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Started By
Message
re: Foam Insulation Cost
Posted on 5/29/15 at 10:19 pm to daviddsims
Posted on 5/29/15 at 10:19 pm to daviddsims
Well,,I'd use the guy that said OSB. Screw a styrofoam house.
0
Posted on 5/29/15 at 10:29 pm to BR Tiger
I don't have that info at my fingertips, but, a radiant barrier must be considered by every good homeowner who needs insulation.
Posted on 5/29/15 at 10:29 pm to stout
I did mine maybe 4 or 5 years ago and cant remember how much it was, but do know I got the tax rebate.
My house had cellulose, but most of it had smashed down, also I dont feel like the ventilation was adequate with the ridge cap and under soffit venting. this was causing my air handler and vents to condensate. I went ahead and did the foam because I thought it would work better for my situation.
It definitely dropped my bill some, maybe 20-30 a month. more importantly, it stopped the condensation issues I was having, it also lessened the load on my 20+ year old ac unit. My unit was running nonstop during the day on hotter days. I thought for sure I was going to end up having to replace the unit within a year or 2 but it is still going strong. I know when I do replace it with a higher seer unit, it will add some more cost savings.
a couple other things is it is nice to be able to go in the attic at any time since it stays relatively cool. my house gets colder than before and my unit runs less even though I have added conditioned living space in the house.
only downside is that it is hard to run any wiring on outside walls in the house due to the foam being in the way. so make sure you have all of your wiring in place.
My house had cellulose, but most of it had smashed down, also I dont feel like the ventilation was adequate with the ridge cap and under soffit venting. this was causing my air handler and vents to condensate. I went ahead and did the foam because I thought it would work better for my situation.
It definitely dropped my bill some, maybe 20-30 a month. more importantly, it stopped the condensation issues I was having, it also lessened the load on my 20+ year old ac unit. My unit was running nonstop during the day on hotter days. I thought for sure I was going to end up having to replace the unit within a year or 2 but it is still going strong. I know when I do replace it with a higher seer unit, it will add some more cost savings.
a couple other things is it is nice to be able to go in the attic at any time since it stays relatively cool. my house gets colder than before and my unit runs less even though I have added conditioned living space in the house.
only downside is that it is hard to run any wiring on outside walls in the house due to the foam being in the way. so make sure you have all of your wiring in place.
This post was edited on 5/29/15 at 10:31 pm
Posted on 5/29/15 at 10:33 pm to diat150
while we are talking about construction methods... why are so many houses built now without solid sheeting behind the sheetrock? I know it costs, but plywood isnt that expensive.
Posted on 5/29/15 at 10:34 pm to stout
Just happened to open this thread because I was interested in the topic, and I'm now convinced that I need to install a radiant barrier, and quite surprised at how inexpensive it actually will be.
Posted on 5/29/15 at 10:51 pm to diat150
Why would you want to install plywood behind the sheetrock? What's the point? Seems like a waste of money to me.
Posted on 5/29/15 at 11:29 pm to Lee Chatelain
quote:
Only attic. 2 1/2 year old house. Just seems very very hot in attic and not a lot of insulation when I was walking up there. Hotter than any house I've had
The roof is under ventilated. Get more roof vents installed and make sure the soffit vents are open and able to feed outside air into the attic. If you want more insulation rent the insulation machine and insulation from Home depot or Lowes. It did my entire attic in Texas for about $300.00. I put in more whirly birds and turtle vents myself. It did miracles.
Posted on 5/29/15 at 11:30 pm to lsu777
Hey stout, I have a house that had open cell sprayed throughout when it was built a few years ago (the "envelope" you mentioned). The builder used perforated soffits and vented the roof peaks. Is that correct? I have read a lot about what is the best or correct setup and see varying things. Would love your opinion.
Posted on 5/29/15 at 11:32 pm to lsu777
Osb on both interior and exterior walls is very popular down south. Cut off area. The people down there swear by it for hurricane strength.
Pre Katrina, when we used foam board, we would hurricane clip every other stud top and bottom. Now with storm board you don't need clips and the price of foam is as much as Osb. There is no reason to use foam.
I don't think I would use closed cell insulation at all. My problems with it are 1 it's hard to get an installer that sprays it worth a crap 2 being most people only use it in the walls, the walls are your least important part. Most the heat comes from the attic/roof and if you have any shade the heat isn't that bad compared to the top. 3 it is more expensive.
Pre Katrina, when we used foam board, we would hurricane clip every other stud top and bottom. Now with storm board you don't need clips and the price of foam is as much as Osb. There is no reason to use foam.
I don't think I would use closed cell insulation at all. My problems with it are 1 it's hard to get an installer that sprays it worth a crap 2 being most people only use it in the walls, the walls are your least important part. Most the heat comes from the attic/roof and if you have any shade the heat isn't that bad compared to the top. 3 it is more expensive.
