AGL Spray Foam Insulation

It was a great experience

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They were very professional and accommodating from the first meeting until the completion of the job. They kept me informed throughout the process and cleaned very thoroughly when the work was completed. I will have more work to do in the next couple of years when I work on my second floor and I will be asking them back for that work!

John Cunningham is the consummate professional - honest, courteous, communicative, and true to his word. His crew performed the job in a timely manner.

Overall the process went good. I spoke with John and he asked me to email him my dimensions and some pictures of the basement. He then called me back and quoted me a special price do to it being a row home. The day of the appointment his crew arrived and told them what walls I wanted sprayed then they covered my windows with plastic film and also draped a painted wall with plastic so the foam would not drip on it. then proceeded to spray the walls from floor to ceiling after it was all done they cleaned up and left, Basement feels warmer than it did before.

I originally called AGL towards the beginning of my renovation to try to get estimates in place. I was told that they really couldn't give me an accurate estimate until the house was gutted, so it was worth waiting until then. When I contacted them later, they were very responsive and got Sean out to my house in a fairly short time to work on my estimate. Sean was very polite and I believe even showed up a little early. He went through the house to take measurements, answering my questions regarding the products and application, and was not in a rush to get out of there. He mentioned that with fiberglass batts I would only be able to get up to an R-13 value on my exterior walls, whereas open celled foam would get me to an R-16. We discussed the fact that I would like to keep open the option to finish my attic at another time so did not want the insulation to come into the space too much. Sean mentioned that he would contact my borough to find out what their code requires in terms of insulation values and said to expect an estimate in a couple of days. The first estimate I received (which is described above) mentioned an R-value of only -13 for the exterior walls (as opposed to the -16 he had mentioned during the walk through), and an application of 9" of open celled foam on my roof line which would impede my ability to finish that space eventually. He had also told me that my township requires an R-value of -38 for the roof/second floor ceiling and that the 9" of open cell foam or thinner amount of closed cell foam which would cost more was necessary to meet this requirement. Unfortunately he must have told me this over the phone because I can't seem to find it in writing. Meanwhile I talked to my contractor and found out that the township does have a requirement of R-38, but only for new construction. As an existing structure, I only need to go up to R-30. Well at this point I had agreed to get an estimate from a company that does fiberglass batts and they were able to get me R-13 for the walls and R-30 for the second floor ceiling for a total cost of under $1900. I do believe that spray foam has benefits over fiberglass, but we are talking up to 4-times the cost here. The rest of my renovation is already pricey enough as it is, and I didn't see where the foam was going to give me so much added benefit over the fiberglass to be worth this extremely large price difference. Sean was great about answering my questions throughout and even sent me articles to help explain some of the research behind their methods (ask them about why attic ventilation is not as important as we maybe think). My decision not to use AGL came down to three main factors: 1) I couldn't justify the high cost of spray foam for similar stated R-values, 2) I felt like I was deceived when it came to my township requirements and if I had never found out what the requirements actually were through other channels, I might have agreed to do more than was really required, and 3) I didn't feel that my requests to treat the attic space in a way that would be conducive to making it living space later were really listened to, necessitating revised estimates to give me what I was asking for in the first place. Ultimately I indicated above that I would recommend this company because they do have good reviews from others that had work done, but I do have to say that my gut feeling about them during this process was not a good one.

Pleasant experience from start to finish. John runs a very professional business. The crew arrived on time. They did an excellent job applying the spray foam despite the heat. They cleaned up and left the area spotless. Hit a few extra spots that needed sealing in my utility room. Basement has a nice, tight, snug feel to it now. I felt very comfortable using John and was particularly impressed by his blog. I like the fact that he works with Habitat for Humanity. I plan to use AGL again to spray my garage ceiling.

I originally received an e-mail quote the year before but never started the project. When I asked for another quote John Cunningham was very responsive and discussed the details of the job making recomendations on how to keep the cost down while providing the insullation needed. For example, two of the basement wall are completely below grade and the other two are 60% below grade so the effects of cold and hot weather is less direct than it is on the 1st and 2nd floors of the house above this basement. We set a tentative date and when the need to have an insullation inspection before starting to drywall came up he was great about scheduling a date for the spray foam that allowed for the inspection. His crew was ontime and polite explaining the access they need to the basement for equipment and ventilation. They also explained the need to connect to the electrical panel to provide 220 volts for the equipent rather than trying to plug it in somewhere. They were easy to work with regarding the fire-stop requirement and addressing unanticipated details like the area around two small basement windows that had not been completely framed out. They cleaned up as they went along and the job took about half a day. They left a clean basement, replaed the screens that had been removed and closed the windows. It was an overall very good experience.

Extremely happy we went with AGL Solar, John C was was very punctual and professional. He explained in detail how the spray foam insulation works and how it would help in warming up our house.

The house is wonderfully snug now! John, the owner, came out and made thoughtful recommendations based upon the particulars of an older house with lots of quirks. I had several contractors look at the house and give estimates, but chose AGL Solar for their product and how the solution would match our needs, as well as recommendations from friends and Angie's list. John and his crew were pleasant and professional and seemed to really care that they do a good job. They left the house incredibly clean, even with the removal of the old insulation. They sprayed open cell foam in the attic and used closed cell around the band joist in the basement as well as in several hard to reach areas. They cut access holes in two closets (pre-arranged and done neatly) on slanted areas so that they could approach these areas from both above and below to create the seal. The difference in the house is remarkable! Not only does the furnace go on less, but, also, we have the thermostat set several degrees lower than we used to and it feels warmer. An added benefit is that the house is quieter. A few weeks after we got the insulation installed, our furnace went out on us. The couple of days that we limped along on heat were a true testimonial to how well the house holds heat now! This is an example of my only regret is that we didn't do it sooner! I would definitely recommend John and his team at AGL Solar!

They generally did a great job just a little on the dirty side. They scuffed up a few things that I do not think they should have. The owner of the company did a great job explaining things to me and was very knowledgeable. He offers a good service at a good cost.

In an industry filled with questionable characters, AGL stands out as a knowledgeable, trustworthy firm that takes pride in their work. I probably interviewed six to eight other spray foam contractors and I always had an uneasy feeling in my stomach after speaking with them. This is an area where not all the potential approaches are intuitive, and you really have to trust what the contractor recommends. John carefully examined our home (a complete gut renovation of an 1835 row house) and then patiently explained his recommendations and made sure we understood the rationale. Some areas required open cell and others closed cell foam. He sent information to us via email in case we wanted to learn more about the science behind spray foam insulation. We felt totally comfortable after our discussions with him, which really set him apart from the others we interviewed. His crew showed up exactly when he said they would and they were polite, clean cut men who took great care with our house. John worked a good part of the job himself and, even though conditions in some areas had changed since he gave us his proposal, he adapted quickly and good-naturedly to these, even spraying an entire area we had not asked him to free of charge. The crew scraped all the wall surfaces down to make drywall installation go properly, and they cleaned up the house so it was immaculate before they left. I wish every trade we hired on this project was as friendly, efficient, and professional in their work.