Closed Cell Foam Insulation...

[BlinnPR]

Has anybody on the list blown in closed cell foam insulation themselves. Any recommendations on products, who sells it or where I can get the equipment.

TIA, Steven

[Rick Blaine]

I've not used this, but it looks interesting:

[Buck Turgidson]

Yes, I have and have been generally satisfied. It is kind of a last resort. As the other poster indicated, Tigerfoam is a major brand.

I drilled holes in each stud bay about 18 apart, and just went around the room, going up one tier on each pass. It seemed to fill well, but I gues I'll never know.

I have also used ridgid foam panels in my basement, and it is great. Obviously I had to remove the old wood panelling and replaced it with drywall.. I lost about an inch and had to have the carpet re-cut.

[NeedleNose]

I did this, very recently. I got the two 60 pound cylinders, $600 or so, and dragged them around a crawlspace. Exhausting.

My advice: First, realize that Handi-Foam and Tiger Foam and some others are the SAME company, SAME product, different prices (Handi Foam is inexplicably higher). If you live in Jersey, you order Tiger Foam, and pick it up (out of some employee's garage- no kidding!) to avoid huge ship charge. Perhaps Hand-Foam allows the same for you in Ohio.

Second, install is nowhere near as carefree as the video suggests. The product must be heated to a specified range and should be kept at that range (try that in a 3 foot crawlspace). The nozzles must be changed every couple of minutes, or if you stop for more than 30 seconds or so (check with Tiger Foam for details). Even then, the spray goes everywhere, unless you are only doing a neat open joist. Wear throwaway clothes, rubber latex gloves, hood, goggles, mask (if in confined area- aren't they always). The big tanks are HEAVY until emptied. The job is dirty, and in tight airspaces, is potentially hazardous to your health.

Third, many local codes theoretically require you cover the foam with a fire resistant cover. In other words, spray foam and your house now violates code: a dirty little secret of both the open and closed cell foam industries. The Tiger foam I used has some fire resistance rating, but it does not meet my local code. My code has one standard for foam in rim joists, and a higher standard for foam in open areas, say, undersides of flooring.

Fourth, think HARD about where you are going to spray, to get the most for your money. FIND where air infiltrates first, because this is where you want to go first with the spray. Calculate if you want the bigger tanks ($600), which are way more cost effective than the smaller "packs". Borrow/buy a $30 infrared heat gun to spot invisible air leaks. Don't spray this expensive stuff where it won't do any good.

BUT, I am glad I did it. I sprayed my rim joists, air leaky stone foundation, and my uninsulated ducts, and some undersides of flooring, and there has been a big improvement in the heat in the remote reaches of the house. Smell for one day, but none thereafter. I really tried everything else to no avail, so this was the only thing left to do. In fact, it would be neat to do all flooring undersides, to cut out mold and mildew smell in bedrooms from the crawl, but the code issues keep me from doing this. When I go to sell, I don't want some guy demanding thousands of dollars to "remediate" code violations.

Good luck, DPA