|
Building Our Custom Home |
| SPRAY IN FOAM INSULATION New homes can make people sick. Tons of chemicals are used to treat lumber, shingles, and other building products, not to mention the paints and sealants that cover all the surfaces.
While we can not afford to build a completely "green" house, we are
trying to use chemical-free products where we can - especially where it
will A lot of insulations are pretty nasty stuff. Not are they itchy if you touch them, but they off-gas many of the chemicals they are made with. We elected for something better. Upon researching insulations we came across Healthy Seal Insulation which is a soy-based spray in foam. It is definitely a much healthier way to go but it also has several other side benefits.
The insulation is sprayed into the wall cavities and it expands like
shaving cream to fill every nook and cranny. One of the first things we
noticed was its i One of the features that most excites my wife is its ability to reduce the pests coming into the house. The foam is water proof and it a fantastic barrier to not only keeping the air from seeping into the house, but critters too.
But what most excites me about this spray in foam insulation is it's
energy efficiency. It will likely reduce our utilities by 50%. That is a
ton of money over the lifetime we will be there.
There are a couple of drawbacks to this product. The upfront investment can be a drawback. It costs two to three times more than typical insulation (although it pays for itself in a few years). The other problem is that the foam hardens, binding wires, pipes and everything it covers so it makes pulling wires out of walls a bit more complicated. Here's to health, comfort and no critters! ************** Time Lapse Photos of the Construction
|
make a big impact.
ncredible sound proofing benefits. We even had it
sprayed inside a few interior walls to deaden the sounds coming from
bathrooms and the laundry room.