Foam

Really quick, because it's late, I thought you all might enjoy a movie I took today of the happenings at Casa Costa Lotta... 

Anyway, as you know, we have always planned on using foam to insulate the house, as the exterior walls are already insulated by design, that leaves the roof rafters and stem walls to contend with. 

The foam is a product called Sealection 500 from Demilec.  I could talk all day about foam, but in a nutshell it is a highly expansive "open cell" foam that has two big advantages.  First, it insulates well as far as R value, and second since it gets in every nook and cranny it has the capability of air sealing things you wouldn't otherwise be able to consider. 

In this video, they are using a "heated airless" sprayer to apply the two components of the foam, a polymeric isocyanate and resin, which is fed through two heated hoses, and then mixed in the nozzle.  The two components react together to create the foam which expands tremendously and sticks to everything.  The foam cures in just a few seconds and it is permanent.

Here is the finished product high above in the master bathroom.  They still have to "scarf" the foam, which means cut it out where the sheet rock will lay.  In addition to immediately cutting off the source of radiant heat in the house, the foam also deadened the sound so that you can clap your hands, talk, etc. and get no echo at all now in the house. 

Another great contractor that I feel really lucky to have found (thanks to my buddy... Thanks Brian). 

By the way, the man above in the video is wearing a respirator, and a full tyvek suit.  If you were to breathe in this stuff all day, which kind of has a "mist" effect, I think your lungs would be pretty damaged.  The helmet and suit is fed with compressed air so they can breath fresh air.  I think it helps to cool them off a little bit, but the bottom line is that this is a punishing job due to the heat, and being in the suit all day is pretty miserable....

More foam tomorrow, and maybe drywall next week?? 

I continue my continuous list of little jobs I can never get rid of...

Have a great week...