Nathan came and did a complete energy audit on our home with a special device that pulled air into the house. He then used an infra-red imaging device to see where the major leaks were. He was very thorough and explained what was happening every step of the way. I suggest that the homeowner be present during this test so that Nathan can explain what he is seeing and why. You can then discuss his recommendations. He will also write up a report at additional charge but if you are there during the audit I do not believe you need the report.
Once he has a tentative agreement with you he will write up and invoice describing the work to be done. You can then review that with him and order the work. We paid nothing to him until about 50% of the work was done and paid the balance at completion.
Start to finish everything went very smoothly. Nathan knows his business, is very thorough, explains what he is doing, what he is seeing and what his recommendations are every step of the way. He explained the various options for rectifying the shortcomings he saw in the home. This ranged from doing nothing to very significant upgrades in several areas of the home. Within a week we had a work order that described everything that we had discussed. Within another week he was in the house and getting started. Nathan is a meticulous worker.
He is polite to a fault, likes dogs (a good thing as we have two), and was always here when he said he was going to be here. He arranged another sub to do some spray in insulation, researched insulated lighting for our complex computerized lighting system. He also coordinated work with our electrician as well as our lighting contractor. Nathan spent probably a total of 6 full days in our home. He is a fine carpenter and he and his helper removed an entire ceiling in our porch, removed speakers, lighting, insulation. Supervised spray in insulation, the replacement of 8 low voltage lights with insulated versions, and worked with lighting and our electrician to get all re-installed. He then replaced the ceiling and other than some touch up paint necessary, the ceiling looks like it had never been touched. Great and meticulous work. He also saved the material from the ceiling and re-installed, numbering each grooved pine board so that he could re-install in the same order. Most contractors would not have bothered and would have installed new boards. I estimate that he saved us a couple of hundred dollars by doing this -- never mind the waste going into the landfill.
He had a spray foam subcontractor enclose two attic spaces so that there was no outside air infiltrating into the attic space any longer. He also sourced and replace 12 ceiling spots in the great room, office, and master bedroom that were leaking air badly. They were replaced with insulated and sealed LED fixtures that will prevent air leakage in the future. Our house is much "tighter" now with all of this work. We wanted a more comfortable home -- less drafts, less dust entering from outside through poorly insulated fixtures that carry air from the outside into the home. Got dust? Get all lighting fixtures sealed properly. This is not typically done in anything other than new construction and may not be done even in new construction. Dust enters the home through leaks in the insulation. We expect much less dust as a result of the installation of new insulated and sealed lighting fixtures. The floor to our living room above the porch space where he remove the ceiling and re-worked the insulation and lighting is no longer cold -- that had been a major winter problem.
I would very highly recommend Nathan without hesitation. He runs his business as I wish everyone would. I did not seek bids on any of the work that he performed instead trusting his knowledge of his subcontractors and his recommendations for work. I am satisfied that I got my money's worth on this job. I wish Nathan good luck in the future as his company grows.
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