Well things are kinda slow out there right now.  The economy is making things tough and the lack of new houses being built is hard on the contractor right now.

We have however been able to work with several home energy auditors to get some work retro fitting house that are leaking energy.  If you are looking for simple ways to save money then doing an energy audit and then fixing those problems will save you money.  I recommend that if you are paying high energy bills you look into an energy audit and then fix those issues.  You will be amazed at how doing just a little can save a lot.  If you can’t afford an audit then do one yourself. 

If you look in your attic and you have no insulation or very little then start with an upgrade to either a foam system or add additional insulation to what you have existing.  the second thing you want to look for is go into your crawl space and make sure all your ducts are hooked up.  If you are able go to each one of your floor registers and put some Greatstuff around the boot where in goes into the floor.  If you have no insulation in the floor of the house really consider putting insulation either on your stem wall or in the floor.  If you don’t have any insulation then either have it installed or do it your self.  We will typically install foam on the rim joist, and then batt the sub floor, or just foam the whole floor and rim joist.  rim Joists are major losers in energy.  These are just a few good places to start making your home more energy efficient.

People ask me all the time why should I foam my house.  To me the answer is simple, but when your writing the check you need a little more answer than it’s the most energy efficient product you can use and it will save you up to 50% of the energy you would typically use with a standard insulation system.

I am very passionate about spray foam insulation.  I have been a contractor for over 10 years and have worked on some really amazing projects as a drywall and painting contractor.  As the years have passed I am still really passionate about doing great work in the painting and drywall side of my business, but the last few years I have realized that what I do as a painting and drywall contractor really doesn’t make a difference to anyone other than the home owner and their guests.  Fact is that when we turn a house from sheet-rock and trim into a beautiful home there is a sense of accomplishment.  That sense of accomplishment is minimal compared to the sense of accomplishment I get from installing foam in a house.

I won’t lie the work is hard and the installs are well not much fun.  Imagine dragging 30 pounds of house around all day, wearing a Tyvek suit, and a fresh air hood.  There is not much glamor in any of that. 

So why foam?   Well I do this now for the planet and my kid, and my kids kids.  I get more satisfaction out of knowing that every job we do we have reduced that consumers need for electricity, natural gas, or propane 50%.  What does that equate to?  Well that means we will potentially need to drill less holes in the ground looking for gas, we will need to reduce the removal of mountain tops in the coal country, we will not need to build new coal fired power, and hydro  plants to meet the demand of a growing country.  This is why we should foam. 

My company and many companies like mine who have taken on the job of improving the insulation envelope in homes and buildings are on the front lines of the war against the planet and its limited resources.  I am really grateful when I get a job and we do the job and we get paid.  That’s all good stuff but the really good stuff comes over the life of the building or home we have sprayed foam in.  I know that every house or building we have done is performing.  It is saving energy and it is saving the planet from our needs to extract more resources to meet a demand we can reduce by 50%. 

So the next time you are building a house or a building you should weigh several benefits to the use of foam insulation.  The savings of 50% of what you would be spending on energy is in your pocket and not the utilities pocket, the healthy living environment you are living inside of daily is one that is the healthiest you can possibly have, ( by the way studies show indoor air quality can be worse than the outdoor air quality) and you are being a positive force on this planet by reducing your needs for natural resources that are limited.  You can put up all the solar panels and wind turbines you like, and these are good things to utilize in your project, but if you do not insulate your project to the fullest then you are in a sense wasting all that energy that you are trying to save.

Remember you only get one chance to insulate your project, so please next time you are building a house or a building remember that the cost above and beyond a fiberglass system will be back in your pocket in a 3 to 5 year period.  I don’t know too many people who wouldn’t like to keep an extra $100 to $150 in their pocket every month.

Last month we were contacted by the owner of the disposal service for Smith Valley, and Yerington Nevada.  He has a trash and garbage disposal service that has a large three bay steel building for servicing all his equipment.  He built the building himself and it is standard steel construction.  He neglected to install the foam baffles that come with the building so all his roof edges, corners, and floor were not sealed from the outside air.  He contacted us because it was constantly cold in the winter in the shop and the dust was blowing in the building like there were no walls on it. 

