I'm going to be replacing my windows soon. I plan to use minimal expanding foam to fill the gaps.
The Great Stuff for windows (blue can, "Will not bow frames") says uncured foam can be removed with acetone. Can I assume that the acetone will not harm the vinyl?
I've been practicing trying to neatly fill a 1/8" gap with the supplied straw and it's pretty tough, even after pinching the straw so it will fit into the gap.
Do I need to put foam in a 1/8" (or smaller) gap?
(This is the side gap I expect since I'm told my windows will be 1/4" narrower than the rough opening.)
No! It (Acetone) can harm it. IMO! A wet finger tip on a cotton rag piece may get by, but don't press your luck on vinyl. Lightly use acetone in this case.
-- Oren
"I didn?t say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you."
Acetone CAN dissolve many plastics. I wouldnt use it. I have "lacquer thinner" in my garage and generally use that for such jobs..it also will affect some plastics.
Instead of the "Great Stuff" YELLO expanding (horribly sticky/messy) foam, for this 1/8" narrow application, I used a WHITE latex foam (Brand is DAP I think) in a can and it wiped off easily with a rag.
I wouldn't. Instead, I'd suggest the DAP latex-based expanding foam. It cleans up with water.
If you insist on using the sticky Great Stuff (wear gloves), remove the extra after it's dry. The limited-expansion stuff sets soft and you can just tear it off with your fingers or cut it with a utility knife.
Absolutely. It might work to tape a smaller tube to the main tube, something small enough to fit in the gap.
- If you insist on using the sticky Great Stuff (wear gloves), remove the
- extra after it's dry. The limited-expansion stuff sets soft and you can
- just tear it off with your fingers or cut it with a utility knife.
OK, I'm a little c "Clean Up - Solid Surfaces: Uncured foam dissolves with acetone. For skin and solid surfaces, cured foam must be mechanically removed or allowed to wear off in time."
Now, I assume that while trying to fill a 1/8" gap, I'm going to get some on the face of the vinyl window. The can says I can clean it up with acetone, but you folks say that the acetone will damage the vinyl. Would DOW really offer clean-up instructions that might damage the very surfaces they say to use it on?
On the other hand, how would I ''mechanically" remove the cured foam from the vinyl with out damaging the surface? Will it just roll up like rubber cement and peel off? It certainly doesn't just peel off the wood on the practice jigs I made. Yes, I can cut the big lumps off with a knife, but I doubt I want to use any tools to scrape it off the vinyl.
It's interesting that none of the videos at dowgreatstuff.com show it being used on vinyl windows or in gaps as small as I expect to have. It's time for a call to 1-800-800-FOAM.
willshak wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.supernews.com:
I would never disagree the trapped air is the insulator. But I really have often wondered when the gap is so small and they are forced to "stuff" it in what good is it?!
I just installed two Anderson windows in the very-northeast. See what happens this winter.
On the sides and head I filled the gaps with low expanding foam. Anderson's installation instructions gave this as an option. In the sill I sealed with a bead of foam way in where the sill meets the RO then used fiberglass to fill the large void. I figured the bead would eliminate any air infiltration from minute openings and the glass would give it some R value since it could easily be packed loosely. All the fins on the outside were siliconed to the sheathing and covered with flashing tape.
If they are drafty or leak, I dunno what else I could have done.
DerbyDad03 wrote in news:1188175566.756225.183080 @r34g2000hsd.googlegroups.com:
Call it amateur but I just ran tape on the sides (drywall and jamb) of the gap knowing how messy that crap can be. Next day just pull the tape and whack off whatever protruded with a razor.
Maybe pros can't afford to spend the time to do that (or because they are pros they don't have to do it) but the bottom line is I got a clean flush surface from the jamb to the drywall.
- I just ran tape on the sides (drywall and jamb) of the gap
I actually tried that on one of my practice jigs and it worked just like you said. Depending on what DOW tells me about the acetone when I call, I may go with the tape method. Like you said, I've got a lot more time to do this job than the pros would.
I called DOW this morning and asked them if the acetone they recommend for cleaning uncured Great Stuff foam will damage a vinyl window.
DOW's answer: "It's highly unlikely that the acetone will damage the vinyl, but you should check with your window manufacturer since they are responsible for the warranty on your wndows."
I called Simonton and asked them the same question. The first level CSR went off to check with someone else and came back with "The acetone will not damage the vinyl."
I'm going to email them with the same question to see if they will put that in writing.
By the way if you go to Lowes or a Pella window store they sell great tape for flashing during installation. Sticky as heck on one side and foil on the other.
- It might have something too do with selling a product!
Simonton sells windows. I doubt they would say acetone is safe just to sell a window.
DOW, on the other hand, *is* selling a product that might require the use of acetone and might stretch the truth.
BTW - Even though Simonton doesn't suggest using foam with their windows, they did say - in writing via email - that acetone will not damage the vinyl.
If they are talking about the stuff I have seen, it will not take too much to cut it off and pull the stuff off the window. It is MUCH better than the Great Stuff as it is MUCH more flexible. Remember, it expands, so use it sparingly. It will go a long way.
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