Prudent Homes

Mr. Sampson came to home at appointed time on November 18, inspected both lower and upper attics, and provided detailed options for improving insulation. Cost estimate was provided on November 21, was accepted on November 22, and work was performed on November 24. Workers arrived on time, explained what they were going to do, had me inspect work upon completion and cleaned the work areas before leaving.

Very good experience. There were two trucks and two crews each specialized in a certain procedure. Originally, I was told the process would take two days but everything was done in one day -- much better. Considering how much of a mess it could have been, there was very little inconvenience as the crews were professional and cleaned up after the work. Hope to see some improvement in future energy bills.

The work went extremely well from beginning to end. This effort involved the upgrading of attic insulation for 35 residences within our condominium association. I was the organizer for the effort. Absolute Insulation Service arranged the scheduling with our 35 participants and completed the work in a timely and efficicient manner. Comments were overwhelmingly complimentary and the company was praised for its tidiness, its workmanship and its professional-like manners. We would highly recommend the company to anyone considering the addition of insulation to their home.

Excellent. The crew arrived on time, protected work areas, got the job finished quickly and well, and cleaned up after themselves. Couldn't ask for more.

If there was a "maybe" option for the question "Would you use this company/individual again in the future?" that's what I would check instead of "no." Absolute initially came out and did the work, which, not being professionals, we thought was done correctly. We had an energy audit, however, about a month later and the auditor, who checked out our attic informed us that they had not put enough insulation in to go up to R-55, that we probably didn't need R-55 in this climate (although it was only $86 to go from R-49 to 55), and that they had installed the insulation over our soffit vents, which was preventing the flow of air into the attic. There was some disagreement between our auditor and Absolute about whether or not we needed baffles to allow the air to get through the soffitts. Our auditor said yes, Absolute said no. Absolute came out and topped us up to R-55 at no extra charge (as they should have since we paid for it). They also added baffles for $250 more. The installers were very nice and courteous, repeatedly saying that they just wanted to make us happy. We gave them a B because they didn't do the job properly the first time and had to come out a second time to finish the job. They were also initially going to charge us about twice as much for the baffle installation before the installer convinced somebody in the main office to lower the price, which we appreciated (we wouldn't have paid the higher price). This and not telling us that we didn't necessarily need R-55 (thus making them a few more bucks) is the type of thing that always makes us wary, and we would probably try a different company in the future if we have any more insulation related needs, although we would still consider Absolute. Not a bad experience but one that could have gone much more smoothly.

They were very polite and they did a great job cleaning up after wards. They made sure they did not make any messes since we have a newborn and we were very happy with them.

Unlike other providers, Absolute also insulated my whole house fan and my attic pull-down stairs. They used a Battic cover for my stairs. They arrived on time and did a professional job.

Debbie was polite and professional when I called to schedule the estimate. David came out for the estimate as scheduled and was equally professional. I was concerned about the CC foam option since a) it's very expensive and; b) it meant completely sealing the attic (making it a semi-conditioned space). On the plus side, I would gain badly needed storage space and easy access for future renovations. Initially, the job was scheduled for two days - 1/2 day to remove the old insulation and 1 1/2 days to complete the spray foam. The week the job was to be done, Debbie called to inform me that the spray foam guy wasn't available for day two, but they would be able to do the job in a single day if they could start early and finish late. I was concerned about getting a rush jobm but she assured me it could be done. On day 1, they arrived as scheduled and removed all insulation from the attic and completely vacuumed the attic floor. Looked great - but it took them until about 1:30 PM. Then, the spray foam guy didn't show up until about 2:30pm. Uh oh. By the time he got started, it was past 3 PM and he wasn't able to finish. Okay - things happen. I called and Debbie arranged another day for them to come out the following week. That morning, the guy didn't show up until about noon. I was understandably upset and called asking to talk with David. Long story short - he made sure the job got done by coming to the house and personally supervising the work. I appreciated that. I also appreciated the fact that he did extra work by spraying cellulose in an area of the attic that he'd missed in his original estimate - WITHOUT CHARGING me! As for the work quality, I was disappointed that spraying the foam was such a messy process. Anyone that's seen Holmes on Homes would expect perfectly smooth application - it isn't. Tons of globs of foam fall from the sprayer as it's being applied and leaves an incredible mess on the attic floor. I'm not sure if that's common or if it's an issue with the installer. Given that it's an overhead application, I can see how it's probably some of both. Regardless, David made sure he and his guys scrapped every single joist in the entire attic and vacuumed it up afterward since he knew I'd be using the space for storage. There was a pretty bad smell in the house (fishy smell) for a couple of weeks after that too, but AIS left me their blower to ventilate the attic. At one point during the installation, that blower fell from the attic and put a hole in my bathroom door. When I told David about it, he offered to buy me a new door - class act! Since I'll be painting that hallway though, I told him not to worry about it. ARE MY ENERGY BILLS LOWER? NO - BUT, this summer has been one of the hottest on record and I'm reasonably sure that my bills would have been much higher had I not installed the insulation. I also have some drafty doors and my fireplace needs a new damper so until I solve those issues I won't know for sure. The main thing for me is not that some things went wrong with the schedule - it's how AIS handled it. David's coming out to make sure I was satisfied went a long way - a real pro. I would definitely recommend AIS for that reason alone.

