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Spray Foam; It’s the Intelligent Choice |
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WHY USE SPRAY FOAM INSULATION? |
IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO |
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Believers
Those builders & home owners that have used foam successfully and are recommending it to other builders, clients, friends, and family. Most builders & home owners using foam today say they do so because it makes the job they’re working on better insulated and more energy efficient. None of them would ever go back to fiberglass! |
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Non-Believers
They are the misinformed, the fearful, and the cautionary. These are the builders & home owners who are uncertain or they have not used foam because they just don’t know enough about it. This area was designed for builders and home owners to gain the knowledge they need to start using spray foam insulation instead of inferior products like fiberglass and cellulose insulation. |
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Sticker Shock
A frequent obstacle to overcome is the sticker shock! The primary reason why many builders and home owners baulk at foam is the difference in price from conventional fiberglass. “My client has budget issues and they will never go for that,” is a statement we often hear. Another is from the home owner building a custom 5000sf home that would rather have granite countertops or a wine cellar than to invest the extra money for an energy efficient comfortable home. While the initial investment for foam is higher than fiberglass, the cost savings over time and the additional benefits make it a worthwhile investment. |
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Independent real life studies show that the cost of home ownership from the first monthly mortgage payment is less expensive with the upgrade to spray foam than a traditional home with fiberglass. |
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THE BENEFITS OF SPRAY FOAM INSULATION! |
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Tax Benefits:
Homeowners: may qualify for a $500 tax credit
Building Owners: may qualify for a $1.80 per square foot tax deduction.
Contractors: Get a $2000 tax deduction for every structure built (Duplex=$4000). |
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Energy Efficient: Spray Foam Insulation can cut your energy bills by as much as 50% or more.
Return On Investment: Most home or building owners experience a payback in just 4 ½ years for their Spray Foam Insulation upgrade in energy savings alone.
No Air Leakage: Stops air and moisture infiltration by filling every nook and cranny in the building structure.
No Energy Loss: 60-70% of your heating/cooling is lost through your roof – Spray Foam stops 90% of energy loss!!!
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No Heat Transfer: Just 2” of Spray Foam will stop over 240° of temperature from passing through it. Since Spray Foam does not allow heat transfer it lowers the surrounding air temperatures in the home (less radiant heat).
Comfortable: Less radiant heat increases the comfort of the building occupants.
Less HVAC Maintenance: Reduces wear and tear on your HVAC equipment since it runs less often.
No Mold: Spray Foam has zero food value so it inhibits the Growth of Mold and Mildew |
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Low Life Cycle Cost: Spray Foam has the lowest life cycle cost as compared to all other types of insulation materials.
Strength: While lightweight, Spray Foam is very strong. It can even double or triple the strength of a home. Spray has earned a great deal of respect in hurricane climates. Spray Foam homes have even been touted as being “Hurricane Proof” |
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No Off-Gassing: It is permanent and will not off gas or loose it’s R-value (unlike fiberglass insulation)
Healthy: Helps keep rodents, dust, bugs, and pollen out. Lowers allergens typically found in the home.
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Safe for Atmosphere: VOC Compliant - Contains no ozone depleting agents. Spray Foam is considered a GREEN BUILDING PRODUCT. Fiberglass has been listed as a known carcinogen since 1994 and has been linked to cause cancer.
High Insulation Values: Spray Foam has the highest "R" value of any insulation product on the market. With an "R" value of 6.8 per inch of thickness it enables us to provide more thermal resistance with less material than any other product.
Water Tight: The closed cell structure of Spray Foam resists the penetration of water. It is a US Coastguard approved material for flotation and is the only FEMA approved material for flood zones.
Long Life: Spray Foam has been around since 1968 and it is certainly not a new concept. Spray Foam has shown no signs of deterioration since its inception.
No Condensation: Spray Foam is the only insulation that Stops Condensation in metal buildings |
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Who Uses Foam? |
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Existing Home Owners
Attic: By installing Spray Foam Insulation in the attic of your existing home you will decrease your energy costs by up to 40%. Your attic will never get hot/cold regardless of the temperature outside.
