diy spray foam insulation

[highland145]

Anyone done their own?

 

[Gibson486]

you mean "Great Stuff"?

 

[edro]

Where are you wanting to spray it?
Into walls, between floor joists, attic, foundation sill?

 

[rivan]

you mean "Great Stuff"?

If you're not talking about this, I wouldn't even consider DIY. Just one misdirected blast of foam would make a terrible mess.

 

[Gibson486]

If you're not talking about this, I wouldn't even consider DIY. Just one misdirected blast of foam would make a terrible mess.

yup....the stuff is horrible if you get it on your clothes too...

On a side note...that stuff is a sign of a cheap landlord. If you see spray foam anywhere, you may want to think twice about living there....

 

[highland145]

Have ripped out the plaster walls(several reasons) and an curious if this is a better solution than batt insulation on an outer wall, 15'x8' with double window in the middle.

 

[highland145]

If you're not talking about this, I wouldn't even consider DIY. Just one misdirected blast of foam would make a terrible mess.

If I get on the hard wood floors, I will be toast with the wife.

 

[CPA]

yup....the stuff is horrible if you get it on your clothes too...

On a side note...that stuff is a sign of a cheap landlord. If you see spray foam anywhere, you may want to think twice about living there....

What? Mike Homes recommends it for all new insulation. We're talking about the purple stuff that gets sprayed on the wall, ceiling, joists and rafters, right?

 

[highland145]

What? Mike Homes recommends it for all new insulation. We're talking about the purple stuff that gets sprayed on the wall, ceiling, joists and rafters, right?

Yep, installed by professionals.

 

[Gibson486]

What? Mike Homes recommends it for all new insulation. We're talking about the purple stuff that gets sprayed on the wall, ceiling, joists and rafters, right?

I am talking about great stuff.

 

[vi edit]

Have ripped out the plaster walls(several reasons) and an curious if this is a better solution than batt insulation on an outer wall, 15'x8' with double window in the middle.

I've got an energy star "5 Star+ Certified" home. This means that the air escape and heat retention of my home is better than about 75% of the homes built today. I have spray foam where my rafters meet the sidewalls of my home in the attic and spray foam(the real insulating kind) along the floor joists in my attic around the outside edge of the walls. Also included was spray foam (from a can) around all windows and exterior sheething seams. The rest of my insulation is conventional fiberglass batts. My conditioned space of over 5000 sq/ft cost 25% less to heat a month than a little 800 sq/ft bungalo we rented during construction.

So my suggestion is to foam around windows/cracks and then use batts between stud walls.

 

[rivan]

I am talking about great stuff.

You quoted me, but I said NOT great stuff.

The pro-installed spray foam is the same idea, but presumably better foam and on a FAR larger scale.

It still applies, though, that getting it on ANY finished surface is a mess you don't want to think about.

 

[rivan]

I have spray foam where my rafters meet the sidewalls of my home in the attic and spray foam(the real insulating kind) along the floor joists in my attic around the outside edge of the walls.

Did you apply the foam, or have an installer do it?

 

[highland145]

I've got an energy star "5 Star+ Certified" home. This means that the air escape and heat retention of my home is better than about 75% of the homes built today. I have spray foam where my rafters meet the sidewalls of my home in the attic and spray foam(the real insulating kind) along the floor joists in my attic around the outside edge of the walls. Also included was spray foam (from a can) around all windows and exterior sheething seams. The rest of my insulation is conventional fiberglass batts. My conditioned space of over 5000 sq/ft cost 25% less to heat a month than a little 800 sq/ft bungalo we rented during construction.

So my suggestion is to foam around windows/cracks and then use batts between stud walls.

That sounds like a plan. House was built in 1937 so anything in the walls is an improvement. Large cavities (3") around the window frames where I took out the weights, when I replaced the windows.

 

[vi edit]

You quoted me, but I said NOT great stuff.

The pro-installed spray foam is the same idea, but presumably better foam and on a FAR larger scale.

