RetroFoam of East Tennessee

I highly recommend Retrofoam; it works. If you have an older home and need to get it insulated, you have two options. 1. Remove the walls and add insulation. 2. Retrofoam We chose retro foam and are very pleased with our decision. Pros: Our home gets warm faster. Our home remains warm longer. Rooms that were once colder than others are the same temperature as the rest of the house. Wind drafts through the house eliminated. Wind drafts around windows eliminated. Outside noise, reduced significantly, I mean reduced by a lot. We can now sleep with no white noise. Amazing. Overall improvement on the quality of living, physically and audibly. Cons: The inside install is messy. (These guys try hard to minimize the mess) Outside install was much less hassle and messy. (The installers do a great job cleaning up their work area.) How It Works Retrofoam is mixed from powder and water. It has a similar consistency to shaving foam from a can. It is pumped into a void or cavity inside your wall, making its way around wires, plumbing, and other obstacles in the wall. It hardens and maintains its form and placement—the tiny air bubbles in the foam help create the insulating properties. It has a low odor when installed and is non-existent after a few days. Our Story Our house was built in the 1950s with no insulation. Our brick home was constructed with hollow walls and void cavities around all of the windows. Twice windows have been replaced, once to replace the original single-pane windows and the second time to replace some storm damaged windows. Each time the windows were replaced, no insulation was installed around the window frames, allowing wind to get into the home. Combining that with the hollow walls added years of expensive utility bills and uncomfortable living space. The house temperature was so unevenly controlled, we needed to wear jackets in one area and t-shirts in the next room. We are now remodeling our home. We need a way to insulate without removing all of the inside walls. After doing research, I found Retrofoam as an option. After meeting with Mr. Eddie Sanford, I quickly decided to install the Retrofoam in my house. Eddie made the process easy to understand and helped us devise a plan to prepare for the installation. Eddie's comprehensive strategy was quickly put into motion, and the process began. Our Retrofoam project included all of the exterior walls of the upstairs living space. Mostly brick with hollow walls and old school plaster walls inside. One smaller area, 10' x 6', was constructed of block and was filled with Retrofoam upstairs and downstairs. About 1/2 of the house was accessed from the inside and the other from the outside. The outdoor installation was much more manageable and cleaner for me as the homeowner. However, not all sections of the house could be accessed from the outside. When the installation crew arrived, Robert, George, and Brandon walked through my home. Robert discussed the approach and how the installation would proceed. Before beginning, they covered most everything with plastic and began drilling holes for the installation. The holes drilled into the inside walls are 2.5 inches allowing the large diameter hose to easily access the cavity. Holes from the outside are about the size of a dime. In our case, the outside holes were made through the mortar joints. The foam is pumped into the outer holes using a brass fitting and higher pressure to fill the cavities. After completion, the outside holes were plugged using mortar and drywall compound for the interior. After the foam was mixed, they brought in the hose and installation apparatus. The hose was inserted into a 2.5" hole in the inside wall. The foam was sprayed into each cavity between the studs. Working the foam into the wall cavity from the bottom up and then from the top down. During the installation, the foam can be heard filling the hole. The installation took roughly three days. The installation crew was courteous, careful, extremely knowledgeable, trustworthy, humorous at times, and professional. Even with the typical mess that comes with construction projects, I truly enjoyed the crew's company. I found their work ethic to be top-notch. Upon completing the job, the crew chief Robert did a thorough inspection and cleanup then asked if I was satisfied. After the install, we noticed an immediate reduction in the outside road noise from passing traffic. So much reduction that we no longer use a fan for white noise in our bedroom at night. We also noticed that our house would hold heat much longer. The first night we set the heat to 62 before bed. The room temp was around 68 degrees; by morning, the temp was still 64, and the heat had not kicked on all night long. This is so uncommon; typically, the heat kicks on several times through the night. The two other areas we noticed immediately were the upstairs laundry room and downstairs bathroom. In the past, both rooms were noticeably colder than the rest of the house, requiring the use of small heaters. Now both rooms are the same temperature as the other rooms in the home. We are delighted with our decision to install the Retrofoam, and I am confident you will be too.

Bonus room, where we have our office and spend a great deal of time, was very hot in the summer. Summer is over, but after the new insulation was done, winter temps, which I'm sure would have been cold based on summer experience, and just about the same as the rest of the house. Clearly the insulation made a big difference. They are easy to do business with, honest, and know what they're doing.

Received proposal, subsequent to several phone conversations for informational purposes, I accepted the proposal. Owner made contact with me after acceptance and indicated they would do the work but would not necessarily complete it for the proposed price and preferred not to do job, Seemed to me they don't have the experience to complete an estimate. He was polite but left me scratching my head?

