Testimonials
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I really learned a great deal from being “hands-on” involved in the infrared and blower door testing. Very cool technology! The testing and excellent report has given us clear direction as to what needs to be done to improve the energy efficiency of our home. I was so impressed with the service and knowledge I had Craig oversee the construction of both an addition on my home and the building of my daughter home. He is my first call before doing anything with my home.
Thanks so much, - W.M. Thank you for our energy assessment and the great report. With what you taught me at your visit and from your report my husband was able to do many of the things you recommended we improve. The first thing we noticed is that the bedrooms are more comfortable and the heater is no longer coming on every 20 minutes. I very much enjoyed working with you and am recommending you to my friends. - Best Regards, Lissa I hired Craig to do an energy audit on my home. He arrived on time with an impressive array of equipment. He was very professional, thorough and generous with his time. I found it very useful to be involved in the process and everything was explained so I could understand it. He sent test results with a list of recommendations in an easy to understand written report. Some things I was able to do myself. Overall this has had a very positive impact with lower my energy bills. I have contacted him on several occasions for question regarding my home and gotten very useful information. I highly recommend this service. - Peg D. My wife and I hired Craig to consult on the building of our new home. We both wanted to build an energy efficient, well insulated, tight house that required a tremendous amount planning. The tolerances in order to build such a house are quite rigid and most builders and subcontractors were not accustomed to building such a house, making it difficult to navigate through this process. After doing considerable research I knew I needed a professional to help us. Craig came highly recommended by a subcontractor. Craig was consulting on a 'Passive House' for another couple, so I knew he was more than qualified. He ended up being the best part of our home building experience. He helped us find new energy products not yet standard, provided design details, worked with our contractors to avoid and correct mistakes and conducted inspections and various tests during the process. In addition he designed and commissioned a much needed energy recovery ventilations system to assure the best possible air quality in our home. We both cannot thank him enough and I highly recommend him to anyone who is looking for a professional with decades of experience and expertise in home building, consultation, home performance and testing. - John and Joanne Bell I recently purchased and undertook a complete remodel on the condo in Haverford, PA. Along with the remodeling, I want to achieve comfort, superior air quality and minimize energy costs. Craig from Building Diagnostic Services came highly recommended to me because of his extensive knowledge of building science and experience as a former design builder. The process began with a comprehensive inspection and preliminary testing. That uncovered soot in my HVAC system, mold in the master bedroom wall resulting from a leak and exhaust coming into my unit from the parking garage below along with a list of other concerns. A detailed to do list was generated in order to address my concerns and goals. In addition Craig provided specification for construction, HVAC and energy upgrades and was a great resource throughout the project. He made periodic visits to inspect the work, seeing that the builder and subs followed every detail outlined. As a professional women who is quite busy, it was comforting knowing that Craig was my extra set of eyes when I was not able to be there. He was truly 110 % committed to my project with a passion to see all my goals were fulfilled I highly recommend Craig and Building Diagnostic Services to anyone considering a building projects or trying to address any issues with their existing home. - Meridith G. We recently completed building a modest custom home, for which we engaged Craig to consult and provide testing services for the entire project. It was one of the best decisions we ever made. We wanted a well-built energy efficient home, but not to spend a fortune doing it. Craig provided guidance, expertise and knowledge through the design phase; assisted in the creating specs, evaluating the bids, finalizing the contract details and completing inspections and tests throughout the construction. I think by the time we were done, Craig had helped me become more knowledgeable about building science and energy efficiency then my builder or subs. My running joke was, I should bill the builder for all that Craig ended up teaching them. Anyone can just make a list of best recommendations, but Craig's experience and knowledge made it easy for us to determine the best return for the investments we made. He acted as a third set of eyes throughout the project, making sure specs were followed and best practices were actually being implemented. We had an excellent builder, but even the best have a hard time managing all their subs and keeping them on task with the details. It is amazing how even good subs cannot follow instructions or specs. Craig identified issues quickly and was able to