Spray foam insulation

[kjcba8101]

Who has done it?
How much did it cost?
How effective is it?
Would you do it again?
Are you a builder or homeowner?

Wife and I are interested in it in our next home.

Tia.

 

[Been Jammin]

Did it in my house. Made a significant difference in keeping the house cool in the summer. The guy charged me about 3 grand to do 3 attic spaces. I would highly recommend it. Especially if your heating/cooling system(s) is (are) in the attic.

 

[kjcba8101]

Thanks for sharing. Any idea how much it dropped your monthly bill? Just was wondering what the payback looks like.

 

[Been Jammin]

Thanks for sharing. Any idea how much it dropped your monthly bill? Just was wondering what the payback looks like.

Hard to tell for sure. Had it done in winter. Tough to compare the summer before and after due to changing to a different electric company. But, I can tell you that during the previous summer, when the outside temp was above 100 degrees, my upstairs unit ran constantly and the upstairs temp never got lower than 76. During the summer after, we kept the thermostat at 72-73 and the unit was only running about 30-40 % of the time (in my estimation).

 

[Londonpoke]

Adding on now and talked to our contractor, who is one of the more highly respected ones and does a lot of business here in Central Texas and he strongly advised against it based on his experience with previous jobs and his own house. Said biggest problem is that it can (and does) disguise larger structural problems or situations such as water incursion. Thus making ultimate repairs much more expensive. Says the insulation gain is insignificant if compared to other quality jobs. Just his opinion, though.

 

[osutater]

I built a 7x7 walk-in cooler, a 8x10 walk-in cooler, and a 10x13 negative 10 degree walk in freezer with 2x6 walls, ceilings and floors and filled it with 4 inches of closed cell spray foam. They are basically bomb/tornado shelters now.

It is amazing. The units barely even run. Cost me about 5K for the insulation. My electric bill is averaging $330 a month. We had planned on $900-1100 to run those units from comparable sized pre-built coolers and freezers with the research we had done.

 

[rowpoke417]

Building a new home now and went with open cell foam insulation. About $8k for a 4000 sf house, 3 levels. Don't have an idea how it would have impacted our bill

 

[Rdcldad]

Adding on now and talked to our contractor, who is one of the more highly respected ones and does a lot of business here in Central Texas and he strongly advised against it based on his experience with previous jobs and his own house. Said biggest problem is that it can (and does) disguise larger structural problems or situations such as water incursion. Thus making ultimate repairs much more expensive. Says the insulation gain is insignificant if compared to other quality jobs. Just his opinion, though.

i could see this in an add on but damn if you are going ground up larger structural problems and water incursion shouldn't be a concern on a home.

savings wise rolling front end cost into a mortgage, getting it back on resale value vs cash flow makes it a no brainer imo

 

[squeak]

You're crazy not to do it, in my opinion. We have spray foam in all exterior walls and the attic where the ac unit is. We also have half inch foam board on all exterior walls. My house is over 4k sq ft and we keep it in 66 at night and 72 during the day since we work from home. Our bill has never been over $300 in the summer. In the winter our gas bill is never much over $100. I have friends with similar sized homes without the foam and their bills easily double ours.

 

[Rdcldad]

You're crazy not to do it, in my opinion. We have spray foam in all exterior walls and the attic where the ac unit is. We also have half inch foam board on all exterior walls. My house is over 4k sq ft and we keep it in 66 at night and 72 during the day since we work from home. Our bill has never been over $300 in the summer. In the winter our gas bill is never much over $100. I have friends with similar sized homes without the foam and their bills easily double ours.

i don't get the foam board on exterior walls seems like overkill

 

[squeak]

i don't get the foam board on exterior walls seems like overkill

I also have glass doors on all my windows.

 

[hollywood]

If new construction, like others have said above, if it's rolled into a mortgage on new construction it's pretty much a no-brainer at this point. Moisture shouldn't be a problem, but honestly - I would suggest you read up on how to properly install moisture barriers (procedure, products, specifications, etc.) and be there to watch your contractor/sub-contractor like a hawk to make certain they're doing it to code.

Maybe I've just watched too many episodes of Holmes on Homes, but that seems to be common problem (improper installation) which can cause mold/mildew issues along with failure of your insulation and structural components of your house.

Much low energy bills, plus a boost to your resale value would seem to make it worth it to me on new construction.

 

[OSUIvan]

If new construction, like others have said above, if it's rolled into a mortgage on new construction it's pretty much a no-brainer at this point. Moisture shouldn't be a problem, but honestly - I would suggest you read up on how to properly install moisture barriers (procedure, products, specifications, etc.) and be there to watch your contractor/sub-contractor like a hawk to make certain they're doing it to code.

Maybe I've just watched too many episodes of Holmes on Homes, but that seems to be common problem (improper installation) which can cause mold/mildew issues along with failure of your insulation and structural components of your house.

Much low energy bills, plus a boost to your resale value would seem to make it worth it to me on new construction.

I watch Holmes as well, and I thought foam didn't need a moisture barrier ?

 

[hollywood]

I watch Holmes as well, and I thought foam didn't need a moisture barrier ?

It depends on the type of foam, because there's numerous types within the open and closed cell foams and they may differ. There's some that are rated as being not only insulation but a moisture barrier on their own. There's also some different ways to insulate in the attic and my understanding is that it depends on the climate as to which is the most effective way to prevent the issues with expanding foam insulation.

I know Boxer has built some houses with foam, so he's the one with the experience and knowledge to have an idea as to how well they work.