LiveGreen Inc

3rd time is not the charm. The 3rd time we used LiveGreen was a complete disappointment. We used LiveGreen in the past for sealing our crawlspace in 2018. They did an amazing job. Had follow up by our sales rep/project manager Mark, the work was checked and double checked. Perfection. Called them again to have some blown in insulation removed from our attic. Again, perfection and no issues. Decided to use them a 3rd time to insulate our attic refinishing project and from start to finish, it was a disaster. The sales rep/project manager Matt (owners son) came out to estimate the project, again. He also told us where we needed framing around the duct work and furring out the ceiling beams for the insulation to fit properly. The price more than doubled from the initial quote we received in 2018 (I realize cost and materials change but that was insane). We still went with them but did standard batt insulation and not the sprayed insulation like we initially wanted. Upon our unprofessional and personal inspection of stage 1 of the completed work, it was our opinion that the 't-ply' backing on the framing and the spray foam "fireblock" in the holes and seams was a very sloppy job. Called the PM, sent photos and a crew was sent back out the morning of the town permit inspection to adjust the t-ply and spray foam where they missed (we had to point out every location that needed spray foam). We still failed the inspection due to missing framing (we were unaware of), mission spray foam "fireblock" as well as ceiling baffles on one entire side of the roof. We had to get our framers back out to frame locations we were unaware needed framing so the LiveGreen crew could spray foam "fireblock" and add baffles at the same time they came to install the batt insulation. We made sure to check their work throughout the day so nothing was missed but still had to point out every place they missed with spray foam. We asked about the baffles as the batt insulation was installed on top and we couldn't see them. They assured us the baffles were added in every location and even pulled down some insulation to show us. We still couldn't see them from the side the inspector would check so we asked our English/Spanish speaking contractor to ask and again we all were told the baffles were added, they were not so we had to make them go back and pull down insulation to add the baffles. We had to babysit this crew the entire time and had we not, we would have failed another inspection. The LiveGreen management was not concerned with any of our issues at all. No one came to check on the project during or after completion, not even when we had issues and specifically asked to have someone come check. We expressed concerns after the work was completed and asked for a new invoice minus the $85 re-inspection fee that we were initially told they would pay. Matt Blaise sent a snotty response to our concerned email addressed to management that basically said they didn't have enough people to manage or sit on every job site and it was our framers fault for failing the inspection, not theirs and to pay our invoice as agreed upon. We have nothing to use LiveGreen for anymore but if we did we wouldn't use them. We had spoken very highly of them for several years and referred customers to them, we will no longer do that and will make sure there are bad reviews about our latest experience, especially for their lack of responsibility, customer service and response.

Chris did a great job providing an estimate. He clearly explained the type of existing insulation I had, and why what LiveGreen would install was better and would greatly improve the R-factor. Within a few hours a I had a very reasonable quote in-hand and an installation scheduled for two days later. Alex and his mate did a fantastic job on the installation! They also explained everything they were doing and did a superb job cleaning up when they were done. I can already tell my A/C is running less often and can't wait to see the energy savings begin to roll-in.

The sump pump was installed incorrectly, which helped lead to my crawl space flooding and damage to a new HVAC system (air handler and furnace). The sump pump wasn't installed at the lowest point. The discharge for the pump was adjacent to the foundation. The discharge pipe was also too small based on outflow from the pump. Part of the reason that the location may have been bad was due to the fact that my existing HVAC electrical was used instead of a separate breaker. Which is great, because whenever the HVAC shuts off due to moisture (from a pump that can't handle heavy rains) it shuts off the sump pump. There was also supposed to be an interior drain, that is only partial - in some cases there's only gravel and no actual drain pipe. I'm not sure if this is a routine service that this company normally provides, outside of insulation and the like, but I would not recommend them.

I expected better prep on the ground.

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Encapsulation is the process of making your crawlspace more or less air- and moisture tight by covering the floor and walls with plastic, insulating the foundation walls, and removing the insulation in the floor joists. This is supposed to lower heating and cooling costs and control humidity/moisture in your house.
The company was easy to work with, responding to inquiries quickly and professionally, the crew was punctual and courteous, and much of the work was done well. However, two aspects of the job were sub-standard (as I know from talking to a friend who is a consultant on this type of work) - one they fixed, one they said I was mistaken. First, they did not seal the joint between the top of the foundation wall and the sill plate of the house framing; when I complained, they returned and immediately did the work. Second, instead of installing rigid foam-board (the same stuff they used to insulate the foundation walls) around the edge of the floor framing (the band joists etc), they simply stuffed fiberglass insulation batts into these areas. Although this does a decent job of thermal insulation, it does little to prevent moisture infiltration through these areas. When I brought this to their attention, I was told that it was unreasonable to expect rigid foam to be installed in these areas.
As far as results, the summer-time crawlspace humidity is much lower that it used to be, and I'm very pleased about that. I've also noticed a pretty substantial decrease in my winter-time heating costs. The improvement in cooling costs is less noticeable. I'd expected the opposite. Perhaps the biggest benefit is intangible - the dramatically lowered crawlspace humidity should be very good for the and quot;healthand quot; of the house construction. Another nice thing is that the crawlspace is a far better environment: the use of white plastic means that it feels very clean and bright down there, which makes it a far more pleasant place to go to do household maintenance chores and upgrades, and the removal of the floor insulation batts means that problems are far easier to detect (shortly after the work I saw that the connection to my refrigerator ice-maker was leaking, which I probably would have noticed much later if the batts were still in place, probably resulting is some sub-floor damage). I highly recommend doing this work to your house, but I believe that it could have been done better than LiveGreen did.

They did a great job.

They did a great job.

While we didn't have an urgent restoration requirement, we wanted to upgrade our home to new building standards after an annual inspection revealed damage to the insulation in our crawlspace. Investigating alternate solutions, we called our air conditioning company for their opinion on the sealed crawlspace option. They highly recommended that option and praised the method used by Roland Blaise from LiveGreen. We contacted Roland and were impressed with LiveGreen because their proposal covered wall insulation, high-quality floor lining, and conditioned air at a good price. The finished product shown on their website looked professional and the testimonials were good. One customer even offered to show his finished crawlspace to potential LiveGreen customers.

The project implementation was excellent. The friendly crew arrived on time and completed the project in 2 days. Roland and Morgan stopped in to ensure the job progressed as planned . They all took great care to minimize the impact to landscape plants, putting put down plastic sheets for the debris and removing all waste each day. We are very happy with the finished product. The crawlspace is as neat and clean as the photos on the website. We have hardwood floors and tile throughout the ground floor an they are considerably more comfortable now that the crawlspace is sealed. It is really a pleasure to deal with such a professional company.