New foam job question | Insulation/Energy/Building Envelope Q&A | Spray Foam Technical Questions and Answers | SprayFoam Magazine Q&A Forums

Q&A Forums

Author	Comments
Shane Johnson Posted: Aug 11, 2007 10:06 PM	New foam job question Hi there I am currently getting my new home foamed. I went to check it out today to see how the progress was going and I noticed several places where the foam wasnt flush with my studs...is that shrinkage? When you look at the effected areas you can see into the wall space next to the stud almost all the way to the wall board. Also in a few areas I noticed what appeared to be a hole in the foam...when I looked in the hole I could see the decking and feel hot air coming in. The guys arent done with the job yet and I hate to bring things up before they finish so I just made a list noting the areas of concern. And lastly there are a few places where decking is visible that may have just been missed..is that normal? Thanks so much for any response. Oh and BTW not sure if where I live is important but I am in south Louisiana
Posted: Aug 12, 2007 07:27 AM	flush with studs...doesnt concern me as long as we have adequate depth to optain reasonable r value...in fact i would prefer to keep the skin on and not trim if possible... no this probably isnt shrinkage...but due to the application technique... the "gap" at the stud interface is again due to application technique..we do not accept and we will reapply to fill these gaps...(we use a different spray tech to avoid this common pitfall) the "holes" are common in opencell work(again an application malady)...they too should be filled either by stuffing with trimmings or spraying the hole... allow them the opportunity to make it right without being told...casually point out a few of your concerns while they are on site and see if they have the moxie to fix it on their own,,,otherwise.... make a list... make em do it right...let them know you will hold the check till they do... they will hate you at first... but they will repect you in the end but do be sure that you know what you are busting their balls about...foam is a different profile than filterglass and paperulose,...and it wont look like those products..particularly the .5 lbs (to my foam brother...peace man...fill the holes...dont leave gaps or unsprayed walls in the system...it should be obvious to all that 1 sub standard application can lead to an exponentially greater number of people hearing about it...and if it helps..been there,,done that,,and its made me a better foamer and person to recognize and remedy my shortcomeings) ...cause theres something bout a sunday... that makes a body thinky of foam.....
Terry Adams Posted: Aug 12, 2007 10:16 AM	well put , it would be nice if my crew could get it right everytime but sometime their shield gets covered or they are out of position etc. Give them a chance to correct on their own and if they do then you picked a good company, if they don't then make them. I always tell my customers the finished product will look great but be a little ugly till then.
Shane Johnson Posted: Aug 12, 2007 11:31 AM	Thanks for the input guys. I totally agree with waiting until they are complete to bring up my concerns. These guys are the one that do it for a living.... Also in my original post I said that the foam wasnt flush with the studs...I guess I meant the sides of the studs... it just looked like it wasnt sticking. My foam guy made me aware that I would have an average 3 inch fill in the walls so I didnt expect it to be flush with the studs. Sorry for any confusion.
Posted: Aug 12, 2007 07:02 PM	Just for grins, I would casually visit with the spray crew leader regarding the voids, I know from experience that when you are spraying foam the world turns white and it is easy to overlook areas that need attention. I hope your contractor has a QC program in place that will allow him to correct this without your mentioning however the fact that you are here seems a little suspect on that matter. I have no problem with a client talking directly with my crews at any time, pointing out areas of concern, using a bright flashlight in attic areas or any other measure that it takes to help us provide a top shelf foam application. Foam that is shrinking away from the studs in the wall cavities does occur and will not provide adequate insulation. There is at least one brand of foam in the market that has a horrific problem with this issue and will not take responsibility for the product. That being said follow me here, I have in my possession data logger readings from quite a number of south Texas homes we have sprayed that consistently show attic temps within 5 degrees of indoor temp and less than a one degree varience in indoor temps. This is the goal we set and intend to achieve on every project. I personally feel that each person walking onto one of my spray foam application projects is welcome to QC the work. Shoot they may even be so impressed by our easy going attitude that they recommend us to a friend and that one new customer may bring 4 or 5 new jobs to me. (Guess how I know this) I am sure your contractor of choice is like the rest of us wanting to provide the finest quality work and human error does occor, is best to deal with the concerns right now and get them finished so you can rock the house and get on with the process of completion so you too can enjoy the benefit of living in a true "high performance home" Hope I have not bored you to tears, Kenneth
Gerry Wagoner Posted: Aug 13, 2007 10:10 PM	It is customary to have some undulations to fix before the job is done. I don't like it either when there is a gap alongside the stud. Those can be filled with can foam and trimmed. The finish product will be great, just takes a few steering corrections along the way. Half-pound is so lively, it sometimes outgrows itself. Rigid foam doesn't have this trendency, and half-pound can be easily repaired. A can of orange/red marking paint is the best way to identify these areas. Have fun and be polite,
Shane Johnson Posted: Aug 16, 2007 10:10 PM	Hey guys, Thanks for all your input. I feel lucky to have been working with some very customer oriented people. They more more than willing to listen to my concerns and went above and beyond to hit every spot that I felt needed attention. They even brought out one of their more experienced sprayers and we walked the house together and he not only pointed out spots that needed some Hilti or hit with the gun he actually ripped some of the foam out to make it easier for the sprayer to see. I feel alot better about my decision to get foam...now I just cant wait to see if it really lowers my electric bill like they say. Thanks again
Michael Flander Posted: Aug 17, 2007 09:33 AM	By all means Shane, give the contractor a honorable mention would ya? We hear a lot of the bad things going on, but when a contractor goes out of his way to ensure a job well done he deserves a mention(round of applause here)... Just my 2 cents, Mike Flander
Shane Johnson Posted: Aug 17, 2007 10:42 AM	Sure I agree. Advanced Insulation in Baton Rouge, La. spraying Demilac Sealection 500. I have at least two other people building in the same new neighborhood that will have 137 homes when complete that I will highly recommend Brad and his crews.
David Lenaker Posted: Aug 20, 2007 04:03 PM	You definetly want to make sure the gaps between the stud are fixed. If they are not then you do not have an air tight seal.