explain and resolve them with the builder without excess drama. Craig's fees are reasonable and well worth it. I would recommend Building Diagnostic Services for any project large or small needing an energy or building science advisor and/or testing services. - Pete and Christine O. My wife and I designed and built the first single family Passivhaus in Pennsylvania and we couldn't have done it without the assistance of Craig. His commitment to our vision was evident throughout all of the stages of our construction. His insights enabled us to overcome our design flaws early on, especially important for PH construction. We can't recommend Craig, highly enough. All I can say is this, if you are working on a new construction, retrofit, or remediation, Craig and his company will be a valuable asset for you to see it through. - Bob & Lisa R. Thank you so much for coming out to my home and doing such a thorough energy assessment. The information I received will no doubt significantly reduce my energy bills. I had considered some highly advertised home improvements but after seeing your cost to benefit analysis, I realized it may take decades to recover the cost of some of these. I appreciate you taking the time to discuss materials how I could install them myself. This will add considerably to my savings. I chose Residential Energy Solutions over the other companies because of your knowledge and experience as a former builder and because you don’t sell any home improvements or products like many others do. Your report was excellent and continues to be my guide as I carry out improvements and plan for more major upgrades in the future. I highly recommend your services to anyone who is serious about reducing their energy bills. Sincerely, - William S. We can’t thank you enough for coming to evaluate our home. Our goal was for you to show us how to lower our energy bills. When you discovered through testing that we in fact had several open drains that were allowing sewer gases into our home along with the un-vented gas logs that had just been installed, we realized that our indoor air quality was seriously compromised. Being a very health conscious family this ended up being more important than the energy saving opportunities you found. Every time I think about it I am thankful for calling you. Most sincerely, - Chery I am very conscious of energy costs and want my home to be as energy efficient as possible. With winter approaching again I decided the only real way to see and understand where my heating and cooling dollars were going was to have a professional energy evaluation done. I began the search which led me to Residential Energy Solutions. I chose them for several reasons: The owner’s knowledge and background as a former builder, his credentials and the fact that he not a contractor or sales person. Craig’s knowledge was evident as he pointed out concerns. He methodically assessed my home from attic to basement, inside and out, taking nearly the whole day. He ran various tests, including Infrared pictures and discussed solutions. He never tried to sell me anything but instead sent me a report that explained all my options for reducing my utility bills. In addition he addressed several comfort issues we have been dealing with since we bought the home. At the end of the day I had the information I needed to improve our home energy efficiency and came away with a wealth of information and knowledge that far exceeded our expectations and what we paid. I highly recommend Residential Energy Solutions services Sincerely, - George Turbush As a side note: I mentioned a water leak that we have wrestled with for many years. Without hesitation Craig went into the crawlspace with his Infrared camera and some other equipment. He located the source of the leak and gave me a detailed material list and instructions on how to fix the problem. We invited Craig from Residential Energy Solutions to perform and energy audit of our 16 year old end unit townhouse after being told by others that our thermopane windows and insulation had failed. Craig literally spent the entire day at our home. He began outside and was all over the house from attic to basement and even made some interesting discoveries in the attached garage. He finished by pressure testing the house with a blower door and proceeded through the house room by room with an infrared camera pointing out areas of concern and making recommendation as to how they might be improved. A follow up to his on sight visit was a very detailed report ranking those improvements that would save us the most money for the cost. Subsequently he was available several times by both e-mail and phone to answer questions we had after receiving the report. Craig being a former builder was very helpful with the process of selecting the right contractor to do this home performance work. To date we have had a large portion of the recommended work done and already noticed a drastic improvement is some of the comfort problems and look forward to significant reductions in our energy bills. We feel good about the upgrade recommendation and have gotten more than we paid for. A truly great value! - Bill and Cheryl Pfeiffer |
Craig’s ability to identify, locate and document water and moisture problems in our buildings has been very impressive. He brings a wealth of knowledge to the table and is able to troubleshoot multiple types of building problems. Craig provides detailed reports in a timely manner.
