Frank's Dr. Energy Saver

unknown

The work started Nov 11th. Employees were very neat and friendly. They cleaned up well and to my surprise finished a day early. I was just getting home from work as they were finishing up. Before letting them leave, I went over the contract with them to ensure all work was done. They assured me the work had been completed according to the contract.

After they left, I went outside to look at the new roof vents. I had one new vent when I had expected two. I immediately contacted Frank's Dr Energy and was told it must have been overlooked - the work was schedule.

I began investigating further to ensure everything was completed. I discovered two recessed lights and one ceiling light not air sealed (by pulling them down from the ceiling), only 8 inches of cellulose (both measures they used started below the fiberglass batts that I already had so it appeared to measure 12 inches), dryer vent wasn't air sealed (cellulose was coming out around the pipe), and the attic hatch had only 1 inch of foam. Once again, I contacted them and the work was scheduled to be done.

The crew came back out Nov 27th. They crew wasn't sent with the correct equipment so could not complete the job. They were able to place the roof vent and connect it. In the process, they damaged my closet walls trying to reinstall the shelving. As far as the roof vent, an amateur could have done a better job. The new vent appeared like it had previously been stepped on and an entire tube of white caulk (on a brown roof) was used to seal it. I immediately contacted Dr Energy and sent pictures. Once again, I was assured it would be corrected. I insisted they pay a roofer to correct the vent issue and replace any damaged shingles. They agreed - a roofer came out on Dec 9th and corrected the issue.

The remainder of the corrections were scheduled for Dec 17th - apparently sick calls caused them to cancel. It was rescheduled for Dec 21st. In addition to completing the job, I wanted Dr Energy to prove to me that all air sealing was done by doing a blower door test. They insisted that using thermal imaging to look at the ceiling would identify any air leaks. Once the work was completed, I verified verbally one by one that each of the issues had been corrected. I was shown on thermal imaging that there were no issues (based on my research he essentially showed me that the ceiling was hot - it should be since it's in the heated space. This tells me nothing about air leaks).

Still not comfortable, I insisted that a blower door test be done and continued to investigate. I pulled a light down and, despite verbally verifying that it was done during the last visit, it was not air sealed. I also identified that two bathroom fans had not been air sealed. The blower door test was done on dec 28. We found a major air leak from a recessed light (didn't show up with thermal imaging alone?). All identified problems were corrected at this time.

On Monday Jan 4th, I crawled up into the attic (it was the first really cold day we had) only to find frost all over the roof sheathing and obvious signs that one of the bathroom fan exhaust pipes was leaking. I got a crew out several hours later - they repaired the bath fan pipe and identified that my soffit vents were non functional (vinyl with perforations placed over plywood). On Jan 4th soffit vents were installed at no extra charge. I still had significant moisture and frost on Jan 8th. They came back out to redo the cellulose that had been disturbed and investigate the frost further. At this point, they told me the moisture issue was related to the ridge vent and that they had completed all contracted work. I now have a second company coming out to determine the actual cause.

During the entire process, I felt as though the customer service manager truly wanted a satisfied customer. At no point did the owner or himself claim the work was acceptable or completed according to the contract. However, I don't believe that employee training is adequate and unfortunately question the initial crews integrity. I have a difficult time understanding how the tape measure (in both places) could have been placed below the level of my old insulation without it being intentional. During several discussions about technical details, the answers I was given conflicted with what I had read over and over again on reliable references online (I am no expert but I have spent hours educating myself since this all started) - ex. Told that thermal imaging from the house would show air leaks without a blower door test, a blower door test would only show air leaks in walls and windows, and that attic moisture comes from outside and not from warm house air leaking into the attic.

I would not recommend using Franks Dr Energy. If you decide to use them, I would recommend educating yourself prior to signing the contract. If they recommend any new roof penetrations, hire a roofer to complete these. I would visual inspect each step and insist on seeing everything. Unfortunately for me, I had to work and my wife was home alone with young kids.

Positives: friendly, clean up workspace well, attempt to resolve issues
Negatives: lack attention to details, poor employee training, need to be watched very closely

It was excellent. I had no problems with them. They were wonderful.

Other than the fact that the work was delayed significantly (which could easily have been due to the red tape for doing subsidized work with the State's Empower program) these guys were fantastic. They were polite, kind, very efficient and very responsive.  They answered all my questions, helped figure out a work around when it turned out the work I wanted could not be done the way I wanted it done (for good reasons) and didn't charge me extra for it. They did wonderful work, and when some of it needed to be redone or wasn't completed on the first go-round, they returned and did the work again.
They ALWAYS put on shoe protectors in the house, explained everything they were doing and asked frequently about whether or not it was OK to make modifications.
I should clarify by saying that it is a house that was probably built in the '30s and has had multiple additions. What seemed possible at the outset, turned out not to be. They had to put holes in the drywall and holes in the ceiling of a closet. These were returned to paint ready condition -- and for the drywall sanding, a complete curtain of plastic was placed around the area so that the drywall dust didn't get into everything.
I was very impressed, and I've had a lot of work done on my home by several different contractors. From here on in, if Frank's can do it, they are the ones I am hiring!

The hardest part was receiving a call back as to when they would start. It took a couple of weeks. The gentlemen were extremely polite and even offered to come back to start the pilot light on my old furnace until they could install my new one. They came when expected, did what they were supposed to do and worked very hard.My only complaint was that they left some ash footsteps from my old furnace but that was not a big concern. The furnace came with a great guarantee (I forgot just what it was) I think at least ten years they will repair free of charge if anything goes wrong. Probably on the high end of the price scale but excellent workmanship and service. I would call them again.

They were here for eight days and then another half day. They did a great deal of work. I would highly recommend them, and in fact, we have already recommended them to someone.

It worked out pretty well.   Just the fact that we were able to get some things done with the energy efficiency.

They have been prompt and answered all my questions. The guy ran over my lawn as he was backing out.