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

A local Reno builder encouraged a new Reno resident to invest in the new home with a polyurethane insulation system and have us –  Foam Insulation Solutions install the system.

We are currently in the prep phase of the home; which includes a full caulking package on the exterior wall studs, king studs, headers, top and bottom plates and anywhere else the home may allow air to flow; this phase is critical to eliminate air flow to save the home owner money. This home will be done in the Demilec USA chemical Agribalance.

Agribalance is an open cell low density foam with an R value of 4.5 per inch. That equals an R Value of R24.75 in the walls and 10 inches in the roof for an R value of 45. This house is using a radiant heat system. The home owner will see a minimum savings of 50% in heating and cooling costs. The mechanical engineer was able to reduce the size of boiler for the radiant, and has incorporated an air exchange system into the Air conditioning system to make up air so we do not create a stagnant environment.

We will be installing the foam over the next 5 days, and we should be complete and out of the house by the end of next week.

I love foaming homes. Because every time we foam a home that home is going to perform and we have done the planet a favor by reducing this homeowners needs for natural gas and electricity. That benefits us all.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us and if you live in the area feel free to come out and see for yourself the benefits of foam. Thanks and have a great day.