Posted: 2/11/2014 5:49:43 PM EDT
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I'm looking to add R-value in my attic, (currently R-28,) as well as insulating the walls of my unfinished basement. I'm curious about spray foam, either open or closed, but am having trouble justifying the 2-3 cost difference over standard fiberglass. I'm interested if anyone has sprayed foam in their house, (especially in their attic,) and if so what saving on energy bill did you see?
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This is where I would go .anything added is an improvement . I am not sure about the spray claims Quoted:
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Attic just rent a blower from wherever you buy the insulation at and have fun. This is where I would go .anything added is an improvement . I am not sure about the spray claims Yeah, I'm somewhat skeptical on the claims. The basement is more straightforward as it's either batts or rigid board, both I've used before but I have zero experience with the blown-in stuff. Renting a unit and doing it myself isn't out of the question but I also don't have a huge problem paying a contractor as time is somewhat precious to me. I'm going to get a few quotes and go from there. |
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I will be blowing in 40-50 bags in my attic with in the week. I just can't accept the spray foam thing. But I have never seen it in person. Nor do I know anybody that has it in their house to ask. My parents had the cellulose blown into their crawl spaces. They had an IMMENSE savings in their gas bill! |
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We just did a 5500 square ft or so house with open cell spray foam. If you are mortgaging the cost either in initial mortgage or home equity loan, then yes it is well worth it. UNDER $200/no summer electric bill with A/C about 72. You will make your money back each and every month if you are financing the insulation. If not, youwill still save countless amounts of $$. The really value is not at all in the addition R value, its in a new MORE iimportant factorbwhich has only emerged recently : air infiltration. That is to say the air that completely bypasses your insulation. Batt and blow in allow lots of air to flow right through and around it. The foam offers superior air infiltration protection. It adheres to the edges of studs and headers which allows ZERO air to get by. This is where you lose a majority of your conditioned air to. The added R factor is nice, but the real savings is in the air infiltration prevention. If you want to stick with Batt then you better have an 18v caulk gun and truckloads of silicone (Not caulk, which will shrink and crack).
I love foam. Open cell is easy to work with and costs less than the closed cell. It can also be easily repaired in areas where you may have to tear out, for repair of Wi-Fi or installation of something new... Forget changing anything with closed cell |
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We just did a 5500 square ft or so house with open cell spray foam. If you are mortgaging the cost either in initial mortgage or home equity loan, then yes it is well worth it. UNDER $200/no summer electric bill with A/C about 72. You will make your money back each and every month if you are financing the insulation. If not, youwill still save countless amounts of $$. The really value is not at all in the addition R value, its in a new MORE iimportant factorbwhich has only emerged recently : air infiltration. That is to say the air that completely bypasses your insulation. Batt and blow in allow lots of air to flow right through and around it. The foam offers superior air infiltration protection. It adheres to the edges of studs and headers which allows ZERO air to get by. This is where you lose a majority of your conditioned air to. The added R factor is nice, but the real savings is in the air infiltration prevention. If you want to stick with Batt then you better have an 18v caulk gun and truckloads of silicone (Not caulk, which will shrink and crack). I love foam. Open cell is easy to work with and costs less than the closed cell. It can also be easily repaired in areas where you may have to tear out, for repair of Wi-Fi or installation of something new... Forget changing anything with closed cell Ok some questions. Mind if I ask what you paid per board foot installed for the OC stuff? At what depth did you have installed, I assume and average of 5"? Type of HVAC, (heat-pump?) what were your electric bill prior to the foam install? I get the mechanics of the stuff but what seems to be iffy is the savings (ROI) of the stuff. My big issue is my main HVAC is propane heat which is killing me in cost and availability right now. I want to decrease my use of propane in the end, do I add more insulation, replace unit with a heat pump (add dual fuel) or a combo of all of it. I'm trying to figure out how much insulation alone will help, best guess is 15-30% |
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My brothers house had spray in insulation. He claims he had to keep the thermostat at 55 cause it got too warm. Thats all the experience I got.
I would imagine though, that if you used the foam, you would actually need good ventilation in the home, since it supposedly seals too well. |
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I blew cellulose insulation into my attic myself. The rental of the blower was free from Lowes with the purchase of the insulation. Cellulose insulation is cheap and pays for itself fairly quickly. I did the same on the last couple houses ive owned. Noticed about a $50 a month savings during the warm 100+ months and the house feels cooler. Very easy to do, only takes a couple hours. |
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Do the blow in yourself in the attic. I did it one October years ago and by the end of the year it had paid for itself. It is very easy to but you will need at least one other person to feed it. I would also recomend a full face respirator to keep the shit out of your lungs and eyes.
