Spray Foam Insulation in Portland, ME
Portland has some of the oldest housing stock we work in, and almost none of it was built to hold heat.
We are based in Denmark, an hour or so northwest, and we have been coming down to Portland for as long as we have been spraying foam. The work here is different from the lake country we live in. Fewer camps, fewer barns, far more houses that have stood through a hundred and twenty winters with whatever insulation was cheapest at the time stuffed into them. Those houses are worth fixing, and foam is usually the only thing that will reach the places the heat is actually leaving from.
The houses we meet in Portland
Much of the peninsula and the neighborhoods around it is wood frame from the late 1800s and early 1900s. That means balloon framing, where the stud cavities run uninterrupted from the sill all the way to the attic, so a basement draft arrives upstairs without stopping. It means plaster on lath rather than drywall, knee walls behind the bedrooms on the top floor, and dormers added later with almost nothing in the cheeks. It also means shared walls and tight lots, which changes how we stage a job but not what the job needs.
Getting to Portland. We come down Route 302 through Naples, Windham and Westbrook, which is the same road we take to half the towns on our list. Parking a rig on a narrow city street takes more planning than a rural driveway does, so we will talk through access and timing before the day rather than turn up and find out.
Working in Portland
The thing we end up explaining most in Portland is that the attic is not where the story ends. Seal a balloon-framed attic properly and the draft simply finds the next route, usually the basement band joist. On a house like that we look at the whole shell before quoting anything, because doing one end well and leaving the other open buys you far less than the arithmetic suggests. If the house is a two or three unit, which many here are, we will also talk about what happens at the floor between units.
What a job costs depends on the space and the depth it needs, and we would rather show you the arithmetic than quote a number down the phone. Here is how we price it.
The Jobs That Come Up Most in Portland
Attic Insulation
The biggest single comfort win in most older houses up here, and usually where the heat you are paying for is escaping.
Closed-Cell vs Open-Cell
Which one your job actually wants, and why. Closed-cell for moisture and strength, open-cell for coverage and value.
Ice Dam Prevention
Ice dams are a heat problem, not a gutter problem. Seal the ceiling and the roof stays cold enough that the dam has nothing to form from.
Where Portland sits on our map
Portland is in Cumberland County, and we are out this way regularly. We also work in Scarborough, Gorham and Windham. Not on the list? Call anyway - we travel for the right job.
Portland Questions We Get Asked
Do you actually come down to Portland, or is that just a page?
We are in Portland regularly. The run down Route 302 through Windham and Westbrook is one we make most weeks, so a Portland job is not a special trip we have to price a long drive into. Call and ask what we have coming up.
Our Portland house is balloon framed. Does that change the job?
It changes where we start. In a balloon-framed Portland house the stud cavities run from the sill to the attic without a break, so a basement draft arrives on the top floor without stopping. Sealing only the attic sends the air somewhere else rather than stopping it.
Can you work on a Portland two or three unit with tenants in it?
Usually yes, though it takes more planning than an empty house. We will want to talk about access, parking and which units are occupied before the day rather than turn up and work it out. Doing several Portland units in one visit is normally cheaper than returning three times.
Get a Real Number for Your Portland Job
(207) 452-2930Call and talk to us. If you would rather write it down, use the form and we will call you back. Mon-Fri 7am-5pm.