# Spray Foam



## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Murder on wires when you lay it on thick, melted every conductor together.


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## DaVinciRemodel (Oct 7, 2009)

Inner10 said:


> Murder on wires when you lay it on thick, melted every conductor together.


Looks like it’s murder on your hands too :laughing: Define “lay it on thick”. How thick is too thick?


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

DaVinciRemodel said:


> Looks like it’s murder on your hands too :laughing: Define “lay it on thick”. How thick is too thick?


This was 4" of closed cell, I'm assuming the installer layed it on thick instead of doing half inch lifts and letting the heat dissipate...really did a number on this wire.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

Didn't know it could get that hot.


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## woodchuck2 (Feb 27, 2008)

Lots of opinions out there but i am not fond of the spray foam myself. I too have seen melted wire sheathing, a nightmare to fish through, very expensive and i have seen a couple homes around here that were so tightly sealed that fresh air ventilation needed to be installed so the home could breathe. It does have many benefits but not enough to convince me into using it. IMO window technology is what needs to be worked on for better insulating and heat loss.


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## EricBrancard (Jun 8, 2012)

woodchuck2 said:


> i have seen a couple homes around here that were so tightly sealed that fresh air ventilation needed to be installed so the home could breathe.


I'd rather have a tight home with an HRV/ERV than a leaky home.


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

EricBrancard said:


> I'd rather have a tight home with an HRV/ERV than a leaky home.


That's everyone's kneejerk thought, and where the codes are inevitably headed. However, I have a problem with the idea of a dwelling that requires a 24/7 artificial means of ventilation. Where's the energy savings in that? How are you and your house going to stay healthy through an extended power outage?


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

BCConstruction said:


> Didn't know it could get that hot.


This was sprayed in the summer when it was already really hot compounding the issue. What you see there is a short on every conductor.

I don't have a problem with spray foam, but when you delete the conduit from the contract and decided to spray over wires, at least spray in a fashion that you don't destroy them.


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

Tinstaafl said:


> That's everyone's kneejerk thought, and where the codes are inevitably headed. However, I have a problem with the idea of a dwelling that requires a 24/7 artificial means of ventilation. Where's the energy savings in that? How are you and your house going to stay healthy through an extended power outage?


Crack a window


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## tyb525 (Feb 26, 2013)

jlsconstruction said:


> Crack a window


Just quit being a baby and let your house leak a little :jester:


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

tyb525 said:


> Just quit being a baby and let your house leak a little :jester:


My house leaks like a mofo, I can only dream of it being so tight I have to buy an air exchanger


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## EricBrancard (Jun 8, 2012)

Tinstaafl said:


> That's everyone's kneejerk thought, and where the codes are inevitably headed. However, I have a problem with the idea of a dwelling that requires a 24/7 artificial means of ventilation. Where's the energy savings in that? How are you and your house going to stay healthy through an extended power outage?


HRVs don't really cost that much to run. Probably less than than having a real leaky house. I'd rather have a filtered source of fresh air and a means to exhaust stale air than rely on poor building details to let air leak in and out of my house uncontrolled.

Power outages? Like already said, open in window. If the power outage is more than a week, you have much bigger issues than fresh air. I have a backup generator setup and a 1k gallon propane tank so I'm not super worried about it. 

While energy savings are a big part of it, they aren't everything. You have to live there too, not just pay the bills. Comfort and health is a big part of it and a tight, mechanically vented house will blow the doors off a leaky house in that aspect.


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## tyb525 (Feb 26, 2013)

I just dont understand how anyone lasted a year in those crappy leaky farmhouses back in the day. That fresh air leaking in was just so dang unhealthy its a wonder anyone survived!


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

I have an old leaky house with a brand new high efficiency gas furnace, it's so cheap to heat I don't think I'll bother adding insulation.


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## EricBrancard (Jun 8, 2012)

tyb525 said:


> I just dont understand how anyone lasted a year in those crappy leaky farmhouses back in the day. That fresh air leaking in was just so dang unhealthy its a wonder anyone survived!