It was an all-around excellent experience. First and foremost, it's a made a difference in the tempertature on our top floor -- it's actually tolerable now on hot days. But starting from the beginning, the folks at Absolute Insulation were friendly and professional at every stage. They came out to give us an estimate quickly, and their quote was the most competitive of all the other contractors we talked to. When we accepted their estimate, they booked a date for us two weeks out (quick!). Even though they did a lot of work, they were able to complete it in one day. They were also neat and clean. It's been a little over a month, and we've been spending a lot more time on that floor now. It's nice to reclaim that extra space.

An energy audit had identified this crawl space as needing better insulation. The room above was drafty in winter, and noticeably colder than the rest of the house. I got quotations from Absolute Insulation for spray foam, and from another company who proposed supplementing the existing fiberglass insulation and sealing over it with foam board. Surprisingly, Absolute's quote was about the same as the other company, and the spray foam seemed like a better quality solution. They were able to schedule me in a couple of weeks, and arrived on schedule. They took care to protect carpet and furniture from their equipment, and hauled all of the old insulation away. I was so enthralled with the job they did on the crawl space that I totally forgot that they were supposed to spray the band boards also - and so did they. When I realized this, I called the office, and they cheerfully rescheduled the crew to come back and finish the work. Two minor gripes - they replaced the ceiling tiles before the spray foam had set, and a little oozed out around the edges of the tile, but I was able to clean this up with a utility knife. Also, the truck damaged some landscaping as it backed out of my driveway. I notified the company, and they offered to pay for the damage, but I was able to repair it myself and decided not to bother.

Due to a mistake in scheduling, the appointment had to be rescheduled. Absolute called approx. 24 hours in advance and they seemed to go out of their way to ensure that I was still scheduled for the same day. David showed up 15 minutes early, and called ahead to make sure that was okay. He was professional through the entire inspection process, and did a very good job of explaining the differences in insulation and answering any questions that I had. He too a longer, and more in depth look at my attics, which made me feel better about any estimate he might give me. However, throughout the entire time he was in my house, he acted like he was in a hurry and needed to be someplace else. He then took my email address, and left saying that he would write up an estimate, and make sure it got emailed to me. He said I should expect it sometime that afternoon. Well, I never received an estimate from the company. I never called to inquire where the estimate was, as I feel it is the company's responsibility to ensure that the estimate gets to me. I don't feel that I should have to chase the company down for something that probably should have been done on-site. Regardless, I have decided to go with another contractor, simply because I never received an estimate from Absolute.

The man who came out to give the estimate was on time, very professional, neat, courteous and informative. I was glad to hear that they could fit me in the next week. The man who came out to remove the insulation was nice and did a quick job of removing the old fiber glass insulation and he did a good job of cleaning up. The next step was to have the foam insulation sprayed. The "Estimator" told me that I would be able to put a floor down on top of the foam once it was in place. I had understood that the foam would be even and at the very least I could put the old floor boards down. I received a message a day or two before the Installer was scheduled to come out, saying he had a family emergency in NC so we rescheduled the visit for the day after. No problem. I understand that things come up. The Installer was very friendly and fast, but when I looked at my attic afterwards, it looked like someone had projectile vomited all over the attic (sorry for the gross description, but I can't think of any other way to describe it) The foam was over the joists by several inches in some spots, making it impossible for me to put the old boards back down. When I mentioned to the Installer that the Estimator said I'd be able to put a floor down after they were done, he said, "Oh, you can. You just need to buy some 2x4s and lay them over the joists and then lay the boards across the 2x4s." This was an expense and additional project I hadn't counted on. Once I brought this to the attention of the home office, they apologized and scheduled him to come back and shave down the foam so it was even. He was suppose to arrive at 8:00am on Monday. By around 11am he hadn't shown up so I called the office and they thought he was already there. When the Installer did show up later, he said he hadn't gotten the message that he was suppose to be at the job that early. He did shave down the foam and cleaned up pretty well. One should know though, that the foam gets into everything. It even permeated the ventilation fans in my bathrooms, knocking one of them down. Long story short, but when I tried to put the ventilation fan back in the ceiling, it broke so now I have to hire an electrician to come fix that! I also noticed that an outlet pipe in the attic for the ventilation fan was crushed. To be fair, the pipe was already bent before the installation, but now it's completely crushed. After having the workmen out 3 times, I was tired of spending time waiting for them so I decided to let this problem go and hope that it isn't a big problem when I go to sell the house.