It went great. The home is now very quiet and I can definitely tell a difference with how often my HVAC system is running and I've had to adjust the temperature accordingly.

Work went smoothly . It did take a half day longer than anticipated , but was no issue.

I recently used Retrofoam of East TN and I am really pleased. The crew did a great job; they were professional, timely and cleaned up well—and matched the mortar perfectly! I can already tell a major difference in my house; for the first time, my house is actually warm and cozy instead of cool and drafty! I am sure that this insulation will help me save on my utility bills! Thanks you Retrofoam of East TN!

We have a very good experience with Martin and his crew. We are very happy.

JOB WENT WELL, GREAT GROUP OF GUYS TO WORK WITH, WILL HAVE THEM BACK AT THE NEXT OLD HOUSE RESTORATION.

Wonderful! Martin and his crew were hard workers and want the job done correctly. The experience was great! Thanks Retrofoam!

Retrofoam of East TN insulated the top level of my split foyer as well as the rim joist in my basement area. Eddie explained the process and checked in several times while the guys were doing the work. It's clear that he really cares about customer service and the new insulation is making a huge difference. My HVAC simply couldn't keep up with these 98+ degree days. Set at 71 degrees, the house would easily reach 76. Now that Retrofoam has done their magic, the house is staying a nice comfy 71. Great job guys!

Great! Completed in two days! We noticed a difference from day one. Outside noise was reduced considerably. We love it!

We have a late 1920's construction house that has always been loud and expensive to heat/cool. We saw immediate improvements in reduction of street noise, and we can already tell that our A/C unit is working less to maintain a comfortable temperature in our home. Also, there was minimal inconvenience in the process. We would HIGHLY recommend this product/service to anyone with similar concerns!

The guys are actually spackling the drill holes now. So far so good. I am glad that I will have insulation around the perimeter of the house. Im sure it will help with the utility bills to have insulation. I just have to paint and touch up. Happy customer. I am so happy I don't have to treat off drywall. The foam is a better insulator.

They did an excellent job. Our house was a challenge because we had aluminum siding that they had to remove first in order to get at our original wood siding. They were very careful throughout the whole process, and the finished product showed no sign that they had even been there. The effect of the new insulation was immediate. It was a colder night and we didn't have to turn on our heat. The house retained all the heat. It was pretty incredible. Totally worth the money, and we're watching the huge savings by the month.

Service before the sale was educational, thorough, and engendered confidence in me that the job would be well done. All my questions were answered and I learned about the e-score program, which should allow me to get energy saving rebates for the work. During the job, the guys were on time, worked hard, addressed any issues that came up with me prior to making decision and they were very efficient. After the job, there was tremendous follow up to ensure all was to my liking. They completely replaced siding where minor and expected damage occurred, they came and checked on the finished job, and despite the messiness of the job, my house and yard looked as if they had never been there. Really good cleanup job. Eddie Sanford gets an A+ in my book. I'll be a returning customer for other work he does.

They provided excellent service. They left the job site clean and there was nothing disapointing about the service.

This company is extremely customer focused - starting at the initial phone conversations to follow up after the work was completed. The owner reached out and made sure he covered any concern or question I had, went out of his way to schedule the work to coordinate with our schedule and provided a very professional team that did the work. Everyone on the team paid attention, were genuinely kind and I felt comfortable having them in our home. They were very clean with the work they performed and walked me through multiple question/answer situations, as we were curious how the entire process worked. Adding the foam has made a huge difference. We initially did it to help with sound, but I'm certain I'll notice it helps with the bills in the long run. I would definitely recommend the product and the team.

It was really good. The guy was really, really nice. He came and he was very informative. They did exactly what they said they were going to do and they cleaned up. It was a good experience overall.

Rodger from retro foam came to our house on sat 3/21. He thoroughly explained the whole process and allowed us to ask questions. Once our questions were answered, he quoted us a price which fit our budget. The only issue we had was the scheduling. There was a miscommunication between Rodger's partner Eddie, so we were not sure if our install date of the 26th was happening until the day of. Other than that, very professional job and the noise level from the tv and the washing machine are barely audible!!

Eddie was quick to give me an estimate and even spoke highly of his competitor. I'd hire him in a second.

Excellent job, well done! Cleaned up after the job. Very friendly and knowledgeable. They were early too. That's a bonus in my book. I had received an email quote before Christmas and they stood by the quote into my install date of 3/21. I would recommend them for this kind of job. It was complete coverage of at least 6 in and possibly more of insulation. They even covered my heating unit .

