I have a small crawl space i want to insulate because it is under a bedroom. The bedroom floor stays cold. it's approximately 150 square feet. Im considering a do it yourself spray foam product like Foam It Green or Tiger Foam. Anyone used anything like this?
Anyone used DIY spray foam insulation?
- Thread starter Nick2cd
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I've used Todol spray foam and more recently a lower cost version by Touch and Foam. I like the yield of 600 Board Foot tanks better than 200... The optimal canister temperature is 70 degrees and should be sprayed onto a warmer than 30 degree surface. The process gives off heat and should be sprayed in light lifts of an inch or so at a time. Keep the gun moving about a foot back from the spraying surface. Too much in one place will cause the material to overheat causing voids with substrate or fissure cracks. The canisters need to be well shaken. When spraying the cannisters need to be upright and the mix consistant, so the very beginning and end should be sprayed elsewhere or discarded since it won't cure properly. My transfer station accepts the spent tanks as scrap metal, but they do need to be depressurized by puncturing them which can be messy. Although I've sprayed enough to learn how to be neater now, I would recommend a respirator, gloves, glasses, hat, and old clothes... and a clear ziplock for your syslite.
The temp of tanks and 1" lifts is really crucial with this stuff. I have workmates that have run them but never personally. Getting every advertised board foot out of them is like a utopian pipe dream from what I've heard. X amounts of turns on one tank and the same X amount of turns on the other to keep mix right.
good luck !
good luck !
I used Foam It Green on a 100+ year old basement walk and It worked very well. The kit includes a Tyvek suit, so all you need are goggles and a respirator. Highly recommended.
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did you get close to the coverage listed on the packaging? has it performed well as an insulator?
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did you get close to the coverage listed on the packaging? has it performed well as an insulator?
Concerning the coverage, duburban's comment: "utopian pipe dream", seems to be an apt description. I haven't used it myself, but coworkers that have used it and much that I've read, re-enforces this. A coworker is discussing this with the company now. I'll let you know if he gets a better answer than YMMV.
polarsea1 said:
Fairly messy. I put down drop cloths to keep the stuff off the floor, and it does not come off the drop cloths easily. I thought plastic would be too slippery. I would suggest newspaper. Either use painter's tape on the front of the studs or plan on scraping off the foam overspray after it hardens. I would have the machines at least six feet from the wall I was spraying.
I'll be sure to cover everything if I decide to go ahead with the foam. My shop was built in 1950 and has 1x6 sheathing with tarpaper and shingles over that. The foam would probably make the walls nearly airtight plus the ~R7 insulation for an inch of foam.
Brent Taylor
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I would add drywall or plywood/OSB to cover it. I don't know if it's fire rated, but the Building Inspector part of me would say it maybe something to look into before doing anything. Better safe than sorry type stuff. B
billchurch
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I used FoamIt Green a few times myself in different places. I will say the 602 kit does seem to get closer to the coverage. I look at it like dimensional lumber, it started out as a 2x4... 
I used the 12 kit before and destroyed the first one because I didn't read the instructions, it didn't realize there was a safety pin that I was fighting against (whoops). But got a replacement version and it doesn't quite cover anywhere close to 12 sqft @ 1".
I didn't seem to have a problem with the mess as much, did it in Florida during the humid summer, I was also using the closed cell variety. I was enclosing and conditioning a carport (turning into a garage) in a flood zone, so I used closed cell foam and did about the bottom half of the wall to make sure it wouldn't get waterlogged in the event of a flood. I used regular fiberglass insulation for the top side. Once it cured I came back with a hand saw and trimmed it flush with the studs.
I like that the kit comes with extra tips, protection and all that good stuff.
I used the 12 kit before and destroyed the first one because I didn't read the instructions, it didn't realize there was a safety pin that I was fighting against (whoops). But got a replacement version and it doesn't quite cover anywhere close to 12 sqft @ 1".
I didn't seem to have a problem with the mess as much, did it in Florida during the humid summer, I was also using the closed cell variety. I was enclosing and conditioning a carport (turning into a garage) in a flood zone, so I used closed cell foam and did about the bottom half of the wall to make sure it wouldn't get waterlogged in the event of a flood. I used regular fiberglass insulation for the top side. Once it cured I came back with a hand saw and trimmed it flush with the studs.
I like that the kit comes with extra tips, protection and all that good stuff.
An alternative to spray foam alone is rigid foam plus spray foam. Blocks of rigid foam, e.g., XPS, are cut a bit smaller than the area to be insulated, then a small amount of spray foam is used to seal the gaps between the rigid foam and (presumably) the framing. Blocks can be attached with a single, wide-headed screw or a dab of adhesive first, then spray foam applied.
More broadly, though, your problem may be more complex than you imagine:
http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-009-new-light-in-crawlspaces
More broadly, though, your problem may be more complex than you imagine:
http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-009-new-light-in-crawlspaces
I have used the tiger foam with good success.
The 500 out of 600 sq ft is about right. Use a suit, respirator, glasses and gloves.
Plan the work out. It will only take about 15-30 mins to spray. Put the tanks in the middle of your spraying area as you will get 15 feet either way. Ensure surfaces are preped. This stuff will stick to everything and there is some over spray as mentioned. I used the point tip instead of the fan tip. Yes it takes longer to apply but much better control and less over spray. Have the extra tips handy and change as soon as it starts to clog up. If you stop for longer than 30 secs it will clog .. Keep spraying!
The most important thing is to have the tanks at 70+ temperature for 24 hours. Shake them very well. Failure to do so will not yield the proper two part mixture and thus not a good foam
The 500 out of 600 sq ft is about right. Use a suit, respirator, glasses and gloves.
Plan the work out. It will only take about 15-30 mins to spray. Put the tanks in the middle of your spraying area as you will get 15 feet either way. Ensure surfaces are preped. This stuff will stick to everything and there is some over spray as mentioned. I used the point tip instead of the fan tip. Yes it takes longer to apply but much better control and less over spray. Have the extra tips handy and change as soon as it starts to clog up. If you stop for longer than 30 secs it will clog .. Keep spraying!
The most important thing is to have the tanks at 70+ temperature for 24 hours. Shake them very well. Failure to do so will not yield the proper two part mixture and thus not a good foam