Estimator David and scheduler Debbie are responsive, informative, and reliable. They answered all my questions and worked closely with me until I the work was completed. A few problems came up along the way and were resolved to my satisfaction. Soon after I called, David came to look at my attic and provided a written estimate in two days. All of the work was done for the initial cost estimate. David provided informative web sites about closed cell foam insulation and Debbie answered my many questions in writing. They also provided the names of two recent customers who gave glowing references. The job was scheduled about a week after I decided to go ahead with the work. It was initially scheduled for two days, but took three. The workers were polite and kept my home very clean. However, the workers pushed a bathroom exhaust fan out of alignment, caused numerous nail pops in the ceiling, and damaged some furnace duct work in the attic. Two weeks later, Absolute Insulation sent a handyman who did an excellent job of re-seating the bathroom fan and repairing all the nail pops. It was two weeks after that when the insulation crew came and repaired the duct work - replacing a crushed duct and re-attaching two supply ducts that had been broken off the main trunk. In doing this repair, the workmen caused a few more nail pops that Absolute Insulation did not repair. Debbie said nail pops are common during insulation jobs and normally nail pop repair is the responsibility of the homeowner. The insulation is doing a good job of keeping the house relatively cool during this period of 90 degree weather.

I wish there was an option for an "A+", as I could not have been more happy about the work provided by Absolute Insulation. Absolute Insulation was very professional and knowledgeable about insulation. The final costs of the job came in slightly less than the estimate. The insulation was replaced over 2 days. The first day, they cleaned out the old formaldehyde-filled insulation with a giant vacuum cleaner. They ran the vacuum cleaner tube through a 2nd floor window, and there was no dust and dirt in our house after they were done. I had received estimates from other insulation companies that did not clean up the attic first, but just put new insulation on top of the old, dirty and ineffective insulation. So I was very happy that Absolute Insulation cleaned the attic. The second day, they put in the new insulation. We had opted for blow-in fiber glass (the materials used were environmentally certified). The insulation work took about 4 hours. They put an even cover in. There was no dust or dirt in the house when they were done. Moreover, they covered the attic opening, and back of the hatch, as well as the space around our all-house fan with insulation mats. Two weeks later, there has been no settling (e.g. shrinkage), and the insulation is working wonders in preventing the upstairs from getting hot in the summer. Due to the savings on cooling costs in the summer and heating costs in the winter, we estimated that the insulation work will pay for itself within 2 years. I had received estimates from two other insulation companies. Absolute Insulation was by far the superior. It was the cheapest, they cleaned out the old insulation, and they were not carrying dirty materials and bags through the house. They were also the only company that did not overestimate the square-footage of our house.

They are easy to book and have finished within a couple of hours. In addition they come back once more to put more insulation toward area where it was perhaps inadequate. Overall we got what we paid for and like to use them again and recommend them to other people!

They assured me that the new insulation would lower my heating bills. However, after the installation, my bills remained the same. When the gentleman returned, he said that more insulation would be necessary. If find the company to be dishonest, unclear about their practices, very expensive, and I do not recommend doing business with them.

Install went well- customer service (Debbie) at Absolute insulation is extremely well done. AA was responsive in answering our questions concerning spray foam insulation. We do seem to be experiencing a more comfortable house and reduced utility prices Some equipment issues (on AA's part) and changes (on my part) delayed our installation.

