Anyone have any experience with spray foam insulation? Ok here is my situation. My house is a cape cod style 1 1/2 story. Built in the mid '60's. One big room upstairs with knee walls. I plan to completely remodel over time. I really like the idea of the new spray foam insulation. I know it's about 2.5 times the cost of fiberglass, but when it comes to sealing out air, it is way superior. I know when you look it up on the internet, everyone says it is the only way to go. When you watch the videos and see it fill the cavities and push out through all the holes and gaps i have to believe it's better at sealing out the air. When you think about it, a house is like a chimney. The heat goes out the top and the cold comes in to replace it. What's your thoughts? pros? cons? better? equal? Seals too tight?
What condition is the siding, roof and windows? Might be cost effective to use rigid foam on the exterior if the siding and roof are due for replacement. Easier to get an air tight envelope with exterior foam on a retrofit in my experience.
Hi Mike The house was built in the 60's. Needs siding and complete interior remodeling. Windows were replaced about 15 years ago but I will probably change them again as I do not like the white vinyl on the outside. Half of the roof was replaced last year and the other half will get done next year. The insulation in the attic space is not very good. Would like to make the house air tight the best I can to lower my heating and cooling bills. Spent almost $2400 on heating oil last year.....It's only a 1200 sq ft cape cod.....Heating Oil Sucks! I don't mind spending money to save money as long as the ROI is reasonable Just installed a new oil furnace a couple weeks ago and should have a high efficiency 18 seer heat pump finished in a couple weeks. I'm hoping between the heat pump and the new woodstove that I can cut my oil bills down to the bare minimum!
Be a good investment if affordable. Pay you back every year you live there, summer & winter. $$ I think this is the last year for federal energy efficiency tax credits. If I were to build again, I'd spray foam here. Tightens the structure, better insulation. Finds all the hole & voids. A buddy here did foam, says the house is quieter too. Not sure how it's done on an existing home without a lot of destruction ? ?
Both backwoods savage and I used foam insulation. If I had to choose it would be my first choice again.after I get up in the morning I'll be sure to put up much more info with pics for you turbo. I have LOTS of info and I am exhausted so in order to be accurate I'll post it tomorrow.
Thanks Pete I not even sure if any builders around here use it. Or if there are any insulation contractors near us that do it. I am more than anxious to hear about it.
Ok sorry for taking so long its been a very busy weekend. We used Tripolymer Foam http://tripolymer.com. Here are some pics for you! The benefits are just amazing first it does not settle over time like spray in cellulose. There is a down side to this however it is possible for panels to pop out however we did not have any issue with that at all. Secondly the foam is a noise barrier like I have never experienced in any other home. It cut out outside noises by a good 85% which for us is a big deal due to being next to a truck company. Third we have had tremendous difference in cooling! We used to run 3 air conditioners due to how hot the house would get. Now we can run one 8000 btu AC unit and it cools the entire 1000 sq ft downstairs with ease. Heating is something I have not words to explain but Ill try. We used to go through 6 cord or close to heat for a winter prior to the insulation. Since the insulation we use around 3 to 3.5 cord in essence doubling our wood supply. We run the stove at half in the dead of winter and a quarter this time of year and it just cooks us out. Our house is laid out fairly square however the bathroom is way in the back and is COLD when the furnace runs but since the insulation it stays about 15F warmer with the furnace and even with the rest of the house with the wood stove. Our biggest improvement is the windows! They used to frost bad in the winter that too has stopped and due to the foam literally filling every crack we can't feel any draft at all anymore. O yes before I forget we went from no insulation to R24 insulation. The cellulose would have been around R19 in comparison. Still very good improvement either way. The foam itself similar to a foam cup in appearance and extremely light. It is designed to allow you to push wires through with ease. Overall we couldn't be happier. Dennis ( Backwoods Savage ) used the same company and has very similar results as ours. You may want to pm him for advice as well. There are many foams available and they are designed very close in comparison but do your homework and read reviews reviews reviews for your area. Personally I use Angies list religiously and have not had a bad contractor yet due to there requirements to advertise with Angies list http://www.angieslist.com. Any questions don't hesitate to ask!