Author

Comments

Shane Johnson

Posted: Aug 11, 2007 10:06 PM

New foam job question

Hi there I am currently getting my new home foamed. I went to check it out today to see how the progress was going and I noticed several places where the foam wasnt flush with my studs...is that shrinkage? When you look at the effected areas you can see into the wall space next to the stud almost all the way to the wall board. Also in a few areas I noticed what appeared to be a hole in the foam...when I looked in the hole I could see the decking and feel hot air coming in. The guys arent done with the job yet and I hate to bring things up before they finish so I just made a list noting the areas of concern. And lastly there are a few places where decking is visible that may have just been missed..is that normal? Thanks so much for any response.

Oh and BTW not sure if where I live is important but I am in south Louisiana

Posted: Aug 12, 2007 07:27 AM

flush with studs...doesnt concern me as long as we have adequate depth to optain reasonable r value...in fact i would prefer to keep the skin on and not trim if possible...
no this probably isnt shrinkage...but due to the application technique...
the "gap" at the stud interface is again due to application technique..we do not accept and we will reapply to fill these gaps...(we use a different spray tech to avoid this common pitfall)
the "holes" are common in opencell work(again an application malady)...they too should be filled either by stuffing with trimmings or spraying the hole...
allow them the opportunity to make it right without being told...casually point out a few of your concerns while they are on site and see if they have the moxie to fix it on their own,,,otherwise....

make a list...
make em do it right...let them know you will hold the check till they do...
they will hate you at first...
but they will repect you in the end

but do be sure that you know what you are busting their balls about...foam is a different profile than filterglass and paperulose,...and it wont look like those products..particularly the .5 lbs

(to my foam brother...peace man...fill the holes...dont leave gaps or unsprayed walls in the system...it should be obvious to all that 1 sub standard application can lead to an exponentially greater number of people hearing about it...and if it helps..been there,,done that,,and its made me a better foamer and person to recognize and remedy my shortcomeings)

...cause theres something bout a sunday...
that makes a body thinky of foam.....

