spray foam insulation and health hazards
housebuilder14
9 years ago
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rwiegand
9 years agoNWHobart
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Is Spray Foam Safe?
Comments (9)As the number of spray foam jobs increase there will be more cases that go awry. Its a huge subject with many variables and perspectives. Its kind of surprising to me that there arent more problems out there considering the many ways that it can get screwed up. Ive spent more time than I care to admit researching spray foam and for the most part, Iam a fan. As long as one hires an experienced installer, they dont use old chemicals, spray wet surfaces or too thickly at once there's not much that can go wrong. Experienced installers (not salesman) are absolutely the most important ingredient. There are certainly indoor air quality concerns even for well done installations. That's true for almost all building materials and according to NIOSH, accounts for only 4% of indoor air quality concerns. Indoor Air Quality is best served by a permanent mechanical ventilation system providing fresh air introduction from the outdoors. Rigid is much safer as its done in a controlled environment. Its also usually more separated from the interior air in typical installations. Foam in general is airtight, has the highest R per inch and is very durable. It saves more long term energy than it costs. It would be great if there were more natural alternatives with the same qualities....See Morespray foam insulation
Comments (6)Not that I mean to be a fearmonger - that's not my way - but I'm still cautious about this. I remember all too well the stories of homeowners installing urea formaldehyde foam insulation 35-40 years ago. It was billed as the perfect insulation, and then the other shoe fell. A few years later, these same folks were facing huge bills to have their foam insulation removed, when it turned out that its formaldehyde emissions were making them sick. Going even further back, we now know the asbestos hazards associated with vermiculite insulation. I shudder when I remember shoving that stuff around in attic floor joists with my bare hands many, many years ago. I wasn't wearing any kind of dust mask, because who knew? Not I. But when it was installed, that stuff was the latest miracle product too. I would hate to install this latest miracle in my house, and learn 10 years from now that some incurable illness I'd developed had been caused by it. Already I'm reading that, like many other modern synthetic homebuilding materials, some kinds of urethane foam insulation can release poisonous gas (in this case, hydrogen cyanide) in home fires. Maybe in another decade, I'll adopt foam. For the present I'm sticking with what I know - good old fiberglass batts. A lot of folks on this board slam it, but fiberglass has a long track record of safety (as long as you're careful when installing it), and decent effectiveness when applied correctly. True, you can't use fiberglass to close off air infiltration, but IMO that's not what insulation is for. The proper material for that purpose is caulking compound....See MoreIs Spray Foam safe ?????
Comments (16)The spray foam I've used is flammable, but certainly not highly flammable. It will burn if there is a flame applied, but snuffs right out as soon as the flame is removed. If you use spray foam to insulate a new house, in the walls it will be encapsulated by the drywall on the inside and the sheathing on the outside. If its used in the attic they will spray it with a fire/thermal barrier. It is effective and should be completely safe if done by a competent contractor. If you have a contractor spray foam an entire house you will not get Harry Handyman doing the job, because it takes multiple crew members and high quality equipment to do the job quickly and effectively. If there are issues with the mix that cause problems with the foam it will be evident before the walls are closed up. If done properly you should not have any odor after about 24 hours. Bruce...See MoreIs it safe to have Foam Board Insulation exposed in a room?
Comments (5)The concern is not for occupant health, but rather for occupant safety in the event of a fire. Foam plastic insulation must be separated from the building's interior with an approved thermal barrier per the 2018 IRC section 316.4. 1/2" drywall and 23/32" thick wood structural panels are two materials that would each meet the requirement....See MoreJasdip
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