Sealing drafts faster than you can say DIY polyurethane spray foam insulation kit
You never know what you're going to find behind the walls.
I pulled down the damaged old drywall in my garage--the next step in my master plan to make a cozy workshop come next winter--and found several insulation violations.
First, there was a bunch of cellulose blown in on top of some fiberglass batts, so the first thing I got was a shower of musty old fill.
Second, the batts were installed with the moisture barrier facing the wrong way. Dumb.
Third, my exterior garage wall is sheathed 1x boards, kind of like lath, so the air was infiltrating right past the batts the whole time anyway.
I've seen pros spray polyurethane foam insulation on several TOH projects, so I was mighty excited about Tiger Foam's new DIY-geared kit.
Their smallest insulation kit arrived in a 35 pound box, containing two metal cans that looked like narrower versions of my grill's propane tank.
The $335 system was a breeze to use. If budget wasn't a consideration, I'd fill up the entire stud bay with 3-1/2inches of foam, but that'd cost me about $2000 to get up to R-24.
Tiger Foam suggests spraying a foam layer in the stud bay, though, and then adding some R-13 batt over that. Then, you seal out the air and insulate the wall to around R-18 or R-20.
Plan on using all of the foam within 5-7 days of initial use. When spraying, a 3/4-inch layer of wet foam cures to 1-inch thick in about an hour.
When the metal canisters are spent, they should be turned over to a metal recycler, or sent back to Tiger Foam.
This one was "fast-rise foam," meant for empty stud bays. If you're keeping the existing wall up--a good idea if you don't like surprises--cut out a hole and add in some gradually expanding slow rise foam.
More: Why my foam sprays straighter and I'm a greater insulator.
Posted by Sal Vaglica | Categories: Gadgets & Electronics | Permalink
(10) Comments
This seems like a great product, but $335 is just crazy. I can't see you ever recouping that cost in energy savings. Foam is defiantly the best insulator, and I'd love to replace all the minuscule amounts of insulation in my walls with it, but at these prices its just way to expensive to justify.
You'd be surprised Jim. It's an investment sure but it's a smart one. I checked out their website to read more and ended up purchase my own insulation from Tiger Foam to use on my garage.
www.tigerfoam.com
Try one inch of Tiger Foam then a fiberglass batt on vertical walls. Get the air seal benefits which account for most of the heat loss anyway. Then add R-13 fiberglass over it on a 2x4 then sheet rock. I am sure you will be happy with the cost savings. Just a thought.
$335 to cover only 200sqft @ 1"? That seems horrifically expensive, and I am sure 20 aerosol cans @ $100 would do the same thing. heck, even if it took 40 cans...
the article would have benefited from a cost comparison between professional foam installation, this system, and aerosol cans.
After researching numerous options about spray foaming my crawlspace, Tigerfoam seems like the way to go. I had an estimate done from the company that cemented my crawlspace and they wanted $1200 to spray foam the foundation walls. Where as it would cost me $335 to do it my self. Sounds like a deal to me. I haven't done it yet and will probably wait until late summer or early fall to give it a shot.
After researching numerous options about spray foaming my crawlspace, Tigerfoam seems like the way to go. I had an estimate done from the company that cemented my crawlspace and they wanted $1200 to spray foam the foundation walls. Where as it would cost me $335 to do it my self. Sounds like a deal to me. I haven't done it yet and will probably wait until late summer or early fall to give it a shot.
With heating oil at about $3.60 per gallon, things like spray foam make a lot of sense. I'll probably buy a 200 board foot kit and do my basement rim joists this summer before I begin to finish it. If you want to get a kit locally, it seems that Fastenal stores carry the Touch n' Seal brand kits.
BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My husband and I used the DIY Tiger Foam product to insulate our old house.
Little did we know insulation has to be approved by a building inspector. Now we live in Ontario, Canada, and our buliding inspector DENIDED the use of DIY Tiger Foam, and we had to rip it all out!
We know that it's been used in commercial and residential applications, but if installing DIY it is NOT approved. So off to court we go.....
We hope this doesn't happen to anyone else.
We ended up choosing to have our 40's home foam insulated...for a LOT of money.My husband did not read the fine print carefully before we did it...we have wires that it is not supposed to be used with. The foam cracked our walls in several places as well. The workers even drilled through our interior wall in one spot and did a poor patch job on it. So is there anyone with a suggestion on what we can do? It makes me wonder if we have created a fire hazard in our walls? Should it be removed or the walls removed to check the wires? Suggestions would be appreciated.Thanks.
Dear Ellen- I have an old 40' house too- I'm a reno contractor.
Unfortunately, for us, foam is a bad choice- better to go with spray cellulose insulation. Forgo the vapour barrier. Unless you are prepared to strip all the plaster and lathe off the interior walls, then ok, use the spray foam for both vb and superior insulating.
BTW- what is your HVAC system
You can call me at 4162019564