Spray Foam Insulation in our Eichler walls
The spray-foam insulation went in this week. It is pretty amazing stuff – you can barely put a dent in it with a hammer. We had them use a 2lb closed-cell formula (same stuff they’ll use on the roof). Our walls are like concrete now and any wiring or plumbing is pretty much there to stay. I was able to dig out a couple of spots where I decided to add fixtures and it was possible using the claw end of the hammer, but it wasn’t easy. We had the sheet rockers do one side of each wall so that the spray foam could be applied to every single wall in the house for sound proofing and added structural strength. This type of insulation is supposed to reduce your energy costs by 40% over fiberglass because it completely seals the walls and prevents outside air from coming in.
Update: After living w/ the foam for a few years, we’re happy with it and would do it again. One thing to be aware of is that the foam tends to amplify the sound of the water pipes so you might consider putting them in a chase to make them quieter.
May I ask what it cost, how much you covered and if you found your heating bills decreased? Thanks so much!
Hi Susan,
We had our spray foam roofers do the interior walls as a part of the roofing project so they gave us a discount. You would have to contact a spray foam contractor to get a quote – I can’t recommend ours since they ended up being very difficult to work with. We sprayed literally every single wall in our home and yes our home is much much more efficient than it was before – it also keeps the bugs and rodents out since the house is completely sealed from the outdoors.
Cheers
Steve