Mark Group

The Mark Group was very professional in all my dealings with them. They tried several times to schedule appointments with us. As it turned out my husband was not keen to have the audit done so I am now requesting a refund.

Mike & Andre did a nice job with the energy audit then the installers did excellent work.

The work was done promptly and professionally. All workers were very courteous and helped me fully understand everything being done. |

Robert and Tony arrived on time and performed the work in a timely and efficient manner. Looks good.

I think they are on Angie's List. I've got branches everywhere. They did the energy survey to save us some money. They were telling me about where we would have heat loss and they found few small gas leaks. They work in collaboration with the program of New York State which was really how we got them. I was interested in what they were offering so I didn't feel the pressure to put up on them. They came to my house and did their survey. They did all the paper work that was needed for New York State. New York State gives $400 reimbursement for the survey process, for whatever cost the survey would be and the work that they performed. I guess the state's pushing for people to become more energy efficient so this was part of that program and then the state's also do random survey's in comeback to make sure that the company did exactly what they said they did and that the savings were there. They were good. Before finishing it, it was almost like a month back and I think there were some internal problems with the company. Whatever it was that they were going through but they came back and finished it. I think they were neat. They did insulation around the top of the foundation in the basement, in the attic. There are a certain things that New York State require and they did all those and they said that new York state would come around and randomly sample to see if the work was done. I have no problems. I've got the gas leak fixed, I've got water heater fixed and also the insulation. The bottom-line is it took a little longer but it all worked out. They were always reachable. They had no problem explaining things. They made accommodations.

On time, courteous, very professional and went over everything that was done as well as billing.

Great. Thorough explanation throughout. Very pleased.

Excellent. They were courteous, professional, and helpful.

They came out for the audit which went well. There were no additional fees associated with the Big Deal. They are contracted to do some sealing and installing basement windows. I signed a contract to have the work done, but we haven’t scheduled a date for the work.

Great crew! Very customer service oriented. A pleasure to deal with.

Provider performed extensive enery assessment including door blower test.

They did an amazing job, was able to reduce airflow in basement. Would recommend.

They are extremely knowledgeable and very professional and they are doing this for a very long time, I think for like 20 years. They also provided us with a carbon monoxide sensor after they did their installation ceiling, so it was pretty cool. I would use them again in the future.

Bottom line: unless you're looking specifically for someone to sell you insulation, go elsewhere. We expected a comprehensive home energy audit. The tech that came out was punctual, clean and thorough. He gathered a lot of information, checked the attic and crawl space, took measurements and did a blower door test. Everything I would have expected. I was present for the entire visit and witnessed the blower door test - that was eye opening. He said we would be receiving a report with suggested energy savings. What a disappointment. The report was basically a sales pitch for insulation. Not that we couldn't benefit from more insulation, but based on what I witnessed with the blower door test, added insulation is way down on the list of needs. Most of the windows are 60 years old - it was obvious that a tremendous amount of air was coming through the windows. But window replacement wasn't even suggested even though there's a whole section in the report where it could have appeared. But the biggest problem wasn't even mentioned in the report. The blower door test showed that our attic ridge vent was completely open to the living area - so outside air was freely entering the house - just like a huge open window all the time. But never mentioned. When I questioned them about the ridge vent and windows, their answer was that they're not a window installer (but they could put me in touch with someone) and they didn't have an answer on the ridge vent. After talking with the rep, it became clear that their intent was to just sell insulation. On the plus side, the blower door test was very informative. But unless you're there for the test and can interpret what's going on yourself, the report you get is going to be very misleading and have you spending a lot of money on insulation that might not really be in your best interest.

Steve and Tony were exactly on time. friendly, polite and efficient. They explained and described everything they did and they worked mostly in the basement & back porch. They were quiet and cleaned up nicely.

The guys did a great job. Definitely recommend.

First part of the job was done on 02/10/2014 but could not be finished in one day. We insisted that the remaining job be finished within a couple days instead of scheduling into the next week and Mark Group was very willing to comply and they did.

