Does anyone have any experience, advice, or guidance on insulating with tigerfoam from the inside of a finished and furnished house? House is an old house with little or no insulation in the walls. My preference is to not put the insulation in from the exterior, but that’s assuming an interior insulation isn’t too messy or complicated. And, regardless of whether it’s done interior or exterior, are their other details I’d need to attend to? (for example, sealing up electrical boxes so liquid foam doesn’t pour in…) Please advise!
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R U speaking of their slow rise foam for closed spaces?
Have you watched their video stuff online?
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Hi Benito9,
Does anyone have any experience, advice, or guidance on insulating with tigerfoam from the inside of a finished and furnished house? House is an old house with little or no insulation in the walls. My preference is to not put the insulation in from the exterior, but that's assuming an interior insulation isn't too messy or complicated. And, regardless of whether it's done interior or exterior, are their other details I'd need to attend to? (for example, sealing up electrical boxes so liquid foam doesn't pour in...) Please advise!
As long as your wiring is current and you don't have fire blocking in the wall.....it's pretty strait forward. Fire blocking needs extra effort.
The last one I helped a friend with, we pulled the covers and outlets, used fire caulk and sealed up the boxes from the front doing our best to keep it "out" of the box itself and basically pushed it through the holes. We covered the perimeter of the flooring with paper.
He had fireblocking in his walls and they were staggered pretty close so we popped the 10" base boards. We then used 1" hole saw in a cordless drill and in each stud bay put a hole at the base, top and bottom of each fire block and another at the top of the wall just below the top plate.
We filled the walls with low expansion foam and plugged the holes. From there we reinstalled the baseboard and created coordinating chair rail and crown molding to cover the plugged holes. Fresh coat of paint, it's beautiful and combined with the whole house being insulated, new low-e thermal windows and new gas heat......he's gone from $700 of fuel oil a month January 2 yrs ago, to $125 in propane last January.
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Piffin, I think it is the slow expansion stuff (whatever TigerFoam advises for my kind of application).Pedro, did you have any issues with blow-out? And, I think I saw that 1/2-inch holes were ok. Was there a reason you used 1-inch holes? (Naturally, 1/2-inch holes are a lot easier to patch!)Thanks!
Hi Benito9,
any issues with blow-out?
None whatsoever....some crept through the larger holes we drilled but that sliced right off.
I saw that 1/2-inch holes were ok. Was there a reason you used 1-inch holes?
We had the benefit of a lighted camera on a goose neck....it's about 3/4" and we slipped it in and watched on the tv monitor to make certain of what was in the walls. This was an unneccessary step but was comforting to know without a doubt that there were no extra blocks or any such items to interfere with a perfect job.
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I imagine that camera would satisfy my need to know "how are we doing?"For anyone not experienced to know how fast to proceed, so as not to over-do it and end up with too much and blow things loose. I have heard tales of overfill blowing a wall apart, but don't have the full story to know how well the wallboards and sheathing were attached.I have about $2500 of Tiger foam sitting in the next room right now for use next week, but it is the spray on surface type.If I can get the right degree of confidence in the low rise, I will probably use it in the future. We get a lot of older walls. Not all can be openned up in every house
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Oh man, first time thru for you trying the TigerFoam on an open wall?
Please keep us posted.
I have used a lot of polyurethene foam, but subccontractor appliedThey are all busy now, and the island has no ferry for a few weeks, so I get to do this one. I ordered for deleivery just in the nick of time, delivered 2-3 days before shutdown.This particular one is under floor - house built on piers.So I will be laying on my back with the floor 6" to 18" above my face.Oh, and a rope tied to one ankle so the guys can haul my butt out again for burial, LOL
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Oh, and a rope tied to one ankle so the guys can haul my butt out again for burial, LOL
Jezz be sure and spray efficiently, end to end around each and every pier....then have a video cam when they hook that rope to a 4x4.........try and hold the trigger open on the foam nozzle and light it when they pull you out.....it'll look like a rocket flying under the house....<grin>
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watch that the heat build up doesen't dehydrate you ...
vent well while yur at it...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
You mean vent me or the space?I have a air venting blower with long 2" hose to supply my nees if necessary. The house is free air flow under there - not an enclosed crawlspace.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Both..
WTB you'll be okay...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
Thanks all for the input. Piffin, I'd like to get some feedback after you finish doing the foam install (even if it is a slightly different product and installation). Good luck!
Hey Paul,In my area, the foam has to be covered with drywall. Fire block. Not sure if that applies to under the floor in a crawlspace, did you have any discussion about this with the BI?Kevin
I imagine that camera would satisfy my need to know "how are we doing?"
For anyone not experienced to know how fast to proceed, so as not to over-do it and end up with too much and blow things loose.
We actually took his pooches outdoor basic dog house and had some 1/8" plexiglass.....not sure where that came from.....this guy will give junkhound a run for his money.......anyhow we practiced on the dog house to get a feel for it and could "see" the whole thing happen just like the online videos you've seen....the difference was that "we" were the one's gettin' the feel of the wand.
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What is the reason you are choosing the foam over cellulose. I had my house walls done with cellulose from the inside and there was almost no excess cellulose that got into the house. The job for my 1130 sq ft house was done in less than half a day and was just about $1000.
Casey can you either post or e-mail the name of the contractor who did the placement?
Doesn't seem any of the local guys do it and I could use a name. Thanks
Life is Good
I should have updated my profile. The cellulose insulation was done last year in a house I own near Berkeley, Calif., that I have been renting out. I doubt that a Bay Area contractor is going to be of much help to you, but the contractor that did it was:All Season's Insulation in Pleasant Hill, Calif.
http://www.allseasonsinsulationcompany.com/
I'm considering foam because it's airtight. My exterior walls has clapboard over old plank sheathing. I suspect that a brisk wind can get inside the walls and my understanding is that cellulose isn't airtight. What say you?
Cellulose isn't completely "air-tight", but it does provide much more resistance to air infiltration than fiberglass insulation. You are not going to feel the wind whistling through dense-pack cellulose if there is a decent installation. It is not an "air-barrier" as the closed cell foams are, but for most houses, a complete air-barrier is not really needed. From a post to Green Building Advisor:"Because of the fiber characteristics and high density of blown cellulose insulation (3 to 3.5 pcf compared to mineral wool or fiberglass batts at less than 1 pcf), it is very effective at preventing internal convection and has been recognized as an effective fire-stop by third-party testing and code officials. While it may not meet the strict requirements for an air barrier material (0.02 l/sec-m2 or 0.004 cfm/sf @75Pa), it will significantly enhance the air-resistance of an assembly over other fibrous cavity insulations, maintain its rated R-value by preventing internal convection and dramatically reduce the flammability of a building structure."http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/community/forum/energy-efficiency-and-durability/12291/dense-pack-cellulose-air-barrierSorry, but at the moment I don't have the time to really do the research necessary to do a full answer to your query. There are a number of proponents of cellulose on Breaktime. I am surprised some of them haven't jumped in yet.