Attic Insulation Closed Cell Foam

Because it requires professional installation closed cell foam insulation is pricey but it offers r 6 thermal value for every inch of thickness.

Attic insulation closed cell foam.

Closed cell foam can also increase the racking. Since closed cell foam has a higher r value per inch installers generally spray 2 in walls and 3 in rooflines to meet the energy code requirements of r 13 and r 19 respectively. This can result all if your spray polyurethane foam insulation gets botched by someone who simply doesn t understand the science of proper application. Insulating value and strength open cell foam has an r value of about 3 5 to 3 7 per inch while closed cell foam has an r value of about 6 per inch.

Whereas blown in insulation works by filling the. There is 300 difference there but the cost they give you is about a third difference and open cell foam at 12 inches will not give you the performance of 2 inches of closed. Closed cell foam has a higher r value than open cell foam usually about 6 0 per inch. Closed cell spray foam r values why spray foam insulation is so effective in meeting code requirements is that it has a higher r value per inch of product used than batts.

Intumescent coatings are not always needed to coat spray foam in the attic in order to meet code thermal barrier requirements. For example closed cell spray foam depending on brand can offer an r 6 or r 7 per inch. R tech panels are an engineered rigid insulation consisting of a superior closed cell lightweight and resilient expanded polystyrene eps with advanced polymeric laminate facers. We live in minneapolis so we really care about that.

A foams r value is its resistance to heat flow or in other words how well they insulate. In the worst cases homeowners have been plagued by horrible smells that could only be addressed by painstaking and expensive removal of the foam they d already paid good money for. The american lung association also recommends it for a different reason. R tech rigid foam insulation.

But some closed cell foams like tiger foam s e84 closed cell formula have even higher ratings that go up to almost 7 per inch. Closed cell foam can be over three times that with a density of 1 75 pounds per cubic foot or more. This higher rating makes closed cell foam better at keeping heat in or out of. Our builders encouraged closed cell spray foam as it is the best r factor per inch of insulation.

I m not going to dive into the energy code here but these numbers apply to many climate zones the latter being allowed under the ua tradeoffs rule. Open cell foam weighs 1 2 pound per cubic foot and closed cell weighs 2 lbs per cubic foot.