Ok. It's nice that we can have a discussion without people being purposely obtuse....


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## tyb525 (Feb 26, 2013)

It's not a discussion when a person won't accept any ideas but their own. Too many questionable practices in the trades were adopted because everyone went along with it, ignoring anyone that questioned those practices.


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## EricBrancard (Jun 8, 2012)

tyb525 said:


> It's not a discussion when a person won't accept any ideas but their own. Too many questionable practices in the trades were adopted because everyone went along with it, ignoring anyone that questioned those practices.


Where are you getting that I won't accept any views but my own? Because I expressed my views and you don't agree with them?

Too many questionable practices have continued because everyone went along with them because "that's how we've always done it" too.


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## SLSTech (Sep 13, 2008)

BCConstruction said:


> Didn't know it could get that hot.


Oh yeah, some of them have burnt down houses due to not paying attention to the lift specs from the manufacturers

As for trying to compare an old farmhouse to a modern house - no worries just rip out the AC units, go back to chopping 5 cords or more of wood & you are good to go. 

As for costs, they vary but as I know people paying over $700 a month to heat while most people in newer homes are around $200 :whistling


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

SLSTech said:


> As for trying to compare an old farmhouse to a modern house - no worries just rip out the AC units, go back to chopping 5 cords or more of wood & you are good to go.
> 
> As for costs, they vary but as I know people paying over $700 a month to heat while most people in newer homes are around $200 :whistling


If you chop your own wood, it won't cost $700 a month. :jester:

On a more serious note, the monthly cost of heating doesn't address the extra cost associated with super-green building that may or may not pay for itself over the expected tenancy--which most likely is going to be far less than a lot of the 150 year old leaky houses standing today.


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## Dan_Watson (Mar 1, 2008)

EricBrancard said:


> Ok. It's nice that we can have a discussion without people being purposely obtuse....


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## duburban (Apr 10, 2008)

BCConstruction said:


> Didn't know it could get that hot.


Spray foam in too big of a lift has burnt down multiple homes.


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## MTN REMODEL LLC (Sep 3, 2010)

Tinstaafl said:


> If you chop your own wood, it won't cost $700 a month. :jester:
> 
> On a more serious note, the monthly cost of heating doesn't address the extra cost associated with super-green building that may or may not pay for itself over the expected tenancy--which most likely is going to be far less than a lot of the 150 year old leaky houses standing today.


Tin.... I've wondered....no bitched about.... some of Cali Title 24.

In my son's addition in SoCal, we had to put in second a high efficiecncy furnace.... verse some electric baseboard.

Now his heat goes on probably less than 30 days a year, and then only nominally. I don't think his grandchildren would ever see payback on his investment.

Furthermore, I question the net energy expended in the equipment manufacture/transport/install/future mainrenance/replacement verse the energy savings of operation.

Furthermore, his heating system will never be afforded any green economies of solor or wind energy....should it become feasable/economic.

If I remember the exceptions correctly (they did not apply in his case), I do not think any consideration was given to his climate zone and the extent of use. Yet one can use electric baseboard up in Tahoe because there is no gas available.

Just saying


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## Calidecks (Nov 19, 2011)

Inner10 said:


> Murder on wires when you lay it on thick, melted every conductor together.


Can it do the same to romex?


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## Irishslave (Jun 20, 2010)

I hate the chit.........there are other ways to insulate and you'll never seal every single opening anyway..............plus a tight ship invites mold


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## chewy (May 23, 2010)

Jesus dont get me started, we had to pull a 240mm^2 4 core steel wire armoured cable out of this electrical room and into our new panel and had to use a rope, crow bar and myself and another large gentleman to break it free of being in sprayfoam with about 20 other cables going through a block wall. It took ages.3


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Californiadecks said:


> Can it do the same to romex?


I've never seen it but considering that improperly applied spray foam can be a fire risk I'd say yes it could.


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## luckyshadow (Jun 18, 2005)

most of the spray foams on the market should not be used on electric cables/ wires. The issue they are petroleum based which deteriorates the insulation


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