Crawlspace: Insulating your crawlspace with Spray Foam Insulation will strengthen the floors, help stop floor creeks, stop air infiltration from the floors, and stop cold floors. |
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Walls: The walls can be insulated during a remodel project or room addition. In certain conditions foam can be installed in the existing covered walls as well.
Rim Joist: Insulating the Rim Joist with Spray Foam will stop air infiltration and leakage into the home and help stop the cold floors especially around the perimeter of the home. |
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New Homes
We can insulate the entire building envelope including the exterior walls, rim joists, knee or pony walls, roofline, concrete walls in basement, and common walls. We can also insulate the floors and interior walls for added noise reduction and better comfort. |
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Metal Buildings
By insulating the interior walls and roofline of your metal building you will be able to heat and cool the building more efficiently. It will stop all condensation problems as well. The building will be much more comfortable in the summer and winter months |
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Commercial/Industrial Buildings
These large buildings use much more energy than a home does. A spray foam roofing system will save up to 40% on energy bills for existing buildings. On new structures we are able to fully insulate the building envelope with Spray Foam Insulation saving you over 50% on energy bills. There are hundreds of testimonials from satisfied commercial and industrial building owners out there. |
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Building Contractor Benefits
If you’ve reached our website, chances are you already know the impact the new building codes and energy codes are having on new residential and commercial construction. You are definitely on the right track.
The key to Spray Foam Insulation is to recognize the immediate impact it has on the homeowner’s utility bills. There are homes being built with spray foam insulation every day and those homeowners are reaping the rewards immediately. It’s probably the reason you are on our website, but the fact is that the upfront costs can range from double to triple the cost of fiberglass and that is where you may have to truly break down the numbers and explain what they really look like- and we’ll help you do that.
We’ll even go on to take it a step further and show you how a Spray Foam home can help your new home buyer retire with over $100,000 more funds than had he purchased a home with fiberglass. |
EXAMPLE:
Let me give you an example- and please use this in your future meetings with homeowners:
4,000 sq ft Home
Fiberglass Installation: $6,000
Spray Foam Installation: $16,000
- @7%, the additional mortgage amount would be approximately $65 per month.
- Spray foam reduces energy consumption by 50 to 60% (conservatively).
- Using an average of $600 per month (based on the Midwest region at today’s energy prices), a savings of 50% would equal a savings of $300 per month.
- With a $300 per month savings less the increase in mortgage payment you have a net savings of $235- from month #1!
Take this one step further; the homeowner reinvests the $235 per month at a 10% mutual fund compounded rate for the same 30 years. They have a retirement savings of over $280,000 (and that’s using a 30% federal tax rate!).
Closed Cell vs. Open Cell Spray Foam |
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What is the Difference between Open-cell and Closed-cell Spray Foam?
This may be one of the most important pages on the website if your interest is in spray foam insulation for your home or building. When it comes time to actually put the foam product in your home or commercial building structure, you must identify whether you will use .05 lb./cu. ft., open cell foam, or 2.0 lb./cu. ft. closed cell foam. This makes a big difference in cost, application methods, and performance.
With the open-cell vs. closed-cell issue, there are two major factors to understand and consider. The first is the nature of the foam. It is either open-cell foam, where the tiny cells of the foam are not completely closed. They are broken and air fills all of the “open” space inside the material. This makes the foam softer feeling than closed-cell foam.
Closed-cell foam differs in that all of its tiny foam cells are closed and packed together. They are filled with a gas that helps the foam rise and expand and become a greater insulator. These cells can be formulated to obtain many characteristics, the most common being size and density.
Density is measured by weighing one solid cubic foot of foam material. Open cell foams typically weigh in at 0.4 to 0.6 lb./cu. ft. Closed cell foam for insulation applications range in density from 1.7 lb./cu. ft. to 2.0 lb./cu. ft. Roofing applications typically use a 2.7 to 3.0+ lb./cu. ft. to support foot traffic better. The higher the density the foam, the heavier, or stronger it becomes.