Great response, clean job. Great work - no issues.

Mark Group Inc. contacted me right away and we set up a time for home enegy audit. Andre came out and performed the audit. He check attic, basement, furnace, air conditioner etc. He also did blower testing. It took him 2-3 hours. He was very professional and efficient. He took copies of my utility bills for the last year. Today, Mike came back with the report of the audit. I was very happy to learn that my house was pretty efficient and there were no major changes that Mike could suggest to improve energy use. There were a couple of things noted in the report but nothing major that needed any large financial output. I was pleased that they were completely honest with me and did not try to suggest or sell something that really wasn't necessary.

The reason for the overall score of F, while all other categories are B or C, is that Assessment is not one of the available categories and a proper assessment is critical. This is where Mark Group failed completely. When Mark Group's representative came out to the house, we explained that our primary goal was to stop the drafts coming into the kitchen, which made the floor absolutely freezing. The representative used a device to show us that the area where the floor met the wall was much colder than the rest of the wall and floor. We explained that we had already insulated the attic and walls. He looked in the basement and said the reason the cold air was coming in on the first floor was that we didn't have any insulation in the band joist area in the basement. He said that we had insulated the rest of the house and that was the missing piece. To be fair, he also suggested we spray the walls of our crawl space with foam, but we declined to do that portion right away as we were told that the band joist portion would make the biggest immediate difference. We agreed to the work and paid up front. It was scheduled for a week later. When the representative left, he said something to the effect of, "I'm so glad to know that next week your 1-year-old son is going to be able to play in the kitchen again." (We had mentioned that specifically when we talked about the freezing kitchen floor). A week later, the work was done without incident. To my knowledge, it was done properly. I can see that insulation was put into the band joist area all around the basement. The problem is that there was no noticeable difference in the temperature of the kitchen floor. There were still drafts and the floor was still freezing cold. We felt like we had been bamboozled and had completely wasted $1500 on something we didn't need. I filled out a survey with Mark Group expressing my dissatisfaction and was contacted by another representative who asked if he could come out and assess what was done. He did, and he said he agreed with the assessment even though it didn't address our want. I believe it was probably a good thing to do, but again, it didn't in any way address the #1 concern we expressed. The second rep also mentioned that tile kitchen floors over a crawl space were tricky and that they (Mark Group) should make sure their sales people do a better job of assessing them. After the work that was done for $1500 didn't help us, I went to Lowe's and bought $6 worth of insulation. I pulled out the oven and dishwasher and insulated behind them. I also filled in a couple holes underneath the cupboards. This actually made a world of difference. It greatly reduced the draft and made the floor temperature much more bearable. When I mentioned this to the second representative he stated that Mark Group doesn't do that type of work (something about potential liability of scratching floors from pulling appliances out). I understand that they don't do the type of work we really wanted, but they should have assessed properly and said they couldn't do what we needed to do in order to take care of our temperature concern for the kitchen floor. I asked for a partial refund since our situation was so poorly assessed. They declined, stating that they believe the assessment was appropriate. I don't doubt they have good ideas about what should be done in a home, but they should listen to their potential customers' concerns and recommend an appropriate action. If it's not something they do, they shouldn't recommend something else they can do. This was a very disappointing experience. Will never consider Mark Group again.

NO call no show..I had to call them to find out they weren't showing up. Never performed the thermal imaging. Was initially told that I was just being tested turns out they double team you with the sales guy and take up over 4 hours of your day. There are alot of companies that do this GO ELSEWHERE!!!!