I strongly recommend Building Diagnostic Services and will definitely continue to use their services in the future - Susan Grim, Senior Community Manager at Development Corporation MidAtlantic Building Diagnostic Services has been providing our energy testing and consulting services over the past 3 years. These have consisted of code-required testing and HERs ratings at our Paxson Park project in West Chester PA. We have come to appreciate Craig’s depth of knowledge and comprehension of residential construction means & methods; working with Craig we have applied energy performance enhancements to meet budget requirements while achieving HER's ratings below 55 consistently. Many energy raters don't have the building construction experience that Craig has, thus it is harder to achieve an effective outcome when implementing various Home Energy improvements. Additionally his feedback has helped us improve our quality control standards. We gladly recommend Craig and the Building Diagnostic Services group to other building professionals. Richard Meadows, President - SBCM, Inc. t/a SHORT BROTHERS Contractors/Mgrs.Housing I've been involved in the insulation business for almost 30 year and the owner of Penncroft Insulation since 2010. The industry has changed a great deal with many new materials and techniques. Houses are expected to be more energy efficient with fewer leaks and higher insulation levels. We raised the bar to take on these challenges but knew we needed some help. Craig from Building Diagnostic Services came out to several of my projects using his equipment to find air leaks and see where the insulation was weak or missing. His knowledge of construction made it easy to discuss ways to address problem areas. Their service has been a nice asset to our business. They take the time to explain the testing and what the infrared images reveal so our customers have a real understanding about the concerns and how they need to be addressed. I used Building Diagnostic services on many occasions now and intent to continue to do so. Their clear reports, infrared images and testing are confirmation that my company is getting the job done correctly and thoroughly. No more guessing! It provides great quality control and comfort for our customers. I have been completely satisfied and would highly recommend their services. - Elmer Beiler Jr., Pencroft Insulation, Peach Bottom , Pa. I have been using Craig’s services for many years. Having been in business for over 30 years we’ve learned to find and use the right persons to address our client’s needs. I can think of no one else who has been of more value to our company. Craig is a good communicator, extremely knowledgeable and a man of integrity. I find it to be his passion to dig deep in finding the cause of problems. Craig is not willing to just address the symptoms. He is the only one we call to detect difficult water, moisture and building issues. We have also recommended Craig a number of times on projects to perform energy assessments. Craig has evaluated my own home and I highly recommend him without reservation. – Brett King Builder-Contractor, Inc. As you know when we first met you over a year ago, our oil bills were over $12,000. /yr. We assumed that this was something we had to accept by owning a 10,000 square foot historic home. I know you took on our home as a personal challenge. Your persistence, testing and follow up with our contractors has paid off for us with a 40 % reduction in our utilities. We are confident that when we finish the final upgrades we/you will have succeeded in cutting them in half. We cannot thank you enough, - Dr. & Mrs. B. After purchasing a very large historic home with many issues, we hired Craig to do an energy assessment and help with corrective measures of some of the concerns. We found him very knowledgeable & easy to work with. He doesn’t miss any detail and is clear when explaining his findings. We now have a clear plan for repairing and upgrading our home and are already experiencing improved comfort. We recently had Craig back to locate and document both a roof leak and shower leak that the contractors had given up on. Sure enough he was able to quickly identify the problems with his equipment, so we could have these problems corrected. I totally trust and would recommend the Building Diagnostic Services as a first call with most any building issue. - Sharon in Mt. Airy Thanks for coming out to perform the energy audit and sending the report. You thoroughly checked our insulation, windows, air tightness, appliances and more. The report provided so many helpful recommendations for improving the energy efficiency of our home. I was able to complete some of the suggested work myself. We have already saved more with reduced energy bills than we spent on the audit and materials for the improvements. Thanks again! - Gary M. Thank you for a truly educational day! The blower door test and other diagnostics were very enlightening. I have already begun to seize my opportunities based on your recommendations. The comfort issues we discussed improved immediately. There is no doubt that I will see substantial utility bill results as well. Your follow up to