Eddie's crew was extremely respectful and professional. There were times when I checked up on the work and was always treated with respect. They explained to me whatever I had a question about. Eddie came out and had them change the drill bit so it would not be as loud and my wall mounted TV would be more protected. They also came out several times to make sure the mortar replacement exactly matched the existing mortar. It looks excellent. Eddie is very persistent in contacting us to obtain the work. We are enjoying a much warmer home even though we had existing insulation in most of the walls (our home was built in 2005).

We bought our 1900 sf 1951 cottage-style home in 2012, and after last year's heating bills of over $400 in the winter (keeping the thermostat set at 62), we knew we had to do something to help with our energy costs. RetroFoam of East Tennessee did a fabulous job from start to finish. I was also pleased that the owner is also a licensed General Contractor (GES Custom Remodel)so he understood more about our home than just how to insulate it. He is very conscientious about the aesthetic result, as well, and is very creative in his approach. Our house now stays evenly heated in all of the rooms (as opposed to the back half of the house freezing all of the time), and we can keep the thermostat set much lower and stay much warmer. Not only has it helped keep our home warm, but it has saved us on our energy bills and also helped increase the value of our home, as it was re-appraised shortly after having RetroFoam complete their work. The workmen were very professional and courteous, and they did an excellent job prepping our home for the work and cleaning up afterwards. Due to weather conditions, the work was completed over two days so that the foam was installed during dry weather, but easily could have been completed in a single day. We also appreciated RetroFoam's willingness to squeeze us into their schedule to get our home completed before a cold snap was expected (the following day did not get above freezing!). Overall, very very pleased and have already recommended RetroFoam to friends and neighbors.

Mr Sanford was one of two contractors to come out and give us a bid for insulating the concrete block wall of our cabin. Mr. Sanford's bid was less than half the price of the competing bid which would have sprayed the foam on the outside of the concrete block walls and would require finishing to protect from weather exposure. Scheduling the installation was difficult due to our personal schedule requiring us to be away from the cabin. Mr. checked with us several times until we could get a mutually acceptable installation date. On the appointed date, his team of three workers got to our cabin about 10 AM with their installation equipment trailer and started to set up. They drilled holes in each vertical cavity (~ 1/2" holes about 8" apart) of the block wall and then proceeded to pump the water activated foam into each cavity around the four walls of the cabin. After each cavity was filled they plugged the holes with what appeared to be a cork and then caulked over the cork. The caulked spots are visible but not obtrusive; and will probably not be noticeable after the walls get painted. The work was completed and cleanup performed about 6 hours later. The work performed was professional and well done and interactions with the work crew were cordial and pleasant. Of note; the other bid was for "high density foam" which is supposed to provide more insulation value per inch (takes more dollars worth of chemicals to provide the higher density). RetroFoam is a water activated "low density" foam which may be lower in insulation value but in my opinion provided a much better cost value than the alternative high density foam proposal. BOTTOM LINE: A previously very hard to heat concrete block walled room is now easily heated and and the work was done in about 6 hours with no disruption to the room or exterior finish.

We called and had a few bids from other companies. The house has older, 1960's aluminum exterior siding. Another company was literally at the house 5 minutes, and the first thing the gentleman said upon entering was, "Well, you have this against you - you have siding." He spent another 2 minutes explaining why this was a problem and then promply left, saying he would email me a quote. Roger, from RetroFoam, came up with a solution: rather than the time and our expense at having the lower pieces of siding taken off and put back on, with the risk of bending old aluminum, he had a suggestion of drilling holes in the interior walls, both upstairs and downstairs. They plugged the holes everywhere and then did the appropriate drywall repair/ patch. We have only been in the house 8 months, and I told them I was going to paint anyway. 3 man crew: 2 men put down plastic everywhere, covering furniture as well, and moved all furniture away from the exterior walls, while the other man measured and drilled holes. Then, as the 2 men were filling each cavity with foam insulation, the 3rd man went behind patching drywall. They cleaned up all debris from the inside drilling, had a shop vac to take up anything that was left under the plastic sheeting, along the walls. All 3 gentlemen were professional, polite, and respectful. They started and finished in one day. That next evening, we had a small fire in the fireplace, about half the size of previous fires, and our living room was 74 degrees! We are located just outside of Knoxville, in a rural area. Our house sits up on a hill, with the entire length of the house facing north, so there is a constant breeze, which made the house extremely drafty & COLD this January. The drafts are gone, and the exterior walls no longer feel like ice. We had a new, energy-efficient heat pump furnace/a.c. installed in the summer of 2014, and it runs half as much as it used to ~ as the cold air no longer seeps into the rooms. We are very pleased!