The advantages of closed-cell foam compared to open-cell foam include its strength, higher R-value, and its greater resistance to the leakage of air or water vapor. The disadvantage of the closed-cell foam is that it is denser, requires more raw materials, and therefore, is more expensive. Even though it has a better R-value, typically the cost per “R” is still higher than open-cell foam. The choice of foam can also be based on the requirements for the other performance or application specific characteristics such as strength, vapor control, available space, etc.
Both types of foam are commonly used in most building applications and the choice for which to use can depend on many of the factors discussed above. Some Spray Foam is inappropriate in specific applications. For example, you would not use open-cell foam below grade or in flotation applications where it could absorb water; this would negate its thermal performance because water is a poor insulator compared to air. Closed-cell foam would be a good choice where small framing sizes need the greatest R-value per inch possible. Closed-cell foam would be used for roofing applications.
The R-Value Myth
"R" refers to resistance to heat flow. These measurements are taken in a laboratory environment at 70° with no air movement. In short, the measurement does not factor in real-world weather conditions. Heat flow resistance is only part of the formula for effective insulation. R-value does not measure the amount of air infiltration or moisture that penetrates through an insulated wall. The only way to eliminate air infiltration and moisture is to completely seal the building tight and use mechanical ventilation equipment to regulate moisture and balance indoor air pressures. |
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Energy Conservation
100 BILLION Square Feet of residential space will need to be built over the next 30 years predicted by the NAHB. Energy prices constantly rising dramatically. Power plants aren’t big enough to handle the oncoming energy demand, let alone the existing energy demand. How can we PROTECT ourselves from the effects of these facts? After all, we can only control decisions we make. Our actions will affect our children’s lives and their children’s lives as well. When it comes to energy conservation, 40% of the energy usage in the USA comes from homes and buildings. What does spray foam insulation have anything to do with this? Spray foam insulation is the only insulation that stops air leakage throughout a house or building. Stopping air leakage means increasing the overall efficiency of a home. Utility bills are being reduced by 50 to 60% every day with the use of spray foam insulation. It’s a big step in the right direction for all of us. |
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Why you should never use Fiberglass!
- Since 1994, the National Toxicology Program has listed fiberglass as a known carcinogen. Check the packaging at Home Depot, Lowe’s or any other home improvement store, all fiberglass insulation is required to carry a cancer warning label.
- Fiberglass also has formaldehyde in it, which is basically the main ingredient in rat poison and embalming fluid. It is also a known carcinogen and has been directly linked to cause cancer.
- Times are changing rather quickly; meaning that even the world’s largest fiberglass insulation manufacturers are getting into the spray foam manufacturing business (Owens Corning, Johns Manville, CertainTeed etc). It is just a matter of time before fiberglass is a thing of the past.
- Once Fiberglass is outlawed by the federal government it will become harder to sell a home that has the dangerous product installed in it just as asbestos did.
- The actual R-value of Fiberglass is about 28% lower than its “labeled” R-value with typical installations.
- Fiberglass does not stop air infiltration, which is the leading cause of high energy bills. Think about it; most furnace filters are made of fiberglass because it filters the air, but it does not stop the air.
- Fiberglass absorbs water due to its high moisture permeability, allows condensation to occur, and supports convection heat loss.
- Fiberglass will allow mold and mildew to grow when condensation occurs.
- Fiberglass provides poor performance and low comfort. It requires the need for building wrap, polyethylene, taping, spot foaming and caulking for it to be even remotely effective and even then air will still flow through it as though it were not there.
- It is not very sound proof and does not control midrange frequencies, which include most common household sounds such as the human voice and stereo music.
- Fiberglass is not recommended for use in homes for environmentally concerned or sensitive people with allergies.
- Fiberglass is never a perfect fit, nor does it provide an air-seal.
- Compared to other technologies, Fiberglass is the most expensive method of insulating a home when you look at the overall picture over an extended period of time.
- The National Cancer Society certainly does not have fiberglass installed in its buildings.
- You only get one chance to insulate properly, but you're going to pay for your Heating/Cooling costs many years to come regardless of where you live.
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