We called because of a problem with a single room. Representative showed up, and began instructing us that the problem was never a single room, but rather owed to problems of house circulation. Consequently, we needed a complete home energy audit that would cost $100. His pitch is connected to predicted rebates from energy companies. Even though we thought that this was way beyond what we needed, we agreed. The auditor (subcontracted but related to the Marks Group) came out. He concluded that overall our house was in good condition and that he could not tell us about how to deal with the identifiably porous room because he could not get access. So, he could not say whether we would benefit or not. The representative then followed up. It was embarrassing. He proceeded to tell us about all the problems with our house -- directly contradicting what the auditor said. After it was clear that he was getting caught flat footed, he tried to backtrack and said that he needed to talk to his auditor. He then proceeded to recommend that we do around $6000 worth of work, for which we might get a rebate of $2000 from Pepco and save about $75/month on our energy bill. None of this made sense, we said. He then excused himself, promising to get back to us. He never did. I did some checking around. Marks Group pops up wherever utility companies offer rebates. They then sit down with home owners, tell them about their overall product, suggest that they might qualify for rebates, and then tell them about the cost effectiveness. Consequently, in some cases, such as ours, they can be overselling what you need. So, when we indicated that we were not going to solve a small problem with an oversized and unnecessary operation, he lost interest. I am not saying that it is a scam -- but I can say that the company's signature approach is to sell a "set product" regardless of what your problem might be.The representative that came to us had about 6 months experience in the insulation field. We called someone else on Angie's List with years of experience, and got a very different analysis -- and one that was much less expensive.

We contacted the Mark Group for a Home Energy Assessment because of coldness in our first floor living area and basement. Gordon performed the assessment and provided recommendations and an estimate to energy seal our basement with spray foam insulation. He assured us that having the work done would substantially decrease air loss, and as a result, the temperature of our first floor and basement would become so warm, we would be wearing short sleeves instead of sweatshirts. Gordon offered us a financial incentive to provide a deposit the day of estimate, something we rarely do. He also pointed out that the crew were professionals, and the insulation would not be sloppily applied, as was the case with a previous attempt by my husband around the circuit box. Gordon added that his crew would conduct a health/safety inspection of our existing CO detectors and install a new CO detector, if needed. Subsequently we had the work done by 2 men who arrived promptly on the scheduled day. They took care to protect our carpet and furniture from debris, and removed and disposed of the old insulation before applying the spray foam. They did not provide any feedback on the status of our existing CO detectors but left a new one at the end of the day. Before leaving, they requested an immediate evaluation for Angie's List. Upon a brief inspection, everything appeared to be satisfactory to my husband, and he complied by completing the form and giving all A grades. At the time, the front door had been open for 2-3 hours; as this was necessary for proper performance of a blower door test, the house was understandably cold immediately following. However, the next day my husband and I both noticed no difference in the temperature of the basement or first floor. Upon closer inspection, my husband observed gaps in the insulation where air flow was still evident. In our opinion, if the old dirt and debris had been vacuumed after removal of the old insulation, the spray would have adhered better, but they did not make the extra effort to do this. In addition, we saw an overall lack of uniformity in the application of the insulation. In some areas the foam was evenly applied, but more often than not, there were several areas where the foam did not completely fill the space or overflowed on to the cinder-block wall. He promptly contacted the Mark Group and Gordon informed him that someone would contact us to schedule a return visit. I subsequently emailed Gordon photos of the insulation and requested another thermal camera analysis. Additionally, after further inspection when moving items back into place, there was significant debris on the floor, as well as other areas of the basement that took several hours to clean up. Approximately 5 days later, Pat came out to inspect the work done and brought the thermal camera. He performed the thermal analysis in the basement and filled in the gaps mentioned, but explained it was difficult to evenly apply the insulation given the nature of the product and application. Also, he pointed out that due to the structure of our home, it was impossible to substantially improve the temperature in the basement and first floor without having significant structural renovations. While we appreciated Pat's honesty, we felt like Gordon made empty promises and overestimated the benefits of the air sealing. This was one of the few times, my husband and I agreed to have work done at the time of estimate, mainly because of the majority of highly favorable reviews, persuasive statements regarding comfort level, and financial incentive. Looking back, however, after re-reading ?F? review, I can relate to the homeowner's frustration and regret making the decision without further questioning.

Rob & Tony performed/completed job. Both were very professional completed the work in a timely manner. Would highly recommend.

Mark is very reliable and professional. He provided us with detailed report, appropriate suggestions and financing solutions. They will work on insulation of our attic and basement in March.