I’m looking for an insulation contractor in South Jersey to install Closed cell foam on the underside of my first floor joists. Atleast I think thats the route I want to go. Let me describe the situation and see if anyone has any better suggestions. the house is a 111 year old Victorian cottage. It’s approximately 1200 square feet total, and the basement is under about 415 square feet of it. the rest is on a crawl space. I did a wet bed for hte kitchen tile, and insulated the crawl space pretty well at that time so I’m not going to do the crawl space, just the basement. The walls are typical balloon frame 2×4 construction. I insulated everywhere I tore out with R-13 fiberglass. The exterior is Asbestos siding over the old wood siding over tar paper with no sheathing underneath. Interior is all 1/2″ drywall on the exterior walls now. the basement is as dry as can be expected for a loose stacked stone foundation. There is an lumpy concret floor in the basement as well. Floor joists are 2×8.
Anyway, I’m having a hard time finding someone in theyellow pages, and everyone I talk to is recommending batts. Is it worth using spray in? What should i expect to pay for approx 415 sf?
Replies
You can find foam contractors by looking at the manuf. websites and using the "Find an Installer" search. Corbond might be one to check.
Check with Arbrisco Enterprises, located in Millville, NJ. They are an icynene installer.
I used close cell on my first floor crawl space, all exterior walls on first and second floor addition to my house and all roof rafters. It has been great. In the basement situation the foam will eliminate any infiltration of air or moisture through the sub floor and the band joist. It will have to be covered with a fire barrier, 1/2" drywall, if the area is accessable. In a crawl space our local inspector did not require a fire barrier -- Lower Bucks County, Pa. One contractor I use is McGlaughlin Spray Foam 215 822 2702. Your job is small so you will pay a flat fee. You could try going on the web to Foam Insulation and find a company which sells did it your self cans that cover a certain amount of sq ft. Just remember to suit up and mask your face.
the fire barrier is making me rethink this then. It would be completely impossible to get anything larger than a 4x4 peice of drywall into my basement, and in some places there are water and gas line running across the joists, so even if I got the materials into the basement, I wouldn't be able to hang them. I like the idea of stopping the air/moisture infiltration since i have new hardwood on the first floor above, but The fire barier seems to be the sticking point. I may have to go with unfaced batts.