my e-mails was especially helpful as it allowed me to do much of the work myself. Can’t thank you enough, - Art I have known Craig for over 30 years. He has been instrumental in reducing the energy cost associated with not only my personal residence but a large cache of rental property. His recommendations have had a big impact on my oil, electric and even water bills. His fees really don’t matter to me as his knowledge and expertise have saved me tremendous amounts of money over the years. Providing cost effective solutions to some of the comfort and building deterioration issues has also allowed me to rent and sell properties that were sitting idle. I continue to use his services because of his character and integrity. I have always appreciated his independent and practical solutions to my building problems. Thus, without reservation I recommend his services. Regards, - Stew Berman, PCC I wanted to take the time to share with you how glad I am for engaging Residential Energy Solutions to perform an energy audit of my home. I couldn’t be more pleased with the results. I took the time to research and find the most qualified company and person to provide the service. It was your education, background as a builder, experience and professional affiliations that convinced me to hire you. A short time after you arrived I knew I had chosen the right person. Nothing can be more important in these uncertain times than to find ways to conserve energy and with that save money. The investment in your service has most definitely helped me accomplish that. The beauty of it is that these savings continue year after year. Utilizing state of the art diagnostic technology you exposed weaknesses within my home that would never be seen by the naked eye. These hidden defects happened to be the biggest contributors to my energy loss. I was impressed at how meticulously you paid attention to every minute detail of my house. You actively involved me in the process showing me where the problems were and explained how I could make many of the corrections, saving me even more money. As a professional real estate agent I see hundreds of homes each year. I now recommend your services to every homeowner I meet. The potential cost savings are considerable over the time spent living in your home. Sincere thanks, - Bill Shipp Having you out to do an energy audit on my home may has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. The knowledge and education you provided to me and my family has and will continue to save us so much money. You showed me where my house was leaking and explained how I could fix it myself. I was able to repair most of the things you brought to my attention so the pay back is a fraction of what we discussed. Addressing a few of the items more than paid for your service. Worth every penny. I can’t thank you enough. - Mike Coble We originally called Craig because our home was so uncomfortable. Year round high electric bills and heating costs in the winter in addition to poor air quality. We knew there were problems, but were not sure how to identify and correct them. During the inspection he discovered several major air leaks using a blower door and infrared imaging. The images showed exactly where we needed to concentrate our efforts. Craig's expertise as a contractor allowed him to make suggestions on much needed corrective measures. Many of the fixes were one’s we were able to address ourselves. They also installed an electric monitoring device that helped discovered many ghost users such as fans and pumps constantly running. This device also alerts us if we left something on. We can't say enough about Craig's thoroughness and professionalism. We finally have year round comfortable and tight control over our electric usage which has saved us considerable money. Thank you, - Jen & Ray Adkins I first had Building Diagnostic Services perform an audit in 2012. I was impressed with the thoroughness of Craig's approach. He is competent and very technically knowledgeable explaining the techniques and findings during the process. Based on the results, we took the initial steps some initial steps that produced significant improvement in the comfort of our home and a reduction in our energy bills. After the severe winter of 2013 – 2014, we decided to do more and had Craig do a follow up visit. This provided both affirmation on what was accomplished with the initial steps and an opportunity to discuss additional steps to be taken. Craig's happily met with the contractor doing the work to ensure that that the specifications for work were thoroughly understood. I would recommend these services to anyone who wants to improve comfort and significantly lower their energy bill. - Robert S. Craig from Building Diagnostic Services was indefatigable in tracking down sources of air leakage in our 18th century house. We were trying to reduce both drafts and insect (stink bug) invasions in our home. Craig worked closely with the contractors and insulator making multiple visits to test and inspect on our behalf. We have achieved great success both bug-wise and the side benefit of now enjoying a much more energy efficient comfortable home. - Jamie H. |