Dr. Energy Saver a Blackdog Affiliate

Buyer beware! I have reported to both BBB and Attorney General as they should no longer be in business. I have waited to tell my story since being in litigation with Blackdog Builders (Dr. Energy Saver). I hope my story will save another homeowner from the damage that Blackdog Builders has caused. Joe Marino (sales rep for Dr. Energy Saver) came to my home to discuss the services of Dr. Energy Saver. Joe knew I had mold in the crawlspace of my home (it tested for aspergillus/penicillum). Joe explained to me that Dr. Energy Saver could remediate the mold in the crawlspace for significantly less money than what I was planning on spending with a remediation company in addition to conditioning the crawlspace. He told me about the Mold Control Solution they use and went over the different components of the encapsulation materials and process. Joe never explained that Dr. Energy Saver was not a licensed remediation company and that they do not have the proper hepa filters to run or proper containment requirements to remove moldy building materials (i.e moldy fiberglass insulation). Had Joe been upfront and truthful with me, I would have entertained the idea of using Dr. Energy Saver for the encapsulation of the basement crawlspace AFTER remediation was completed by a professional remediation company. I felt forced and pressured to move forward with Dr. Energy Saver because it was so much more cost effective. I was intentionally mis-led as a single woman homeowner and feel I was taken advantage of. On the day the work was scheduled to begin, Danny and partner (do not have his name) from Dr. Energy Saver arrived at my home. Shortly after they began working in my home (they were in the basement) I started to not feel well. I could see them carrying fiberglass insulation upstairs and through the house out to their truck where they were putting it in big black plastic bags. Danny showed me pictures of the moldy fiberglass insulation along with the mold he found on the beams in the crawlspace. I then smelled bleach and asked Danny what chemical he was using. He had me come outside because at this point I could no longer stay in my house and he showed me the bottle of Mold X-2 which contained bleach and Thyme oil. I told him that the product that Joe told me about didn’t have bleach and Danny told me that this is what was given to him. Apparently due to finding and treating the mold with Mold X-2 I was given a change order for an additional $500. This was never explained to me by Joe when he discussed the scope of work at my home. The removal of the moldy building materials caused mold spores to be released in my home thus causing me to become very sick. When I refused to pay the $500 change order and the remainder of the bill, I received an email from General Manager Ken Paquin. I received continuous threatening emails with small claims court action if I did not pay the remainder of my bill. Needless to say, Blackdog Builders took no responsibility for the contamination of my home stating that they never told me they were a remediation company. I have endured more pain and suffering since hiring Dr. Energy Saver. My health suffered tremendously and as a result I had to uproot my life and move from my home. It took me months to finish cleaning and getting my house in a position to be a rentable property. I have spent thousands of dollars to fix the mistakes Dr. Energy Saver made. The tactics used by this company will only continue to harm homeowners. As I have stated all along, if Joe Marino of Dr. Energy Savers had explained to me clearly that they were not a remediation company and did not follow proper protocols to remove moldy building material, I would have continued to move forward with a professional remediation company. I would have then engaged Dr. Energy Saver for the encapsulation of the crawl space. Not only was I misled, but I was completely taken advantage of. I only wish Dr. Energy Saver had been truthful and forthcoming and made recommendations that were in my best interest. Buyer Beware

Dr. Energy Saver of NH was recommended to me by a cellulose manufacturer. I had them come and put insulation in some of the exterior walls as well as in the attic. In the attic, they removed the fiberglass insulation that had been there since the house was built in 1962 and replaced it with cellulose insulation. 18 months later, the attic is a disaster in need of remediation. It seems that they blocked the soffit vents and, most likely, did a poor job of sealing entry points that would allow heat to exit the house into the attic. I will know for sure once the forensic analysis is done. The temperature in the attic is 15-20 degrees warmer than the outside temperature and the humidity level is around 70%. The entire attic is wet from the rafters onto the floor. The uncovered cellulose insulation is also wet. Mold has appeared. The insurance company has refused to pay arguing that Dr. Energy Saver is to blame. They were very unhappy that Dr. Energy Saver failed to pull a permit from the town (I didn't know one was needed). They cost a fortune and made a mess. I am likely looking at over $20K in remediation work.

work done but not to the specifications of the salesman

Staff from the company were professional and took time to explain and give info about what they would be doing and why.  I have several complaints.  First, they needed to take out a bay type window and replaced it with two double hung windows.  The work took a few days.  On what was to be the last day of work, I went on my lunch hour to meet them at my house and pay them.  When I returned from work that evening I found the siding off the house near the new window.  The window was in, but there was about an inch of space around it - open to the outside.  There was no message from the workers.  I emailed and asked if they would be coming to fix the window and put the siding back on.  They did come the next day.  The president of the company said there was a bit of trouble getting the new window in and they did need to build around it.   

 A couple weeks later, the weather was quite windy and I noticed that about 1/4 of the slats of siding  up near the vent on the side of the house was flapping in the wind so hard that the vent itself with the insulation was being pulled out.  We called and two days later they came to fix this.  While we were pleased that they were so responsive, the quality of work was very disappointing, not to mention that had the siding come off, someone could have easily been injured. 

My third complaint, which in fairness I did not voice to the workers, was that there was little if any clean-up after the work.  Nails were found all over the driveway, insulation had fallen into new heat pumps we had just installed, and all of the things they needed to move in the basement were not  moved back and were covered with dust/insulation.  During the initial walk-through, they had agreed to do a couple of extra things not listed in the contract, including insulating behind the trim on kitchen door and closing a large hole on the closet ceiling on the 2nd floor.  Neither of these were done, despite a reminder mid-way through their work.  They also scratched a hardwood floor that had recently been refinished.  When it was pointed out, they did try to buff out the scratches, with only fair results.  We chose this company, because of the convenience of having the workers being part of the same company who did the audit.  The hope was that not only would it be more convenient for us, but that the quality of work would be higher, because they were not sub-contractors.