Been a long time since I posted anything here, guess I thought I knew everything! Well I don’t! Currently building house for customer in Toronto, Ontario area. (warm summers, cold winters) Was toying with idea of insulating 2X6 walls with 5″ closed cell spray foam (approx R30) but get a bit of negative feedback about noise transmission through walls and just a generally ‘hollow sound’ in the house. Interested to read the article in last months FH about combination of foam & fiberglass but possibly question the overall effectiveness of the job if the foam is perhaps a bit uneven. I would probably aim to have 2- 2 1/2″ of foam and install R-13 fiberglass batts (article claims that compressing batts actually increases R value?????0 What about vapour barrier- yes or no? Help please!! Thanks.
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Foam and Fiberglass
CanCarp,
Q. "Article claims that compressing batts actually increases R-value?"
A. Compressing a fiberglass batt reduces the R-value of the batt but increases the R-value per inch of thickness.
Q. "What about vapour barrier- yes or no?"
A. You should never include a polyethylene vapor barrier when using the flash-and-batt method. All you need is vapor-retarder paint.