I have talked to a home builder about foam and he was not big fan of it. He didn't feel it was good enough to justify the cost over traditional methods. |
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My parents had the cellulose blown into their crawl spaces. They had an IMMENSE savings in their gas bill! Quoted:
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I will be blowing in 40-50 bags in my attic with in the week. I just can't accept the spray foam thing. But I have never seen it in person. Nor do I know anybody that has it in their house to ask. My parents had the cellulose blown into their crawl spaces. They had an IMMENSE savings in their gas bill! Attic or crawl spaces? Your post makes sense if it was the attic. Not so much if it's really the crawl space i.e. under the house on the surface of the ground below. |
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Attic or crawl spaces? Your post makes sense if it was the attic. Not so much if it's really the crawl space i.e. under the house on the surface of the ground below. Quoted:
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I will be blowing in 40-50 bags in my attic with in the week. I just can't accept the spray foam thing. But I have never seen it in person. Nor do I know anybody that has it in their house to ask. My parents had the cellulose blown into their crawl spaces. They had an IMMENSE savings in their gas bill! Attic or crawl spaces? Your post makes sense if it was the attic. Not so much if it's really the crawl space i.e. under the house on the surface of the ground below. I will be blowing in my attic, I have a slab foundation. |
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Ok some questions. Mind if I ask what you paid per board foot installed for the OC stuff? At what depth did you have installed, I assume and average of 5"? Type of HVAC, (heat-pump?) what were your electric bill prior to the foam install? I get the mechanics of the stuff but what seems to be iffy is the savings (ROI) of the stuff. My big issue is my main HVAC is propane heat which is killing me in cost and availability right now. I want to decrease my use of propane in the end, do I add more insulation, replace unit with a heat pump (add dual fuel) or a combo of all of it. I'm trying to figure out how much insulation alone will help, best guess is 15-30% Quoted:
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We just did a 5500 square ft or so house with open cell spray foam. If you are mortgaging the cost either in initial mortgage or home equity loan, then yes it is well worth it. UNDER $200/no summer electric bill with A/C about 72. You will make your money back each and every month if you are financing the insulation. If not, youwill still save countless amounts of $$. The really value is not at all in the addition R value, its in a new MORE iimportant factorbwhich has only emerged recently : air infiltration. That is to say the air that completely bypasses your insulation. Batt and blow in allow lots of air to flow right through and around it. The foam offers superior air infiltration protection. It adheres to the edges of studs and headers which allows ZERO air to get by. This is where you lose a majority of your conditioned air to. The added R factor is nice, but the real savings is in the air infiltration prevention. If you want to stick with Batt then you better have an 18v caulk gun and truckloads of silicone (Not caulk, which will shrink and crack). I love foam. Open cell is easy to work with and costs less than the closed cell. It can also be easily repaired in areas where you may have to tear out, for repair of Wi-Fi or installation of something new... Forget changing anything with closed cell Ok some questions. Mind if I ask what you paid per board foot installed for the OC stuff? At what depth did you have installed, I assume and average of 5"? Type of HVAC, (heat-pump?) what were your electric bill prior to the foam install? I get the mechanics of the stuff but what seems to be iffy is the savings (ROI) of the stuff. My big issue is my main HVAC is propane heat which is killing me in cost and availability right now. I want to decrease my use of propane in the end, do I add more insulation, replace unit with a heat pump (add dual fuel) or a combo of all of it. I'm trying to figure out how much insulation alone will help, best guess is 15-30% Yes, full 2x6 foam exterior walls. Dont recall the price, I think it was like $6k over batt. We are using propane for heat as well. Consumption is on track to be about 1 gallon per square foot but it has been a very cold year. Last year was about half that. Wall hung modulating boiler with 4 air handlers. 2 in attic and 2 in basement, so there are 4 a/c compressors outside as well. No heat pumps, probably should have gone for it, but didn't. There are also floor warming radiant loops under most of the first floor and master. Dont know what electric was prior as this was new construction. On a similar comparison of a house half the size the electric bill was about $500/mo in the summer with std. Batt insulation. |
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spray foam R value is not much better than say cellulose, batts or fiberglass. spray foam eliminates all air infiltration which is different. buy the fiberglass (as it doesn't settle as quickly) instead of the cellulose and spray 10-12 inches more.
insulation is one of the best home investments that a person can make. OH. im n the heating and air business. we are the largest Trane dealer in AR, northern LA and some of the eastern side of TX. when we run manual J Load calculations this is the single biggest factor in the size of the HVAC unit to heat or cool the home. hope that helps. 
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