It still applies, though, that getting it on ANY finished surface is a mess you don't want to think about.

Amen to that. I didn't know that the insulation sprayers were coming when they did during my construction process. I had just finished roughing in all of the piping for my whole house vaccuum with the returns dropped through the floor plates and into the joists in the basement. They came in and sprayed in those spaces and basically clogged all of my ducting.

I was not happy. At all. Plus they did this after all of the plumbing was run and all of that is coated in that stuff too as well as the top couple inches of all of the basement walls.

 

[vi edit]

Did you apply the foam, or have an installer do it?

My contractor did all the "gap filling" around windows, sheathing, floor plates, ect. An insulation company did all of the spray insulation in the rafters and floor joists.

 

[edro]

If it's just 1 wall, I would stick with fiberglass bats.
Spray foam would be good to do to all walls, but 1 wall isn't going to make much difference.
Maybe if that wall is the wall that takes the most wind, but even then, I doubt you would see a difference.
Your other walls are going to let the heat out.

Also, make damn sure you don't need to run any wiring through the wall because once the foam is in, it is very difficult to do afterwards.

 

[highland145]

If it's just 1 wall, I would stick with fiberglass bats.
Spray foam would be good to do to all walls, but 1 wall isn't going to make much difference.
Maybe if that wall is the wall that takes the most wind, but even then, I doubt you would see a difference.
Your other walls are going to let the heat out.

Also, make damn sure you don't need to run any wiring through the wall because once the foam is in, it is very difficult to do afterwards.

That's one of the reasons I ripped out the plaster. To make it easier for the electrician. Original 1937 wiring is being replaced this week.

Thanks all.

 

[drnickriviera]

There's flash and batt. They spray a thin layer of spray foam to seal the walls, then use fiberglass batt over it. Cost effective and efficient. Full thickness spray foam is expensive. there is no DIY solution for a large area. I had though about buying a foam rig, but ran into problems with storage. The foam sets up in the lines if you don't use then occasionally.

For a small job, you can buy spray foam in 15 and 30lb cylinders. It will come with hoses and a cheap spray gun to mix the parts. You can put different tips to give it a fan pattern or a crack filling nozzle.

A third option is to buy foam board and cut it to fit the bays, then use fiberglass batt over it. You'll need to get some cans of foam to seal around the edges of the foam board.

Dense pack cellulose is another cost effective option, but not a DIY solution as it requires a strong machine to pack the cellulose in tight. It's what I use. It's cheap but time consuming to staple up the membranes. The hardware store machines are only good for loose fill.

 

[OOBradm]

Wear a mask while spraying it. I did it myself a while ago without a mask. Inhaled some fiberglass particles and got bacterial pneumonia from it.

 

[highland145]

There's flash and batt. They spray a thin layer of spray foam to seal the walls, then use fiberglass batt over it. Cost effective and efficient. Full thickness spray foam is expensive. there is no DIY solution for a large area. I had though about buying a foam rig, but ran into problems with storage. The foam sets up in the lines if you don't use then occasionally.

For a small job, you can buy spray foam in 15 and 30lb cylinders. It will come with hoses and a cheap spray gun to mix the parts. You can put different tips to give it a fan pattern or a crack filling nozzle.

A third option is to buy foam board and cut it to fit the bays, then use fiberglass batt over it. You'll need to get some cans of foam to seal around the edges of the foam board.

Dense pack cellulose is another cost effective option, but not a DIY solution as it requires a strong machine to pack the cellulose in tight. It's what I use. It's cheap but time consuming to staple up the membranes. The hardware store machines are only good for loose fill.

That's a good idea but I think I'm going with Vi's suggestion. Like I mentioned, there isn't anything in the walls now so it'll be an improvement.

Thanks.

Wear a mask while spraying it. I did it myself a while ago without a mask. Inhaled some fiberglass particles and got bacterial pneumonia from it.

Expanding foam in the lungs would be a bad thing. Hope all's well.