cbass Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 I was in a house today that was around 60 years old, with many recent renovations. In the crawlspace this green very hard spray insulation was all over the foundation walls, sill plates, rim joists, and duct work. I even found it in between the framing in the attic. Is this some kind of new spray insulation kit like this?: http://www.sprayfoamdirect.com/ Wouldnt this be dangerous to install this all over the joist ends, rims, and various other framing (trapping moisture, termites etc.) preventing inspections. The sellers disclosure noted previous termite damage and the home was already treated with an annual inspection schedule (who knows what they were looking for???). Would you do anything other than simply listing it as a limitation of what was or was not visible at time of inspection? We dont see spray insulation to much around here. Thanks Click to Enlarge 53.73 KB Click to Enlarge 45.39 KB Click to Enlarge 51.22 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 The selling price of the largest available package of that product comes out to almost $14.00 per cubic foot of insulation. The big orange box sells unfaced fiberglass batt insulation for about $0.50 per cubic foot. The batts are advertised with an R value of almost half that of the foam. I couldn't find any information on the green foam site regarding any standard that their foam had passed. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbass Posted October 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 So, would you inform your clients of anything regarding this product other than that it is covering many elements that we would normally inspect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Meiland Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 Might not be easy but it would be worth identifying the manufacturer and type (open vs. closed cell) of insulation. Open cell is fairly vapor-permeable and plenty of cases are now cropping up where moisture has migrated thru the foam to condense on the cold surface behind, causing the foam to become saturated. This is particularly tragic when the cold surface happens to be wood. Also, in many cases the foam needs to be protected by a thermal barrier, such as drywall or certain approved spray-on coatings. Foam on the ductwork is probably a good thing, at least from an air-sealing point of view, and some of the building science folks are recommending foam directly on stone foundations in some cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 I would look at the impact of that foam on the overall envelope design and comment if needed. The manufacturer says it's closed cell, so it's also a vapor barrier (perm = zero). That foam can do much more harm than good if it causes moisture to build up and condense anywhere within the wall cross section, unless a drainage plane is present at that location. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted October 19, 2010 Report Share Posted October 19, 2010 Mason Knowles wrote a nice article on foam for the September issue of JLC. There's some information available at his website if you're interested. http://masonknowles.com/ Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbass Posted October 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 Thanks for the information guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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