DIY Spray Foam Insulation
Mar/28/08 08:23 AM
Yesterday I did what I would classify as both the coolest thing and the most frustrating thing that I have done in a long time.
There is just something inherently interesting about spray foam insulation. Being an artist, I could play with a can of that stuff for hours. Anyway, try 2 cans as big as propane tanks. Talk about cool!
The frustration stems from my own skill, or lack there of, to apply it evenly. That and the god-awful mess it made. In fact it was making such a mess that I don’t think that Kristin could bear to watch, so she went home.
During a meeting with the architect, we had expressed interest in using spray-foam insulation between the ceiling joists above the stairwell. Us, not knowing that it would be waaaay expensive to pay to have it done, Bret suggested that we try and do it ourselves. He recommended several companies that manufacture the foam. A few clicks on ebay and a coupla weeks later I had the goods.
We have been waiting for a good 70º day to use the foam, as per the manufacturers suggestion. Yesterday was that day. I got up at 3:30 am, went to work at 5:00 am so I could leave work early and spray the foam. Ok so maybe I was a little tired, when I began. But I unpacked the canisters and shook them up and then called Bret because he wanted to see the installation. I think it may have been his own curious fascination with foam, either that or like a criminal that feels guilty, he wanted to stand trial in case anything went awry.
The installation went as follows:
- 1.I unpacked and shook up the canisters, by rolling them around on the floor.
- 2.I placed the canisters in a central location, since they are heavy buggers. Also if you stop for more than 30 seconds to move the canisters, you have to change the tip on the gun. (This was stressful and made me rush the job.)
- 3.I spent ten to fifteen minutes looking for the right sized wrench to attach the hoses, not realizing that they provided a wrench in the kit. Then I hooked up the first hose to the “A” canister and the second hose to the “B” canister and opened both valves.
- 4.I started on the ceiling in the stairwell and worked my way up. This stuff was raining down like a blizzard. BUT DAMN IT WAS COOL!
- 5.I made sure to hit all the important areas first so that any thing I had left would just be gravy.
- 6.After I hit the stairwell I hit the ceiling in the dormer bathroom. Taking time to carefully cover our new clawfoot tub beforehand.
- 7.After that I just went until I ran out, which happened when I had only about 6 feet left to go from doing the entire upstairs. I think, however, that batts will suffice in those areas.
Overall, I’m not even really sure if I did it correctly, but Bret seemed to think I did. I would recommend this project to any of you DIYers considering something similar; because, quite frankly, it was fun.
Afterwards I went out to the bar for boy’s night, and I have to say it was a great conversation center-piece (Although in typical boy’s night fashion, the conversation quickly degraded into the fact that I was using a big hose attached to 2 canisters). Anyway...
If I could do it over, there are two things I would have done differently. First, I would have covered the floors, and second, I would have worn a hat...