Introducing Reviews of Trades – Action Spray Foam

This is one of a series of reviews of our trades’ work. You can see them all here.

Update, October 3, 2011:

I called Action Spray Foam to get their WCB number for our Homeowner Protection Office requirements. Joe Pinder returned my call, but when I told him which job it was for, he said, “Oh yes, you wrote that nice blog post,” and hung up. So, my negative review of his company just got worse. Not only did he decline to respond to my complaints at the time I gave them the courtesy of a letter outlining the issues, but he also rudely hung up on me when I asked him for their WCB number. No apology was ever offered.

I have to say that, as spray foam insulation gets more popular, in spite of its heavy cost, I would really like these “green” companies to succeed. But, first, they need to have good customer service, and if there are issues, then they need to address them. If Action Spray Foam had addressed them with me, I would not have written a bad review. The old adages apply: “If you are happy with our service, tell your friends. If you have complaints, tell us.” And: “Bad news travels fast.”

1) Action Spray Foam Review – Vancouver/Surrey

Action Spray Foam Insulation
7591 – 150A Street
Surrey, BC  V3S 6P2
Phone: 778-593-7115
Fax: 778-593-7116
Cell: 778-628-0123
Email: actionsprayfoam@yahoo.com

The company sprays 2-lb soy-based closed-cell foam insulation into walls and ceilings.

The short review: Action Spray Foam does good foam work, but failed to adequately clean up after themselves, nor did they complete the whole insulation job to make it inspection-ready, as promised. Internal problems in the company and a mistake in their quotation affected the crews’ work habits. They did not complete the job on the promised schedule. When I wrote them a follow-up letter, giving them an opportunity to respond, they did not, indicating that they don’t care about good customer relations or feedback.

A more detailed review, if the reader is interested:

I picked up a business card for Action Spray Foam from a home show, possibly the sustainability-focused home show in Vancouver.

When I called the name, Andrew, on the card, he said that he no longer worked there, and gave me owner Joe Pinder’s contact information. Joe referred me to his salesperson, Jeff.

When I called Jeff, he answered his phone with a simple “Hello,” rather than a business-like response such as “Action Spray Foam.” Throughout our continuing communication, he answered his phone this way.

I asked Jeff if Action Spray Foam was willing to work on the Sunshine Coast. He expressed considerable enthusiasm to break into the market here. I asked him for a job quote and told him the square footage of our home, and the size of the crawl space, and emailed him the house plans. He responded quite quickly with an estimate that was quite low, about 1/3 the cost of the only other quote I received for the product.

I asked him if he would prefer to come up to take measurements to help him prepare a more realistic quote. He did eventually come to measure, after missing two appointments.

Jeff then prepared a quote that was twice the cost of his first quote. This quote included a 10% “discount” which Jeff indicated was a marketing/goodwill effort – if they did a job here, perhaps it would lead to other jobs.

In part, Jeff’s email stated, “Note that Action has never failed an inspection, we show up on time and we take pride in our craftsmanship. We believe that your project is an example of a perfect showcase for our product and service. There is no greener and more efficient method of insulating, most prominently due to seasonal wind conditions in your area. We would really appreciate the job. Please let me know for scheduling.”

Jeff gave me contact info for 3 references. I followed up on these references, which were very positive. Some of the comments from these referees suggested that Action Spray Foam showed up when they promised, that they came back quickly when changes or incomplete work needed to be touched up (even taking 45 minutes to heat up the equipment for a job that lasted a few minutes), that they left the work site in very clean condition, and that the product was very effective in preventing heat loss, especially in high wind areas. Jeff also repeatedly mentioned how thorough the clean-up was, and how their jobs always passed inspections. I told him in an email:

“Your references check out beautifully. You’re hired! Please find out whether the ventilation in the roof above the insulation is required (vaulted spaces – we have metal roof.)”

We had several phone conversations about whether roof ventilation was required. Action asserted that none was required, and used a letter from their building envelope engineer to support this assertion. Eventually, I understand that Joe’s business partner, Jeremy, asked a building envelope engineer to make a site visit to confirm that no ventilation would be required. She provided her opinion at the site. This advice resulted in a full day’s labour by our framing crew of 3 people, at a cost of $800 to us, to insert plywood rafter ends at the soffits. Although the engineer was not retained by us, I agreed to pay the $600 billed for this site visit, after talking with Jeff while the crew was applying the foam. We would have to get an engineer’s inspection anyway for the Regional District.

The engineer observed the work that had been done already by the two crews. She said that the work was very good, and took several measurements. She and her associate poked holes into the foam in hundreds of spots (I wondered if those spot holes then allowed air leaks? They were never filled.)

Action’s two crews completed part of our job, then left to work on other jobs in the Vancouver area. They returned 3 days later than Jeremy promised. They “finished” their work here, and left in a hurry to catch a ferry. They took away approximately 9 large bags of foam popcorn and sawcut trimmings, plus 2 of our other styrofoam block-filled garbage bags. Although they cleaned up 2 outdoor vents that got a lot of spray on them, they did not do a thorough job of cleaning. Our metal roof, electrical boxes, pipes, and exterior walls have several areas with foam on them. Nor did they trim off anywhere near all the areas that required cleaning up.

We and our building crew ended up putting in 6 man-days of cutting/cleaning up the spray foam work for the drywallers and to pass the insulation inspection. The engineer would not provide the B1B2s to pass the inspection until we completed all the window and multiple stud and plate moisture barriers and insulation (“rod and caulk”). According to our SCRD inspector, some spray foam crews cover the whole wall/ceiling/windows with moisture barrier BEFORE spraying, then trim between the studs/rafters and seal it with the spray foam. That would have saved us a huge amount of effort and mess, plus protecting the windows from the foam and dust. Although Jeff boasted that Action’s jobs always pass inspections, we had to go over the whole house to fill holes and seal windows that most insulation businesses complete as part of their insulation jobs. Subsequent cutting off of the foam produced 6 more large garbage bags of foam, and required several cleaning sessions by me and by our crew, and even the drywallers.

When the engineer did a second site visit and eventually passed the insulation and provided the B1B2s, we were billed the second site visit. Engineers from the Sunshine Coast area engineers  provide this service for about 1/2 the cost, because they don’t have to take 4 hours of travel time.

I feel we have not been well-served by Action Spray Foam. We were misled about the level of completion, the engineer’s inspection, and the cleanup.

I should have insisted on a clear and detailed quotation, rather than the simple listing of measurements and price. The best quotations indicate exactly what is provided. If they claim to provide a service that is inspection-ready, then they need to specify exactly what the standard of completion is.

According to the Action crews that were on site, Action’s salesperson seriously underestimated on their quote. Although the crews were unfailingly polite to me, it was clear that they were angry about the situation and in a hurry to get the job done. It was much bigger than they had been told, even though the quote included quite accurate measurements. They got sloppy and just left before the cleanup was completed.

Tagged as: Action Spray Foam Insulation Review, Endless Rain review, flushing toilets, rainwater collection, water feature