4 Pitfalls Of Spray Foam Insulation To Avoid

greetings everybody mike with spray jones and today we're going to go over the four pitfalls that are common to people when they're getting spray foam so you the homeowner the building owner any joe blow john q public can watch this video and quickly get educated on what to look out for and bring up your iq in the spray foam world so the first pitfall is wrong type of spray foam there's two main classes of foam closed cell and open cell foam in the closed cell foam world usually the foam is going to weigh two pounds per cubic foot if you're getting a roof done it could be three pounds or four pounds per cubic foot but two pound per cubic foot foam is the most common and we'll just call it two pound foam two pound closed cell foam can be used against concrete it can be used in wet situations in dry situations it can be put to sub grade so it can be inside of a basement outside of a basement it needs no extra vapor barrier it has excellent adhesion it's very difficult to get it off of what it's been sprayed to when it's been sprayed correctly it will strengthen the wall or the metal or the roof or whatever it's being adhered to it will provide waterproofing so if it's on an exterior of a building or on a roof or on outside of a foundation or the outside of a tank it's going to provide some waterproofing properties and it can stand up to the weather it can stand up to abuse so you want to make sure that if you're you're in a situation that needs two pound foam that you're getting it and that you're not getting open cell foam now open cell foam is typically half a pound per cubic foot you can rip this stuff out with your bare hands it's light it's fluffy it has excellent sound properties it is not a vapor barrier on its own it is usually over filled into the cavity and then shaved flush but it cannot go where it's going to be getting wet so it's not going to be going into sub-grade situations it's not going to be into a crawl space or on a dirt floor it's not going to be sprayed externally on a building and it's not structural it will add a little bit of extra structural component over fiberglass or mineral fiber but it's not having the same structural properties as the two pound closed cell foam it is excellent for tight areas blind spots or areas that are hard to detail out so you want to make sure that if you're in a situation where you have to have two pound that you have it or if you're using half pound foam that you're using that product and you just need to ask questions and be able to know and recognize what the products are second issue that we run into is adhesion if the foam is being sprayed to anything that is wet or frosty or dirty it's not going to stick so it has got to be clean it has got to be dry and if the foam does get sprayed to something and it's not sticking properly it's going to pop right off sometimes partially and sometimes fully so you can tell this very quickly by pushing on it if it's closed cell foam you can hit it with your fingers and your hand and if it's just bonded it's going to have a hollow sound to it because there's going to be a gap between this the foam and the substrate uh a lot of times it will hump in the middle it will rise it'll push off of studs and bow out in the middle and it's going to be very obvious it's going to look like some big pregnant belly or something like that it's going to be very obvious that it didn't stick sometimes it just dis bonds at the edges very common to see moisture and frost on the side of a two by six or a two by four stud the installer didn't pick it up and the foam uh disc bonds from the side of the stud curls off to the edge and you can see a gap along the edges of the studs if that's the case it needs to be removed it needs to be cut back it needs to be dried out and needs to be resprayed the foam itself especially in two pound foam should be hard to remove even even half pound foam requires some effort to dig it out when it's properly adhered you're not supposed to just grab onto a piece of it and be able to pull a huge section of it off with little to no effort so it should require some tools it should require some beading on it and hammering and using a crowbar pry bar to get the foam to dispond if the substrate is clean and dry then adhesion is not going to be an issue the third area is lack of consistency if the depth is erratic on the product if it's varying in the closed cell world let's say it's varying from one inch all the way up to five inches thick and you're supposed to be getting a two inch or three inch application but it's varying from one to five well that that's a problem you need to look and see if it's thin on the edges did they detail and picture frame out the edges nobody's paying you to do the middle the easy part they're paying you to do the corners and the most difficult areas so you need to start in those areas first and you need to work your way to the open area so check and ensure that there's foam into the corners where you've got cross blocking in a wall or in a ceiling make sure that the foam is all the way behind that it's gone all the way into the the tightest spots you know shine a flashlight into there look use your camera on your phone to take a picture and see if the foam is all the way in there where you can see it and make sure that they have not over sprayed important items while they're trying to do this like they've put foam all over the studs all over important brackets that are gonna need to be cleaned off like a bracket for a range hood or a speaker or something like that and that you have any of the excess foam shaved off so that you can see how the consistency is with half pound foam the stud cavities are going to be just barely filled or slightly overfilled then the foam is going to be shaved down so that you've got a consistent amount inside the stud cavities it can be a little more difficult with half pound foam to judge um the foam because you're trying not to waste so much of it and have so much of it on the floor you're not paying for what's going on the floor you're paying for what's going in the wall in the old days they used to totally overfill those cavities and shave off two three inches of the material now they're trying to do a just filled cavity so it's not uncommon for the foam to be a half an inch off of the depth of there if you find areas that are not up to speed and spec then i suggest that you mark them out with a spray paint like a spray can or a great big huge marker and then you can get a depth probe don't go on judging foam by sight that is a very difficult thing the the inconsistency of the material will sometimes play havoc with your eyes and you'll think everything is high or everything is low get yourself a nail or a shank of some sort sharpen it up measure out one inch two three or four whatever you're going for probe it into the foam and start to take some readings in a square foot a couple square feet around an area and get an average it is not uncommon when you are going for a nominal thickness to be anywhere from a quarter of an inch low to a quarter of an inch high the fourth and final area is lack of prep and lack of cleanup foam is being sprayed it is not a rigid product that you're installing and cutting to fit it's going on as a liquid so that means that the people are going to have to mask windows doors and floors be careful that tubs and showers pot lights brackets fireplaces they're all protected ahead of time sometimes these things should not even be installed in ahead of time timing and coordination with other trades is critical too early can be a real problem because you go in and spray the foam into a structure and then the electrician comes in or the plumber comes in and they have to hack at the foam and cut the foam out that's no good you just paid for it now they're hacking it all out to install what they need to do likewise you don't want to come in too late i've seen guys come in late they've put a whole bunch of things in the way and it's just going to be next to impossible for the spray guy to get their foam in behind hrvs and furnaces and ductwork and water heaters and pot lights are in the way and fireplaces are in the way and it can absolutely be impossible sometimes to get foam all the way into the back so there is a balance between too early and too late remember foam is a system right it's not a standalone product on its own you don't just spray and walk away you're going to need canned foam to get into small areas where the spray gun can't get into you're going to need to caulk seams and joints to keep air from moving in and out of the building so once the foam is done it should be shaved it should be trimmed these people should be carrying their mess away they should be sweeping and cleaning up and then you should be getting a complete air seal package done by the installers so that so that you know that it's a complete system when you're done and you're ready to go to drywall and the final thing with all of this is that they should be checking the job over with you the homeowner and making sure that everything is addressed properly and your questions are answered and the foam is up to spec so if you follow all of these four steps you're going to avoid the major pitfalls thank you for viewing the video share like and subscribe hit the like button and we'll see on the next one

Channel: Spray Jones

Views: 798,713

Keywords: Regina, 306, Walltite, Saskatchewan, SprayFoam, Homeinsulation, warmhome, homefoam, commercialfoam, betterinsulation, rightway, BASF, newsolutions, foamyourhome, nomorebatt, foammaster, sask, YQR, reginasprayfoam, sprayjones, bestinsulation, betterway, newway, foamit, newconstruction, commercialconstruction, ventornovent, atticventilation, nonventedroof, spfroof, sprayfoamroofing, hotattic, hotroofing, fiberglasssucks, wetbatts, wetglass, airleakage, badvapourbarrier, wetwalls, frostinwalls, gusmer, graco

Id: zvL4va6P5F0

Length: 9min 21sec (561 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 14 2020