"Spray foam"

Spray foam / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Insulation and soundproofing

How to choose between open cell and closed cell spray foam and which is best?

...spray foam? Both open and closed cell spray foam are chemical-based insulation products that expands upon application when sprayed onto surfaces such as the sheathing between studs. The fundamental difference between open-cell and closed-cell spray foam lies in their structure: Open-cell spray foam has a soft, sponge-l...

Insulation and soundproofing

Is spray foam a good choice? Lessons from the UK's spray foam insulation crisis

...spray foam sprayed into their attic spaces should serve as a warning to those considering or already using spray foam insulation on this side of the Atlantic. The UK experience: a cautionary tale about spray foam In the UK, many homeowners who installed spray foam insulation are now finding their properties unsellable....

Insulation and soundproofing

Spray foam insulation: the hidden environmental costs of difficult removal

...spray foam insulation One of the most significant challenges with spray foam insulation - both closed-cell and open-cell varieties - is its tenacious adherence to building materials. Differences between open cell and closed cell spray foam insulation can influence how difficult removal will be, with closed-cell foam be...

Insulation and soundproofing

Is spray foam insulation a good choice for your home? Or a toxic recipe for disaster?

...spray foam insulation. Why is that? Well, it works - at least in some ways. Spray foam manufacturers’ marketing departments have worked very hard to distract us from the potentially sketchier aspects of spray foam. This has been quite successful, as it has become a very popular insulation choice for renovation projects...

Insulation and soundproofing

How much insulation is too much in attics and walls?

...foam insulation & styrofoam Tips for successfully building affordable eco homes Resilient design features for sustainable new home construction Find more about green home construction in the Ecohome Green Building Guide pages or to learn more about the benefits of a free Ecohome Network Membership, see here. ...

Insulation and soundproofing

New HFO blowing agents for spray foam will make it over 1,000 times less harmful to the climate

...spray foam has an R-value of 6.3 per inch; when used at an 8-inch thickness, the foam has an R-7.4 value per inch, which exceeds the performance of any foam insulation currently on the market. The installation of spray foam requires the mixing of chemicals on site, and that reaction generates a lot of heat. So spray f...

Basement finishing

Basement renovations: How to prevent mold when finishing basements

...spray foam insulation apparently made homes uninhabitable or unable to get a mortgage. Given the fact that application involves a wet spray that hardens on surfaces, spray foam insulation is very difficult to remove too, so we hesitate to recommend using this type of insulation. These reported cases are rare but on the...

Concept and design

Building science for LEED v4 wall design made easy - video

LEED Platinum V4 Wall Design: Building Science The wall we designed for the Edelweiss house, Canada's first LEED Platinum V4 Home is best categorized as a 'REMOTE' wall, a high performance building envelope developed by the Cold Climate Housing Research Centre in Alaska. REMOTE stands for 'Residential Exterior Membr...