Simply Smart Insulation

Simply Smart did a great job with my attic and crawl space insulation. My house is much more comfortable now, especially during all the severe cold weather we had. I’m looking forward to seeing the effect on my heating bills too. It was easy to schedule an appointment with Simply Smart. The sales person inspected the attic area and gave a proposal at the same time. Simply Smart was able to schedule the installation with my schedule in mind. There was some work that couldn’t be estimated until the installer looked at it, but Simply Smart gave me a fair price for the extra work. I am very pleased with the installer’s work. They were very professional and polite. It is apparent that they had done similar work on similar houses in the past. I appreciate how quickly the work was done, their care of my property, and the clean-up too.

When we bought our house a year ago, the inspector suggested we add quite a bit of insulation to the existing R9 value in the attic. That was a year ago and we should have listened. Our heating/cooling bills have been way too high, so we decided to get estimates on getting the work done. We called multiple companies, but of them all, only Russ of Simply Smart took the time to take actual measurements, opened the attic hatch to look inside the attic and explain to my wife what work was to be done. He provided the estimate that night, and was extremely competitive - so much less than other quotes we received that I initially questioned it. I spoke with Russ myself to clarify a few things, and he was very responsive and helpful as we made our decision to have Simply Smart do the work. On the morning the work was to be performed, there was quite a bit of snow falling, but the crew (of 2) was still here at the agreed upon time - actually a bit early. The first worker to come in said he was from a different company (Tri State) and the truck was for a 3rd company (B and F) so I was a little concerned. Had this been any other work, I probably would have made a call but I figured insulation is insulation. It is worth nothing though, because if you aren't comfortable with work being subbed out, I'd be sure to ask for clarification and specifics in the beginning (lesson learned for me). The job was done by 3 guys, including the supervisor and took a total of about 3 hours from arrival to clean up. The initial estimate called for me to cut out access panels, but when I called Bill the day before to confirm the appointment, I told him I hadn't been able to - he told me not to worry and his crew would take care of it. The initial worker who came in to look around was not happy when I told him that we agreed to have them cut the holes, and made that clear for about the first 30 minutes. It was also mentioned later on as and quot;not being on the list.and quot; I understand that it wasn't in the initial scope of work, but we're all asked sometimes to step outside of the our normal scope to do something we weren't expecting to. I appreciate that they did the work - even though he wasn't happy about it, he made some pretty clean cuts that have been easy for me to tape and compound back together without having to buy new sheet rock. (Hence the B for professionalism - but it didn't ruin the overall experience). I would recommend Simply Smart Insulation.

I learned of Simply Smart Insulation's services through a mailbox flyer, and asked to meet with the owner to determine if their services would meet my needs at our new home. Russ Dorrycott made a very professional presentation and was obviously very familiar with his trade. He quoted an upgrade to our existing insulation in the main roof and for new insulation and air sealing over our garage. His pricing was very reasonable and included a special materials price because the work was being done in the summer. They arrived punctually on the agreed day for installation, and completed the work efficiently and cleaned up well. Our home has been very comfortable through both the winter and summer seasons, and our utility bills are very reasonable. I feel that upgrading the insulation was a smart move and choosing this company was the right decision. I would recommend them to anyone who wants to make their home more thermally efficient.

Mr. Dorycott, Simply Insulation, came one evening to give an estimate. I made the reservation on his website after dinner one evening, and he called me the next day to confirm. The estimate seemed reasonable. He suggested installing and quot;battand quot; insulation as a fence and blowing insulation beyond it. The batt insulation could be removed from walkway access paths to service the air conditioning handler in the attic and replaced when service was completed. Additionally, he stated that every space between the roof joists would have vent panels installed approximately 3 feet up from the roofs intersection with the exterior overhang to ensure overhang vents would not be blocked. When I told him that the overhang only had external vents several feet apart, he said, and quot;What if you decide to add more overhang vents?and quot; Basically, installing them later would likely incur significant cost. I greatly appreciated his opinion and interest in saving me money in the long run. He paid a lot of attention to recessed lighting, and explained that the installers would install metal tubes around them because the insulation needs to be kept away from the lights. On the day of installation, two men came, applied plastic sheeting to the path from the door to the attic access, one person manned the truck and the other worked in the attic, with a hose the size of a dryer vent carrying the insulation. I had opportunity to speak with both of them, and they were nice people. Overall, I had a great experience. I cannot speak to the savings in energy costs, as I had not paid a single bill before the work was done. I am originally a and quot;Cheesehead,and quot; where energy costs in the winter can be as extreme as the weather, and I was appalled that the people who owned the house had spent considerable money on cosmetics, but did not insulate--weird. I can honestly state that following the few accumulating snow showers that we have experienced thus far, we are the last house on the block with snow on our roof, which is an indication of the home's insulation holding the heat in the living space, rather than letting the heat out through the attic.

I had Russ come in for a fee estimate. He took his time to answer any questions I had and offered several suggestions on air sealing the attic. He even went into my crawl space and made suggestions on sealing it. I was going to do the air sealing myself and Russ was aware of that so it was not business he was going to get but still helped me do it correctly. Because of his attention to detail I choose Simply Smart over to big name competitors. I was able to complete all air sealing myself with the exception two showers which I found to have little insulation between the attic and conditioned air escaping. The shower was at the eve of the roof and not easy for me to reach. I asked Russ to add that to the project. The installers arrived on time. We went through both attics and confirmed what was to be done. Once they got started they would let me know once completed with each phase so I could verify it was to my satisfaction. I have to say the job with sealing the two showers was beyond my expectations. After blowing the insulation and having me verify I was still happy which I was they cleaned what little mess they had. Last night temps were in the teens with wind. This was the first time it was this cold when my heat pump did not run constantly so I am certain this investment was well worth it.