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Insulation, Mold Removal and Dry Basements in Dexter, Maine

Professional insulation, mold remediation, and waterproofing for homes in Dexter

Insulation, Mold & Water Problems in Dexter Homes

Dexter grew up around water power. A grist mill went up on the East Branch of the Sebasticook River in 1818, the Abbott family's woolen mill ran from 1836 to 1975, and Dexter Shoe started in a vacant mill building in 1958. That history left a village of older houses bunched along the river, with newer houses and manufactured homes spread along the outer roads toward Ripley and North Dexter.

Two kinds of Dexter house

Census estimates put about one in five Dexter homes before 1940, and the town's median build year is 1976. The older group sits in the village around Main, Spring and High Streets: tall wood-framed houses whose wall cavities are often open from cellar to attic, on stone or early block foundations. Nearly one home in five is a mobile or manufactured home, a much higher share than most nearby towns. The two need different work. Old village houses usually gain the most from sealing the attic floor and rim joists before anything is added, while a manufactured home's belly and skirting are where cold air and moisture get in.

Heating with oil, wood and electricity

About 55 percent of Dexter homes burn fuel oil or kerosene, roughly 22 percent heat with electricity and about 11 percent with wood, per Census estimates. The electric share is high for the region, and every leak costs more when the heat comes from a heat pump or baseboard. NOAA's 1991–2020 normals for Corinna, the next town south, show about 7,800 heating degree days and 71 inches of snow a year. A blower-door energy audit shows where the heat goes, and attic and wall insulation may qualify for Efficiency Maine rebates; as a registered vendor we handle the paperwork.

Lake Wassookeag and the Sebasticook

The town holds about two square miles of water. Lake Wassookeag feeds the East Branch of the Sebasticook, which runs through the village where the mills once stood. Cellars built low near the stream and the lake can take on water during spring melt. Where water comes up through the floor or the wall joint, we install interior basement drainage tied to a sump pump. Camps on the lake that sit closed all winter tend to smell musty by spring, which is often the first sign that mold removal is needed.

Permits, water and neighbours

Dexter's Code Enforcement Office issues building, plumbing, shoreland zoning and floodplain permits. The Dexter Utility District supplies public water and treats wastewater in the village; homes farther out usually run on a private well and septic. Dexter borders Corinna, Garland, Ripley and Exeter, and sits about 15 miles from Dover-Foxcroft and Newport.