Posted on 5/29/15 at 11:37 pm to Libertariantiger
On another note, when checking your foam install, they spray the walls then shave it back so you can install sheet rock. In the attic they sell you 5 1/2 inche. But it is important that you can't see the rafters. They should have about and inch of foam on them and it wont be shaved. I've seen installs where they skimped. Also some companies sell you on a fire retarder and I know some companies don't use that. I'm not sure if that is necessary, but it's something worth mentioning. May want to look into it if the company you get a quote from doesn't use it.
Posted on 5/29/15 at 11:41 pm to Libertariantiger
quote:
Now with storm board you don't need clips
It's so nice
Posted on 5/30/15 at 7:07 am to lsu777
quote:
by lsu777
Why would you want to install plywood behind the sheetrock? What's the point? Seems like a waste of money to me.
Makes the house much stronger, acts as a sound barrier, can hang anything anywhere on the walls, wont step thru the sheetrock in the attic, wont punch thru the sheetrock on the walls, etc.
Posted on 5/30/15 at 8:12 am to diat150
might have to look into on my next house.
Posted on 5/30/15 at 8:15 am to Captain Want
you don't want vents in your roof peaks with foam. you want the house like an ice chest, completely sealed. perforated soffits don't matter because they are going to put up a mat material and spray against that so the eves of the house are open. not a big deal and it make it easy to run your bathroom vents through to the open eves.
Also when getting quotes for foam, make sure the supplier will come in before hand and caulk all the 2x4s, base plates, etc. Pretty much all outside walls should be caulked.
Also when getting quotes for foam, make sure the supplier will come in before hand and caulk all the 2x4s, base plates, etc. Pretty much all outside walls should be caulked.
Posted on 5/30/15 at 8:47 am to daviddsims
quote:
If you were building a house here in North LA what would you use, OSB or styrofoam for sheathing? The few builders I have talked to all use styrofoam and said it cost them more than OSB.
Speaking as a structural engineer, it absolutely blows my mind some of the things I see contractors do. They only get away with these things, because most people don't understand how all the different design components work. In your traditional wood-framed house, the OSB sheathing is the ENTIRE lateral resisting system. Stud walls are for gravity loads, but they don't give you shite in terms of lateral resistance. If your contractor EVER talks about replacing OSB with styrofoam tell him you'd sooner see him replaced with a new contractor.
I assume you bought or had a stock house designed that didn't require detailed engineering? If you have any friends who are engineers and have even rudimentary structural understanding it might be worth some of them walking the site. I do it all the time for friends when they're having houses built. Your corners are some of your most vulnerable areas as well depending on your geometry.
DO NOT LET THEM REPLACE THE OSB.
Posted on 5/30/15 at 8:50 am to BoostAddict
quote:
My house is an ice chest. 6" foam on roof, walls are Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs). Ventilation is system required to bring in fresh air.
Amazing how cool it stays inside during the summer. My previous house was like a damn oven when you got home from work.
Designed a bunch of these houses, they're awesome. I designed one in northern Montana that has 10 1/4" SIP walls and 12 1/4" SIP roofs and the dude says he can heat almost the entire house from his fireplace. They're incredible.
They cost more upfront, but if you have a good crew they can get you dryed-out in a week. Not sure how efficient and familiar with SIPs the southern crews are, but they've been using them for years in the Northwest and those crews just throw these houses together. It's unreal.
Posted on 5/30/15 at 8:54 am to lsu777
quote:
Why would you want to install plywood behind the sheetrock? What's the point? Seems like a waste of money to me.
Lsu777,
See my post below. The plywood is the ONLY thing that is bracing your house laterally. Stud walls offer next to no lateral strength for a structure.
The typical structural components that everyone thinks of (studs, columns, beams, rafters, girders, etc) are really only gravity-specific or lateral components that are only used to transfer gravity loads laterally to another gravity-specific structural element. Any numbnuts with a standard calculator can design a building that won't fall in on itself.
The majority of failures, however, happen laterally.
Posted on 5/30/15 at 9:02 am to FootballNostradamus
quote:
Not sure how efficient and familiar with SIPs the southern crews are, but they've been using them for years in the Northwest and those crews just throw these houses together. It's unreal.
I have been to the SIP factory in Abbeville in the old fruit of the loom building and have done some work with them. It's very awesome and I always try to preach SIPs when possible.
Posted on 5/30/15 at 10:27 am to FootballNostradamus
It really freaks me out that they would recommend styrofoam especially with a two story home. Once again though, it seems to just be the way it is down here now.
Posted on 5/30/15 at 10:54 am to daviddsims
quote:
It really freaks me out that they would recommend styrofoam especially with a two story home. Once again though, it seems to just be the way it is down here now.
They're gonna recommend whatever is the cheapest that they can get away with on the inspection.
There's not a single engineer who would ok it.
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