Verified record
Polar Bear Insulation, based in Lawrence, works mostly as one of Mass Save's approved insulation contractors — blown-in cellulose and fiberglass for walls, attics and garages. Its BuildZoom permit history backs that up with real volume: at least 90 permitted insulation jobs in the past three years across Merrimack Valley and MetroWest towns, a BuildZoom score in the top 3% of Massachusetts's 139,000-plus licensed contractors, and a typical permit value around $5,000. The company says it's been doing this since 1983. Its written review history is much smaller and more mixed than that permit history suggests. Google shows a 4.6★ average from 17 ratings, and the eight reviews on file, dated 2022 through mid-2026, run 7-to-1 positive. In a 2025 review, a homeowner describes Polar Bear taking the earliest available slot among three Mass Save-shortlisted contractors, working around a holiday travel schedule, and protecting brand-new hardwood floors with tarps and plastic through the whole job. A 2023 review describes the crew catching insulation gaps the Mass Save assessor had missed and fixing them, and a 2022 review describes the company returning within five days to finish extra wall insulation once an initial one-day visit turned up more work than planned. A June 2026 review — the only one in the last six months — describes a crew working cleanly through a hot day on an "organized" install. The one exception is serious: a 2024 review from a tenant whose landlord booked Polar Bear through Mass Save describes glue residue left across porch walls, wood panels nailed back on after being splintered, and — the reviewer says — belongings in the work area shattered with the damage not disclosed. It's a single account, but a detailed and specific one, and it's worth asking directly how the company handles accidental damage on a job before booking, especially for a landlord-arranged or multi-unit project. On the licensing side, BuildZoom lists an active Massachusetts home improvement contractor registration for the company, along with two additional listed license numbers shown inactive — one reported to have been cancelled at some point — though none of this has been verified against the state registry directly. For a straightforward attic or wall insulation job through Mass Save, the permit volume and most of the review history point to careful, quick, protective work; for a rental or larger property, ask about damage handling up front.
“We used polar bear insulation and they were great. We definitely recommend them, though I think mass save monitor every company to check that everything works as expected.”
Wanted to commend the insulation team that came on June 12. They were extremely professional, responsible and clean in their approach. It was a hot day and the crew battled through with some of the most organized insulation install I have witnessed. Mass save was a great partner with polar bear and I reccomend everyone take advantage of this low cost insulation service.
Not only did these guys have the earliest availability than the three contractors I shortlisted through Mass Save, but they worked around my work schedule and holiday travel plans to do my whole house insulation project - which I really appreciated as winter was just around the corner. As other reviews mentioned, Curtis and his crew carefully protected our (brand new) hardwood floors with lots of tarps, threw plastic over furniture and vacuumed after each day of work. Our home feels so much warmer and I am already seeing savings in my gas bill! I couldn't be any happier with their work.
We recently worked with Polar Bear Insulation after a Mass Save assessment recommended several energy-saving improvements, and we couldn't be happier with the results! They sealed our attic, added a new gable vent, installed 14 inches of fresh insulation, and even built a 2-foot-wide catwalk for easy future access. Peter, Steve, and Curtis were fantastic—professional, friendly, and true experts in their field. They went above and beyond, carefully protecting our home with tarps and plastic to keep everything clean during the process. The workmanship was top-notch, and the difference is noticeable—our home feels so much warmer now! We highly recommend Polar Bear Insulation for anyone looking to improve their home's energy efficiency. Thank you for an excellent job!
We're having a lot of renovations done on our home. Of all the contractors we've hired, Polar Bear insulation was among the best. They were hired through Mass Save. I highly recommend. They were courteous, punctual, did great work, and did a fabulous job of cleaning up after himself.
As part of Mass Saves that my landlord reached out to, this company was the one to take the call for insulating my apartment building. The job quality is so terrible. There is glue residue all over the porch walls that they insulated, they shoddily nailed the wood panels back into place after splintering them off (pictures included). They even shattered some of my belongings that were in the space they were working and hid it from us instead of being honest and either 1) letting us know it needed to be moved or 2) owning the mistake. To top it off, we work from home. My landlord communicated that this would take one day to complete. It took this company three full days. While they were here, they blasted music the entire time on a radio, knowing there were people inside the building trying to work. I’m glad that I didn’t use my money on this service, but I am pretty disappointed with Mass Saves and the contracted business they decided to hire. I keep finding more horribly done work by them as I look around the perimeter of my apartment building. Honestly, even though the Mass Saves phone calls and emails are incessantly annoying, I would ignore them as much as possible to avoid this company doing the work on your home.
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1 change recorded — last scanned Aug 4, 2026.
Whole-home insulation4.7
Repeat business2.9