Terry Adams

Posted: Aug 12, 2007 10:16 AM

well put , it would be nice if my crew could get it right everytime but sometime their shield gets covered or they are out of position etc. Give them a chance to correct on their own and if they do then you picked a good company, if they don't then make them. I always tell my customers the finished product will look great but be a little ugly till then.

Shane Johnson

Posted: Aug 12, 2007 11:31 AM

Thanks for the input guys. I totally agree with waiting until they are complete to bring up my concerns. These guys are the one that do it for a living.... Also in my original post I said that the foam wasnt flush with the studs...I guess I meant the sides of the studs... it just looked like it wasnt sticking. My foam guy made me aware that I would have an average 3 inch fill in the walls so I didnt expect it to be flush with the studs. Sorry for any confusion.

Posted: Aug 12, 2007 07:02 PM

Just for grins, I would casually visit with the spray crew leader regarding the voids, I know from experience that when you are spraying foam the world turns white and it is easy to overlook areas that need attention. I hope your contractor has a QC program in place that will allow him to correct this without your mentioning however the fact that you are here seems a little suspect on that matter. I have no problem with a client talking directly with my crews at any time, pointing out areas of concern, using a bright flashlight in attic areas or any other measure that it takes to help us provide a top shelf foam application. Foam that is shrinking away from the studs in the wall cavities does occur and will not provide adequate insulation. There is at least one brand of foam in the market that has a horrific problem with this issue and will not take responsibility for the product.

That being said follow me here,

I have in my possession data logger readings from quite a number of south Texas homes we have sprayed that consistently show attic temps within 5 degrees of indoor temp and less than a one degree varience in indoor temps. This is the goal we set and intend to achieve on every project. I personally feel that each person walking onto one of my spray foam application projects is welcome to QC the work. Shoot they may even be so impressed by our easy going attitude that they recommend us to a friend and that one new customer may bring 4 or 5 new jobs to me. (Guess how I know this)

I am sure your contractor of choice is like the rest of us wanting to provide the finest quality work and human error does occor, is best to deal with the concerns right now and get them finished so you can rock the house and get on with the process of completion so you too can enjoy the benefit of living in a true "high performance home"

Hope I have not bored you to tears,

Kenneth

Gerry Wagoner

Posted: Aug 13, 2007 10:10 PM

It is customary to have some undulations to fix before the job is done. I don't like it either when there is a gap alongside the stud. Those can be filled with can foam and trimmed.

The finish product will be great, just takes a few steering corrections along the way. Half-pound is so lively, it sometimes outgrows itself. Rigid foam doesn't have this trendency, and half-pound can be easily repaired. A can of orange/red marking paint is the best way to identify these areas.

Have fun and be polite,

Shane Johnson

Posted: Aug 16, 2007 10:10 PM

Hey guys,
Thanks for all your input. I feel lucky to have been working with some very customer oriented people. They more more than willing to listen to my concerns and went above and beyond to hit every spot that I felt needed attention. They even brought out one of their more experienced sprayers and we walked the house together and he not only pointed out spots that needed some Hilti or hit with the gun he actually ripped some of the foam out to make it easier for the sprayer to see. I feel alot better about my decision to get foam...now I just cant wait to see if it really lowers my electric bill like they say. Thanks again

Michael Flander

Posted: Aug 17, 2007 09:33 AM

By all means Shane, give the contractor a honorable mention would ya? We hear a lot of the bad things going on, but when a contractor goes out of his way to ensure a job well done he deserves a mention(round of applause here)...

Just my 2 cents,
Mike Flander

Shane Johnson

Posted: Aug 17, 2007 10:42 AM

Sure I agree. Advanced Insulation in Baton Rouge, La. spraying Demilac Sealection 500. I have at least two other people building in the same new neighborhood that will have 137 homes when complete that I will highly recommend Brad and his crews.

David Lenaker

Posted: Aug 20, 2007 04:03 PM

You definetly want to make sure the gaps between the stud are fixed. If they are not then you do not have an air tight seal.

You need to login to reply to this topic. Please click here to login.