We went out and sealed all the edges of the roof, corners, and floor with closed cell foam.  It is now tight and the outside air is not able to come inside the building unless the doors are open.  We used closed cell spray foam as it is rigid and this being a shop they can wash out the shop and not have any effect on the foam on the floor line. 

Closed cell spray foam is the best product for steel buildings.  It is tough and essentially it welds the whole building together.  No condensation will occur in the roof assemblies when sprayed with closed cell.   If you have ever been in the steel building construction trade you know that if you but a fiberglass batt up on the roof deck then you will have moisture.  Spray foam eliminates this completely.

We sprayed our shop which is 10,000 sqft with closed cell foam 3 inches for an R21.  We have 3 huge doors and our average winter heating bill is under $800 per month for the shop and the office.  We installed open cell spray foam around the office to keep the shop noise out and insulate the offices. 

If you have any questions feel free to contact us and we will be happy to answer any questions you have on installing spray foam in steel structures.

Well we finished the house in Bishop California for the Martins and things went really well.  The house as i mentioned was constructed of ICF ( Insulated Concrete Forms) and was located out in the Buttermilk’s which lie at the base of Mount Tom essentially.  You can only imagine how windy it will be there at times.  The location of this home is unique in that it lies at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains and it will see some really harsh weather over the course of a year.  The winds, and snow will be heavy at times and the owners have done the right thing in they built this home using the ICF and Agribalance open cell in the roof.  We installed 10 inches for an R 45 value in the roof assembly.  The owners have solar as well on the home which makes this home quite energy efficient.  We finished the job around 7 pm so i was not able to get the finished photos.  I look forward to hearing from them next year after they have lived in the home and get a good feel for how well the combination of ICF and foam are working.

We are off to Bishop California to foam the roof of a new home that has incorporated ICF construction with radiant heat, and solar.  I am really excited about working on this home.  Insulated Concrete Forms and foam roofs go hand in hand with each other.  The icing on the cake is the solar system.  The homeowners will surely be happy when they move in and basically have a zero energy home.  I will keep you up to date on how their energy costs are going and how well the systems of ICF and a foam roof works.  I will get some pictures going so you can see this method of construction.

Aaron

Well things have gone well on this new home in Reno.  I installed Agribalance in all the exterior walls of this new home.  The wall R value is 24.75, and is sealed tight.  We completed the walls and then went to work on the roof assembly.  This roof assembly was one of the tougher roof assemblies we have done as the house had some small vaulted ceilings that did not lend themselves to a six foot applicator working in them very easily.  I installed 10 inches of Agribalance in the roof assembly for an R value of 45.  I installed 6 inches in the sub floor between the first and second floors.  This is not always a necessary step as the floor is inside the envelope of the house.  The customer wanted this done for sound control and for insulation properties.  It is however essential if you choose not to do the sub floor to make sure that the rim joist is sprayed in and sealed.   One of the big losers in energy efficiency in a home is the rim joist.

This home will have a fresh air exchanger installed, and it is using radiant heat, and forced air heat, and air conditioning.  I would have stuck to all radiant heat if this were my home however this homeowner had his own plans for heating and cooling. 

Remember if your going to be using foam insulation and your doing the entire envelope you will want to install the air exchanger.  Foam homes are sealed tight.  This means the typical air flow in fiberglass homes does not exist.  Foam homes are tight and can become stagnant if the air is not exchanged on a regular basis.  This is easily done in the summer by opening windows and doors when you are home, but in the winter that is not a good idea as all the energy you have just used goes right out the window or door.  Most air exchangers can be incorporated into your HVAC system, and include both a heated coil and cooling coil. 

This home is complete and will see a minimum of 50% less consumption of energy resources.  I will post some Photos soon so you can all see a foam home, or go to our website.  www.foamwest.com

Thanks and have a great day.  We are off to Bishop California to foam a home there this week and we will let you know how it goes.

Aaron