Easy to call up and make an appointment for consultation and an estimate. They were very effective in communicating via email. Debbie from the office was courteous and professional. She always promptly responded to my numerous email queries. Since I was new to closed-cell spray foam insulation, I naturally had a list of questions prior to signing up. Scheduling was done via phone, and it was without a delay. The job took two days. One day was dedicated to removal of old insulation, and this went without a hitch. I was glad to help out the crew to speed things up with removal of debris. On day two, for installation of closed-cell foam insulation, the main technician called to inform me that he was running late due to unexpected late arrival of the chemicals needed for the job. Even though the installation crew had a late start, they were able to finish the job by early evening. The crew was very careful not to create too much mess, and was also very cheerful throughout. The main technician, Andy, is very skilled at what he does, and he answered all of my questions without any hesitation. I gave B for price only because I ended up spending much more than I had initially budgeted. I did not know about the existence of closed-cell foam insulation until now, and now I am totally sold on spray foam insulation.

After getting through the winter with high gas bills in a new house, I wasn't looking forward to a summer with high electricity bills. After estimating the time and cost for me to blow in cellulose into my attic, I decided to call Absolute Insulation. Dave came out and checked out the main attic and the crawl space above the garage. He gave me several different options in the estimate and let me pick and choose what I wanted to get done. I scheduled a time with Debbie and the installers showed up promptly (15 min early actually!). They started in the main attic with blown cellulose and increased to R55. They then blew cellulose into the ceiling above the garage and patched up the holes. A second crew came out to use the spray foam inside the walls of 2 BRs that got very cold in the winter. They then crawled up into the attic above the garage and sealed off one wall and a dormer. The installation was quick and done right. It already feels less drafty and as a side benefit there's less street noise. My only issue was that the styrofoam seals used to patch the BR walls still show after an additional patch, sand, and paint.

Better than expected. Dave ran into a few problems due to the lack of head room in our attic, but was able to work around this. We ended up needing to add more insulation than expected because Dave identified additional areas that were lacking insulation, so this raised the price above the estimate, but I don;t think there was any way he could have found those areas during his estimate visit. Very pleased over all. Our electricity bills have dropped by an average of 50% since the job was completed, so the work should pay for itself after just 14 months. Also, we didn't have a single icicle during the blizzards, while the neighbors' homes were covered in them, which I guess indicates that no heat was escaping.

Called Absolute and spoke with Debbie who scheduled David to come out and provide an estimate. David showed up on time and provided great advice and thoughts on how to best inusulate the attic and garage. The estimate showed up on time and I scheduled the job the next day. The two crews arrived(Andy) and laid drop cloths and proceeded to get to work. Very professional and easy to deal with. Had no issues and they finished the job on time!! So far it seems that the house is warmer... GREAT JOB!!!!

When they arrived, our street was covered with 28" of snow and there was only one lane plowed. The men had to shovel out a place to park the truck and then run a long pipe from the truck into the house. After doing this, they stapled rulers/markers in the areas to monitor the level of insulation. After blowing in the insulation, they put fiberglass batting around the access holes and along the outside edges of the house. We are happy with the results. Our house feels much cozier and our furnace seems to run less often.

From beginning to end my experience with this company was splendid. The lady who answered the phone, the man who came out to measure and prepare the estimate, and the team who actually did the work were all exemplary. They came when they said they would, they charged what they said they would, and they did exactly what they promised they would. There is a lovely friendliness combined with competent professionalism about this company. I am a very happy customer.

Got the estimate over the phone after a trip to the crawlspace to measure. David gave me precise instructions on how to measure, specific prices of services, and gave me a lot of general information about R ratings, etc. They followed up the estimate with an email confirming the scheduled service and web links to more information about insulation and energy efficiency. I had to wait a couple of weeks before they could come (Fall is busy in the insulation business) and they came promptly on the scheduled morning. The two installers were very pleasant and professional and got the job done while I was at work. They left me a sticky note on my front door, though, that got blown away by the wind to explain a problem they found and the reason they didn't complete putting the poly sheeting down which I didn't discover until a week later when I went in to check the job. When I called about the 'missing piece' the office person was very nice and found out what had happened promptly. They plan on returning to complete the job but require a solid week of dry weather to do it (which we still haven't had!). Everyone was a pleasure to work with. The only problem I had was that they communicated a concern to me via a sticky note and didn't follow up with me afterwards via phone to make sure I had gotten the information.

I bought a 1955 brick ranch in Alexandria in the winter of 2009 with very little insulation. I quickly realized that I needed to upgrade the inch or three of batting that I had in the attic. When I called Absolute, they were very friendly, helpful and knowledgable about thier product (I ask lots of questions). We easily scheduled the work, and the crew actually showed up about ten minutes early. The estimate was spot on too. I have no means of comparison with which to grade the quality of their product (this is my first home, and I have no idea what the heat bills were like last year), but the service was great. In and out in approximately 20 minutes.