I sometimes use expanding foam. Are all types of foam the same? I see that toolstation sell a fast curing foam for use as an adhesive for plasterboard and celotex and the like:
formatting link
it worth getting or is it not much different to the "normal" foam?
I remember once using low expansion foam but I still got it everywhere It didn't seem any less expansive than the "normal" type! But no canoes were hurt in the process ;)
I tool the advice on this group to buy a proper foam gun. It really is worthwhile for occasional DIY use where otherwise you would waste half the tin. It was the everbuild model, also from TS, and I have been very happy with it.
I see there is also fire retardant foam. If you use fast cure foam, normal foam, and fire foam, do you need three applicator guns? If I wanted to unscrew my usual foam to use a tin of the fast cure type, would foam gush everywhere or could I mix and match canisters all day? I suppose that the neck of each canister would also need a good clean to prevent that foaming shut?
> Is it worth getting or is it not much different to the "normal" foam?
Its a little different - sets faster and expands less after initial application. So you can push the board into place, and it won't expand it away again. I have used the ordinary stuff for fixing plasterboard. Its fine as long as you make sure its tacked or otherwise held in place until the foam sets.
Yup, I use the same one - Once you work out you leave it on the can until its empty it works very well, would not go back to the regular cans!
In theory you can remove a can and it should seal - however in reality they do it about as well as the normal "disposable" cans. i.e. leave it a day and the used can will probably have depressurzied. If swapping between a couple of cans in the space of a few hours, however you would probably be ok.
> Is it worth getting or is it not much different to the "normal" foam? >
You are supposed to be able to remove the can from gun ... so you can attach a can of cleaning fluid. ... trouble is they often don't re-seal once you have started using them ............
Hi, I just took the can off to see and despite the trigger being locked shut by the knob on the end, foam still leaked out, so as you both say in theory the cans should come off and seal, but in practice, it looks like they don't.
I noticed the date on the bottom of the can for the first time too. It says best before June. Oh well, there's only a drop left. What happens past the expiry date? Does it not expand so controllably? I see reviews on the screwfix web site complain about short-dated fire foam. Is that more critical? Does it lose its fire resistant properties after that date?
Since my ordinary foam can is almost empty, I might just buy the fast setting stuff to avoid the hassle. I don't want my wall sloping!
But if you swapped can A for can B and then fitted can A again, wouldn't that still leave you with an open can (B), which would quickly become useless? Or were you thinking more along the lines of swap A for B, use B completely, and then refit A all in the space of the same afternoon?
Yup, the latter. Once a can is started, either use it all or leave it on the gun. Hence two guns would be sensible if using two different types of foam regularly.
I had a can of "normal" foam that I found had expired in June. I used this up and replaced it with a new can of the same foam and there was a difference: the fresh foam came out much faster and expanded more. I'm not sure whether that was an advantage or a disadvantage but there is obviously some deterioration with age.
Near the end of the can of old foam, I could hear that there was something left when I shook the can but it just squirted "air" out of the nozzle when I tried to use it. I am sure it was not air but something far more poisonous. What would it be: butane? Is that the propellant?
When I unscrewed the empty can, foam leaked out the can-end of the gun. Does this mean the valve in the gun is faulty? The trigger was locked closed so it shouldn't have leaked, should it? And why was there foam in the gun considering it was only spraying gas out the other end?
I bought a third can, this time of the adhesive foam, and a new gun, to fix my celotex with. I think I did this partly for the novelty: I had never used this foam before. It occurred to me afterwards, why didn't I use a grab adhesive like gripfill, no more nails, etc. I wonder whether they would have been less messy? Is there an advantage to using the foam? the only thing I can think of is that it is easy to cover large areas. I wonder whether a tube of something would have had more initial grip? I think that might be my fault though, because I think you are supposed to apply the foam and wait for it to go tacky before pushing into place.
I used all this glue foam up in one day and when that was empty, it was empty and it came off the gun completely clean too, so I think there must have been a problem with either the other can or other gun or both.
When using the gun cleaner spray to clean up the gun, I saw it contained acetone. I never expected that. I thought it was cellulose thinners, I don't know why. You used to be able to buy small bottles of acetone from the chemist. I wonder if they have been banned now? if not, it might be worth getting one for cleaning of wet foam.
Might be - seems quite common these days (again!).
Depends on where the valves are in the gun. Mine has a sprung ball valve near the inlet, and then a second on the outlet itself (formed from a long rod attached to the trigger that runs up the length of the delivery pipe). IME you will always get a bit of seepage on the can end since there will be wet foam about that was moments ago constrained by pressure from expanding, suddenly exposed to moist air.
The foam will conform to any odd shape or size gap - so you can position the board where you want it and let it set - even if that means at one place its 10mm from the substrate. You would need one big pile of gripfil to deal with a gap like that.
Yup
Possibly - but see the comments above.
Yup foam cleaner is basically acetone. Probably about the only way to buy it in larger quantities these days!
I had seepage from the can end which was surprising since no foam, only propellant, was coming from the other end! But I had heard a quiet hiss from the nozzle when the trigger was locked, so I'm sure something isn't shutting completely.
Luckily I didn't have any big gaps to fill, but I see your point. But if fitting closely, I think grip adhesives would be just as good?
So do thinners do nothing to foam then? I wonder whether I got that idea from?
I've found that white spirit, or cellulose thinners, will both remove small quantities from skin, but only before it's started to go off.
I once dropped some globs of foam onto some espadrilles that I was wearing. Rather than trying to wipe it off. I thought I'd leave it to go off then pull it off. Unfortunately it ate through the material (probably synthetic).
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.