Thanks for the info and pics I wasn't sure if this could be done to an older house. I was imagining your house was new and the insulation was done during construction. I'm not sure how the remodel will be done. I think i would like to do it one floor at a time on the interior. My house it 2x4 studs with a dark brown fiber board and aluminum siding on the exterior and drywall on the interior. I think I would have it sprayed from the inside after removing the drywall and rewiring.
CG I think it depends on if you have brick then stud walls or just brick. If it's just brick the motor would prevent the insulation if I remember correctly.
Open cell or closed cell? I believe open cell can breathe which wont trap moisture. I checked into it and the payback was about eight years. I went with rolled batts and the pay back is almost immediate due to its low cost.
Pretty sure they use closed cell in the basement walls and rafters due to moisture and open cell above
I know this thread is old so I wanted to see if you went this route. My house is the same darn fiberboard under vinyl siding. I am going to resheath and reside the house one of these days when $ allows. I have a lot of heat loss in my opinion. Plus older windows and doors that I want to replace eventually. Probably do them first actually.
I almost started a spray foam insulation business in the fall of 2008. A minor disturbance in the financial and housing markets occurred which put the project on indefinite hold. The situation you are describing is called the stack effect; warm air leaks out of the upper levels of the house inlcuding into the attic and draws cold air in. Spray foam will knock that out in a flash. In terms of where to start, the attic is #1. Spray foam will seal every crack, pipe penetration etc and provide an impermeable barrier. Closed cell foam is the only way to go. Relative to contractors, there are quality spray foam outfits and countless examples of "Chuck in a Truck". Here's a quality outfit: Here's Chuck in a Truck: You can pick up a schlock outfit with some simple questions: --Do you have a panel truck or a trailer? -What model proportioner do you have? (A Graco E-20 is very low end). Look for an E-30, an H-25, H-40 or H-50 -Do you have an on-board generator or do you use shore power? (Shore power means they will hook up to your electric dryer outlet or right into the electrical panel) -If you have a generator, is it gas or diesel? (If it's gas, disqualify them right then and there) -Is your compressor electric screw or gas? (If it's gas, disqualify them) - Describe your fresh-air system; you you have an Allegro system or respirator with cartridges? Cartridges=schlock -Will you scarf the studs when done or is that up to me? Gas generators and compressors are a hallmark of low-end contractors. They do not last nearly as long as diesel generators and electric screw compressors, produce unbearable noise inside a trailer and are fire hazards. Plural component foam is very flammable and having a gas engine in close proximity to 55-gallon drums is asking for trouble. If they have a diesel generator, it will usually be contained in a mini-room at the front of the trailer or box truck which is much safer. As for pricing, expect to pay from $1.00 to $1.50 per board-foot. Chuck will often take a bid from a quality contractor and then underbid it to get the job. What out for Chucks because they sucks.
I haven't gotten as far on this project as I had hoped. I'm still planning on doing the insulation though. I was reading some magazine articles on passive houses also and it seems like a great idea but there is way more involved in it than I could ever recoup on ROI
Turbo, IMO insulation is a perfect example of "incremental ism". A little here and a little there and pretty soon you have something. On an existing house trying to foam the exterior without removing one side of the wall covering is a difficult task. If the wall cavity is open on one side, either outside or inside foam insulation in a 2"x4" wall cavity will help a house very much. Other critical areas are the rim joist cavity, foam insulation there is excellent. In the attic where all penetration come thru the ceiling closing them up with spray foam (from a can or from a truck) will help immediately. Totally foaming an attic is debatable whether that is cost effective because you can blow in large amount of cellulose or fiberglass to achieve a very good R value. You have to think of insulating your house as a systems and the various parts need to work together. Good Luck,
