Every so often someone asks about Icynene Insulation, so here's my
experience. I won't go into the claimed benefits of Icynene vs. other types
of insulation, as you can read about that on the Icynene web site. Suffice
it to say that my basement is dry and mildew-free, and I want it to stay
that way, so that's why I chose to use Icynene.

The objective was to insulate my basement as part of a basement finishing
project. I live in a mid-atlantic state near Washington, D.C., so we get
enough cold weather to definitely make insulating the basement worthwhile
for comfort and energy efficiency.

Approximately 110 feet of perimeter wall approximately 92" inches high was
insulated, plus a standard band joist (12"). The total cost was
approximately $1800.00. The contractor required 1/3 of the cost paid in
advance and the remainder within 30 days after installation, with a discount
(about $100) for paying the remaining 2/3 immediately after installation.
(As a side comment, the insulation contractor told me that he charges about
more for basements than for above ground areas due higher material
consumption for basements because spraying on cold concrete requires more
raw material.) This is obviously much more expensive that fiberglass.

The contractor told me to cover the items in the basement with plastic drop
cloth because of slight misting that occurs during installation. The really
thin, cheap plastic drop cloth was sufficient. On the areas that I didn't
cover, a slight dusting of Icynene was left, but it wiped off easily with a
dry rag.

The two installers arrived at the scheduled time. They stapled additional
plastic over the windows and over areas adjacent to the area that would be
insulated. They also reviewed exactly what area would be insulated.

The installers then spent about an hour setting up, which consisted of
connecting various hoses, turning dials on equipment, and waiting for the
Icynene to "heat up". The Icynene comes as a two-part product in 55 gallon
drums. They connected piston-devices to the drums that pumped for about 40
minutes while the Icynene components were heated.

The actual spraying of the Icynene took only about 90 minutes. My framing
is about 1 1/2" from the concrete foundation walls, and although I was
promised an average of 3 1/2" of insulation (R-13), they actually filled the
framing more than that, so I ended up with about 4 1/2" of insulation
(approximately R-17). The band joist was filled with approximately 6" of
Icynene.

The installers didn't get the insulation anywhere that they weren't supposed
to (such as in outlet boxes). They told me that it wasn't necessary to
cover the outlet boxes (except for those that actually had recepticles in
them, since the material sticks to plastic), which I was a little skeptical
about, but they actually didn't get any Icynene in the outlet boxes.

During and after spraying, the installers used a common hand saw to remove
excess Icynene where it had expanded past the interior surface of the studs.
This took about 30 minutes, including cleanup.

The Icynene emits a very noticible (but not unpleasant) odor during the
first 2 days after spraying, but after a week, the odor was nearly gone and
after 2 weeks, was completely gone. The odor did not permeate other floors
of the house. I opened the basement windows during the daytime during
first two days after installation to improve the basement air quality.

The basement is definitely warmer, about the same temperture as the rest of
the house. Of course, winter isn't here yet, so I can't really judge its
effectiveness during truly cold weather, nor can I judge the other claimed
benefits of Icynene.

The only thing I regret is that no one thought to cover the smoke detectors
and CO2 detector, so they probably got a bit of mist in them and should
probably be replaced. Other than that, the installation was flawless.

I hope this helps a few folks.