He was obviously very proud of the way it looked! I had to explain that I was 70+ and my days of crawling through small access doors in a closet ceiling were over. He made me promise to have my grandson go up there and take pictures! I was very impressed at the pride this man takes in his work. There was a slight glitch about 2 weeks after the work was completed. I had paid the balance due the day the work was completed. I gave the check to the crew chief. About 2 weeks later I received a bill in the mail! I called the company and the girl who answered told me the bill and check probably crossed the mail. I explained that I had handed the check to their employee. Then she told me she was sure everything ws fine. I told her I needed her to check with their accounting department and to verify that my check had been received and properly posted. She did so, but reluctantly. Eventually, she came back and told me all was fine. My check had been received and properly credited. I understand that mistakes like this can happen, but I would have been far less irritated if she had volunteered to check with accounting instead doing it only at my insistence. Also, an apology would have been nice. I know it wasn't HER fault, but she was the company person who was talking with me so an "I'm sorry for the mixup/inconvenience" would have been greatly appreciated. I'm adding an update to this review. It's now December and the squirrels found a new way into the attic. Fortunately, I discovered it early, before they could do much damage. The wildlife remover guy went up into the attic to check things out and came back absolutely raving about the insulation job! He said he doesn't impress easily and see a lot of attics, but he had never seen insulation installed so well. He got specific, talking about insulation laid a certain way and covering certain things, but he was using contractor terms so I didn't understand half of it. But, the end result, he said this company did a really superior job.

Very professional and quick installation. The crew was clean and courteous. I've seen a dramatic reduction in energy costs for my home.

First the estimate process was great. Rebecca didn't just guess what the insulation was like up in the attic she actually looked and measured. She also explained the BGE rebate program to me and how that would work. She provided an estimate in a timely manner with no pressure to book or anything like that. Once we decided to have the work done we were able to book when we wanted to. The actual install was great. They showed up on time ready to go with everything they needed. They first ran a blower test showed which 2129. They worked all day installing insulation, they put a lot of insulation in. They cleaned up after themselves really well and at the end of the day the blower test was 1286 which was listed as the ideal for our house. That is a lot of air leakage they stopped. Since there was enough improvement we qualify for the 50% rebate from BGE, haven't received the check yet but that takes 6-8 weeks and Devere did all that paperwork for me too! I can't recommend them highly enough. Update 22 July 2014 Just got my rebate check right on schedule for $1600!

Joel Windsor conducted a thorough, free inspection and found the insulation to be sufficient enough. He suggested contacting a Heating and A/C company because the registers in the master bedroom aren't putting out air like the other registers upstairs. He thoroughly explained each step of his inspection and the reasoning behind his conclusions. He was honest and helpful in explaining what we might do next to alleviate the problem. I would definitely recommend this company!

Originally I contacted Devere to get an estimate for adding insulation in my attic as I knew it was inadequate (40 year old house). I had already received several other estimates in the $1600-2000 range. Sean Millham arrived to provide the estimate. While we were in the attic he asked if I was aware of the Pepco Empower rebate program. This program provides a 50% rebate up to a max of $2000 dollars for increasing the enegy efficiency of a home, primarily through sealing of wall caps and light fixtures in attic and in the exterior edges of unfinished basements. He said it was more expensive initially but with the rebate, could be worthwhile doing. Within a day or so I received an estimate of`$3200 for the rebate work or for about ~1700 for just the insulation (Which was competitive with others). It was clear that I would be better off doing the increased work and getting the rebate. Sean also noticed that the previous owner had added insulation incorrectly and had included fixing this in his cost proposal. His cost also included removing the existing attic floor which everyone else had said was my responsibility or that would cost extra. We scheduled his work such that the team arrived on Friday to remove the flooring, correct the existing insulation by removing the vapor barrier and seal all of the wall caps and light fixtures. I would then have my carpenter come in on Saturday to put in new joists to create a new attic floor above the level of the blown in insulation. Devere's team would then come back in on Monday to actually blow in the additional insulation. Devere arrived exactly on schedule both days and completed their work in a very professional manner. All work was done as promised and their crew completely cleaned up everything such that there was no mess left behind. The work done on Friday was on a rainy day and they were careful not to track in mud or water into the house. The final inspection of my house resulted in a 32% increase in the energy efficiency related to heating and cooling the house and I am very pleased with their work. My carpenter also told me when he came on Saturday that he was impressed with what they had done and that they had done everything exactly as they should have. Nice to have an independent 3rd party verification! I highly recommend Devere and am very pleased that there are honest contractors in our area that do great work.

