SteveB wrote:

We're at the point of insulating our house addition.

Our general suggested we use the blown in foam type that is then cut off
flush to the studs. He says there is less air infiltration, and that this
company also pays particular attention to details such as caulking around
windows and doors etc.

My question is about down the line. This spray encapsulates the pipes and
wires. Later on, if one wants to break into the wall for any purpose,
doesn't this make access a little harder? And more to fix?

Or is this a good type of insulation versus the fiberglass batts?

We have a slight pitched roof, so will have to use batts put up from below
because of no crawl space in the attic. No attic.

Thanks.

Steve


Hi,
Where do you live? Foam is Pita when and if you need to work on wiring
or plumbing. On the roof, I'd use rigid styrofoam panels(higher R value)
Here in Calgary Alberta, ceiling needs R60, walls R20, basement walls
R12 minimum. We use 2x6 studs for outside walls. Most new houses use
triple pane windows.

On Nov 7, 10:20 am, Tony Hwang wrote:
SteveB wrote:
We're at the point of insulating our house addition.

Our general suggested we use the blown in foam type that is then cut off
flush to the studs. He says there is less air infiltration, and that this
company also pays particular attention to details such as caulking around
windows and doors etc.

My question is about down the line. This spray encapsulates the pipes and
wires. Later on, if one wants to break into the wall for any purpose,
doesn't this make access a little harder? And more to fix?

Or is this a good type of insulation versus the fiberglass batts?

We have a slight pitched roof, so will have to use batts put up from below
because of no crawl space in the attic. No attic.

Thanks.

Steve

Hi,
Where do you live? Foam is Pita when and if you need to work on wiring
or plumbing. On the roof, I'd use rigid styrofoam panels(higher R value)
Here in Calgary Alberta, ceiling needs R60, walls R20, basement walls
R12 minimum. We use 2x6 studs for outside walls. Most new houses use
triple pane windows.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Fiberglass is R 3.5" foams are R5" to R7" for GE foam. Foam seals best
for air infiltration and is the best. Worrying about future need to
open a wall is backwards.

We're at the point of insulating our house addition.

Our general suggested we use the blown in foam type that is then cut off
flush to the studs. He says there is less air infiltration, and that this
company also pays particular attention to details such as caulking around
windows and doors etc.

My question is about down the line. This spray encapsulates the pipes and
wires. Later on, if one wants to break into the wall for any purpose,
doesn't this make access a little harder? And more to fix?

Or is this a good type of insulation versus the fiberglass batts?

We have a slight pitched roof, so will have to use batts put up from below
because of no crawl space in the attic. No attic.

Thanks.

Steve

SteveB wrote:

We're at the point of insulating our house addition.

Our general suggested we use the blown in foam type that is then cut off
flush to the studs. He says there is less air infiltration, and that this
company also pays particular attention to details such as caulking around
windows and doors etc.

My question is about down the line. This spray encapsulates the pipes and
wires. Later on, if one wants to break into the wall for any purpose,
doesn't this make access a little harder? And more to fix?

Or is this a good type of insulation versus the fiberglass batts?

We have a slight pitched roof, so will have to use batts put up from below
because of no crawl space in the attic. No attic.

Thanks.

Steve

The spray in foam is certainly very good from an insulation/vapor
barrier perspective, but it does preclude easily pulling new wires and
whatnot into the wall cavities in the future. It is possible to bore
through the foam with the long flex drill bits if needed, and if you are
willing to open up the whole cavity then it's easy to cut / dig out the
foam in the area you need to work in. Hopefully you don't have many
pipes in exterior walls anyway.

Personally if I were building a house / addition, I would use the spray
foam insulation, however I would run all my electrical and plumbing (PEX
tubing) in conduit (separate electrical and plumbing of course) so that
only the conduit is encapsulated in the insulation and I can add /
remove wires or tubing as needed in the future.

The spray in foam is certainly very good from an insulation/vapor
barrier perspective, but it does preclude easily pulling new wires and
whatnot into the wall cavities in the future.

Batts would preclude (or seriously hinder) any fishing as well. Either
way, you'd be tearing down wallboard, so you might as well have the
better performing insulation installed.

On Wed, 07 Nov 2007 20:50:46 GMT, Robert Barr wrote:



The spray in foam is certainly very good from an insulation/vapor
barrier perspective, but it does preclude easily pulling new wires and
whatnot into the wall cavities in the future.

Batts would preclude (or seriously hinder) any fishing as well. Either
way, you'd be tearing down wallboard, so you might as well have the
better performing insulation installed.

If you're thinking ahead, then put the wiring into condiuit, or leave
an empty conduit to add later.

Are there horizontal wood braces between studs? That's going to be
more of a problem than the insulation.

But really, consider your costs/benfits. I think better insulation
far outweighs the potential problems for later changes in wiring and
piping.

samurai

Yes, use blown in place cellulose. you can check out the facts at
www.centralfiber.com and you can view the fire retardantcy video at :
http://www.cocooninsulation.com/homeowners/

it trims off like the foam, but you could still fish a wire through it if
you wanted to.

s


"SteveB" wrote in message
...
We're at the point of insulating our house addition.

Our general suggested we use the blown in foam type that is then cut off
flush to the studs. He says there is less air infiltration, and that this
company also pays particular attention to details such as caulking around
windows and doors etc.

My question is about down the line. This spray encapsulates the pipes and
wires. Later on, if one wants to break into the wall for any purpose,
doesn't this make access a little harder? And more to fix?

Or is this a good type of insulation versus the fiberglass batts?

We have a slight pitched roof, so will have to use batts put up from below
because of no crawl space in the attic. No attic.

Thanks.

Steve

it's not a problem at all to fish a wire through fiberglass bats. done it
dozens of times.

s


"Robert Barr" wrote in message
t...

Batts would preclude (or seriously hinder) any fishing as well. Either
way, you'd be tearing down wallboard, so you might as well have the better
performing insulation installed.

Robert Barr wrote:


The spray in foam is certainly very good from an insulation/vapor
barrier perspective, but it does preclude easily pulling new wires and
whatnot into the wall cavities in the future.

Batts would preclude (or seriously hinder) any fishing as well. Either
way, you'd be tearing down wallboard, so you might as well have the
better performing insulation installed.

I've never had an issue pushing my steel fish tape through fiberglass
batt insulation, nor blown in cellulose insulation.

closed cell foam is the best but pricey option, it cuts air
infiltration to near nothing which cuts sound transmission too. at R6
per inch or more you end up with a warm quiet home. plus you dont need
any vapor barrier.

"SteveB" wrote in message
...
We're at the point of insulating our house addition.

Our general suggested we use the blown in foam type that is then cut off
flush to the studs. He says there is less air infiltration, and that this
company also pays particular attention to details such as caulking around
windows and doors etc.

My question is about down the line. This spray encapsulates the pipes and
wires. Later on, if one wants to break into the wall for any purpose,
doesn't this make access a little harder? And more to fix?

Corbond makes a spray-on foam insulation that's just great. And, the room
will be super well insulated from not only the outside heat/cold, but the
noise as well. Better than fiberglass in that respect.