This is the final article in Bob’s series on “Negative Experiences Homeowners have with Spray Foam Insulation”.
Being a baby boomer, I can recall (at a young age) growing up in a middle-class, south-side Atlanta neighborhood in a home without central air conditioning. In elementary school, I remember walking home one hot, humid afternoon, to discover a wonderfully comfortable & quiet home!
While I was in school that day, my parents had installed central air conditioning, and the effect was amazing! Soon, in the short years following, all of my neighborhood friends had central air conditioning installed in their houses too.
Families wanted central heat & air in their homes. Now, virtually every home in our region has central heat & air conditioning.
Aside from central heat & ac, and double-pane windows, perhaps no other product or material has helped so many homeowners get their homes comfortable, more healthy, and more efficient – as has spray polyurethane foam insulation.
The use of spray foam insulation in residential homes continues to surge – and in fact I am convinced, we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg! SPF (spray polyurethane foam insulation) is becoming more and more commonplace in houses throughout north America, and the price point is getting very competitive compared to the lesser forms of insulation.
Spray polyurethane foam insulation provides homeowners with a single-source for:
- Air Barrier
- Thermal Barrier
- Moisture Barrier
And… it’s becoming more and more affordable as it’s popularity spreads.
As a retrofit comfort specialist, we repeatedly hear these common positive exclamations from our spray foam clients, in our surveys.
Exclamation # 1
“My indoor air quality is so much improved!”
This is easy to understand… after we remove the old, filthy insulation in the house, it just “smells better”.
- When we use spray foam insulation to seal and insulate your attic, we are removing all of the old, dusty insulation. Therefore, the attic space is clean, and no longer contributes near as much dust and other unwanted microscopic trespassers into your living spaces. Imagine your attic floor nice and clean!
b. When we use spray foam insulation to seal and insulate your floors, our closed cell spray foam not only insulates your chilly floors, but they are sealed against the unhealthy, moist environment that is continuously migrating upward through your floors and into your home. Imagine dry, healthy wood floors! And you’re less likely to find mildew growing in the corners of your dark closets, (with that musty smell, ugh!).
Exclamation # 2
“We’re so glad to have this done, once and for all!”
One great quality of spray foam insulation is that it’s permanent.
- When sprayed under floors, it doesn’t sag, it never falls down.
- When sprayed under floors that are located above garages, basements, carports, etc, spray foam insulation doesn’t create nesting space for rodents, birds, and insects that make unhealthy messes. It’s a permanent solution!
- Most forms of batt and loose-fill attic insulation settle over time. Additionally, fiberglass insulation is a popular nesting material for insects and rodents. So in the past, every few years, homeowners were at minimum, upgrading their attic insulation, or entirely removing the existing insulation and replacing it with fresh insulation. Spray foam insulation is permanent! Once installed, you get to forget it, and enjoy doing something else rather than worrying about attic or floor insulation. And, it doesn’t absorb odors.
- Your service techs will love you! Spray foam insulation makes for nice clean work areas, and you aren’t having voids in your insulation because your tech didn’t restore your traditional insulation after messing it up!
Exclamation # 3
“The bedrooms are finally comfortable”!
Hands down, multi-story homes are the most popular houses that respond dramatically to sealing and insulating the attic using spray foam.
Why is that? The answer may be a combination of reasons.
- In multi-story homes, usually the bedrooms are on the top floor. The heat generated in the lower levels of the house migrates upward into the rooms on the top floor. It’s the stack effect that draws this heat upward. When we seal and insulate the attic with spray foam, it dramatically slows the stack effect.
- In multi-story homes, typically there is an HVAC system in the attic. Sealing and insulating the attic with spray foam insulation is like turning your attic into an insulated, sealed walk-in cooler! Your AC system performs FAR BETTER & MORE EFFICIENTLY in an attic that rarely gets above 85 ~ 90 degrees, as opposed to an attic with daily temperatures of 140 degrees, (summer conditions)
Exclamation # 4
“Our AC [or furnace] finally shuts off!”
Our spray foam insulation is your HVAC system’s BEST FRIEND.
When your living space finally reaches the target temperature noted on your thermostat, it is the job of your insulation to hold that temperature as long as possible. Because spray foam insulation is an air barrier AND a thermal barrier, you have a monolithic, unbroken, seamless boundary that protects the comfort inside your living space.
… so your HVAC “rests” longer between cycles, while you stay comfortable!
In Closing…
Information on the internet is a two-edged sword. Yes you will always find someone with a negative experience with spray foam insulation. Yes, virtually every chemical manufacturer that I know has been named in some type of class action lawsuit. So have the drug companies, auto companies, and big food conglomerates; but we keep buying their food and cars, and taking their medicine.
Is it possible for you to get “bad foam” when you hire a company to spray your home? Sure. But if you’ve chosen your contractor carefully, the area of “bad foam” will be a tiny percent (less than 1%) of the total area sprayed, because your experienced crew will make the adjustments needed to quickly resume work that all of us are proud of. And that one small area? It will have been removed and re-sprayed, and you probably didn’t even know it!
Are you ready to discuss your comfort needs? Call Savannah in our office, at 404-538-9168. Or email me at: Bob@Birdinsulation.com
We’re here to help!