Great job! - Very professional throughout the entire process (not what I encountered with competitors) - a better estimate than others excellent work on the part of the team sent to do the work, besides being prompt, and thorough they were also were quiet (as I worked on a deadline in another room) and spotless- I could not have been happier - Way to go DeVere!

Excellent service. Called before coming, were prompt, quick, neat.

I am planning to sell the house in a bit and thought the new roof helped some, I did not want to sell the house to a new buyer and have them deal with the same issues. A young representative came over and looked in the crawl space. He told me the insulation was really well done and that no further work was needed. When I told him a roofer had inspected the roof and told me there was no problem with it, I could not understand why I was having ice dams if the insulation was fine. He could not explain. I later called him to ask if he could write me a note testifying as to the adequacy of the insulation so that when I sold the house I would have evidence that I had had it evaluated. He said he could not do that because it posed a liability for him in the event he had missed something. I asked him to at least write that he had inspected it and insert any caveat he needed to (small crawl space, within his ability to examine it appeared of, or something like that). He said he would check higher up the chain. In the mean time another insulation company, Discount Energy Services came by. Mr Ferguson, who has been in the business for 35 years took a lot of time to inspect the crawl space. He said what insulation was there was of the wrong size, the pipes, wires, ducts, electrical boxes, bath fans etc were not insulated. He proposed to install styro-baffles around eves which he said had no insulation within 4 feel of the roof edge (thus the ice dam, in part), and to further bring attic insulation up to R-40 as well as some other work. I was delighted he had identified the problem, could perform the work the next day at a very reasonable price. I hate to rate Devere Insulation so poorly as the representative was very kind but his assessment was dangerously wrong.

We have a ranch house so this took 2 days. All the workers were good and arrived on time both days.

Still haven't heard from anyone. It's been over a week since I left the first message and two days since I left the second message. first message was left on their answering machine and second time it was left with a person who took down my info. (one of their estimators). Not an easy company to get in touch with. If they are this bad at returning calls to get an estimate from, imagine how difficult it would be to get the job scheduled. Crossing them off my list.

Prompt, neat, polite, great clean-up.

Partial insulation and house sealing. In general they were good to work with and very responsive to issues as they arose. There were a handful of issues that they did ultimately address. One had to do with not facilitating getting required parking permits for their truck. The other was insulation spilling over into a furnace room (something that should have been caught in advance).

I had an Energy Audit and DeVere was recommended by the auditor for insulation work. I contacted DeVere was was able to get a quote by e-mail. The two-man crew showed up on time and did the work I contracted for. They were very careful of the new paint job on my house and cleaned up well afterwords. I would use them again if I needed any other insulation work done.

We got estimates from a number of insulation companies and, ultimately, decided to go with DeVere because they were the only one that promised to get the job done before our Christmas guests arrived. Unfortunately, they showed up today and did not complete the work as promised. The workers were either overbooked or didn't want to work today, because from the moment they arrived, Luis and Oscar, set about looking for bogus reasons not to do the work. The found some excuse to not insulate our garage, but then decided to leave without even sealing our leaky rim joists in basement (they didn't even give us an excuse for that one). To make it worse, when we called the company to ask why the workers left without even doing the work that was unrelated to their bogus excuse to not do the garage, the company rep, Sean, argued with us. Then, he let it slip, that he sent the guys to another job. Really? We had to book our job +1 week out. How did they get another job so soon? Sounds like a bigger job came up after we booked them and they decided ours wasn't worth the time or effort--so they tried to find an excuse not to do it and left. In the end, we are going to go with another company. Even one that charges twice as much is worth it if there is greater integrity and they deliver as promised. I'm just sorry we wasted our time dealing with DeVere.