South Florida Insulation Guidance- How to create a value engineered insulation system for your new home.

There are certainly certain items I would suspect are considered standard and then other areas where it becomes an owner’s preference choice.

 

Obviously minimum “Thermal Requirements” standard.

Roof Unvented over AC – R20

Exterior Wall – R5

Garage common Wall – R11

Basic sound attenuation at laundry, baths and mechanical closets where applicable.

 

Upgradable Options include interior sound walls, between floor sound solutions and insulating non conditioned areas such as garages, porches and loggias.

 

Choices:

Exterior wall:

Rigid Board – R5 - I only consider this a viable choice if glued to wall prior to framing and seams taped to provide continuous envelope.  Generally, $1.00+.

 

               Options: Because air space provides improved R-Value a chase wall 1 5/8” offer an R5 with basic AA2 foil or R7 with VR-Plus foil.  These choices are approximately only 35% and 55% respectively of the price of Rigid Board with same or better result.

 

               There are two other options: Core Foam 500 (CBS block fill injection) – I’m not a super fan but paperwork claims an R9+.  The Ultimate choice is use of Closed cell foam.  Expensive but advantage beyond R-Value includes an absolute continuous air barrier, flood control, exterior sound.  Expensive choice and requires proper care by framers to add clips or cross bars to stabilize framing.

 

Interior walls: Sound reduction and prevention is very much an assembly consideration.  For our purpose we will presume interior walls with only one 3 5/8 metal stud.

               Options:

               Standard Batt – better than nothing, carries a tested result of STC in high forties. .47

               Mineral Wool – (Roxul brand is the crème de la crème) doubles the STC values.  Recommended for certain around theatres.  An optionable upgrade for any walls, such as bedrooms, baths and others.  2x price of Sound Batt.  When working with multimillion-dollar projects, this tends to be considered a low-cost improvement no customer has regretted.  These owners have always been pleased they did not overlook this upgrade.  Open Cell foam is a comparable choice, but the testing reports do not exceed the Roxul and this requires added coordination.

 

Between Floors Sound: A real conundrum as I like to claim, “Sound is in the ear of the beholder”.  No customer guarantee offered. 😊

              

Options: These can be used in conjunction or singularly.

               Icynene – a fantastic choice to encapsulate interior sound a prevent resonance. If lots of stone and tile being used and music speakers throughout the home, I believe this should be considered.  This is NOT considered a great solution to prevent thumping or walking from above.

              

Sound Batt or Roxul – same discussion from above but note the assembly of floor system (recommend a rubber matting above), air space, these products and drywall is likely as good as one can do in thumping prevention.

 

 

Unconditioned spaces: (exterior porch, unconditioned garage …)

               Whether foam or batt makes no difference.  Both slow down some heat transfer but space will be nominal to the outside conditions.  Foam is cleaner and allows no to interfere with lights or speakers installed as bottom chord.  Doing nothing is standard.

 

We have all passed the Introductory 2^nd level course Insulation 202 by Therma Seal University.  😊

 

Send questions or comments if presentation has been less than clear.  Happy Memorial Weekend!

Summer has kicked off to be a hot one: Icynene, Sustainably COOL!

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Why spray Icynene Classic Max over other spray foam products?

     The #1 reason to spray the Icynene Classic Max over any other spray foam is fire safety.  Therma Seal Spray Foam uses the latest version of Icynene's open cell spray foam because it is the best in its breed and will not sustain a flame in the event of a fire.  Not only will Classic Max not sustain a flame, this fire safe attic system has proved to snuff out attic fires, protecting not only your largest financial asset, your home, but also your family.

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Icynene Gold Circle dealers of South Florida

Therma Seal insulation makes the difference in creating better indoor environments!

Courtesy of Icynene Corp.

When it comes to safeguarding the warmth and well-being of people and products in a building, it's important for residents to ensure that they're putting the best services into place. If there's a problem with the kinds of insulation, method of placement or overall effectiveness of the resources placed in a home, it's likely that residents won't be able to get as much out of these additions as they might otherwise. This is commonly the case when buildings aren't using enterprise spray foam insulation. Therma Seal offers the best in total sealing and insulating with Icynene.

Reducing airborne problems
Therma Seal believes there's a number of ways that people can enhance their home environments, but few compare to the benefits of Icynene. This product allows for a variety of effective cost savings that can deliver a specific assistance to people of all kinds, no matter where their homes are located.

Specifically, the source pointed out that Icynene spray foam insulation helps residents increase the quality of the air they breathe by creating a comprehensive air seal all throughout a home. This not only serves to keep in warm air and block any leaks from occurring, it also strengthens the filtering power of a home such that it's able to keep bad particles out of the air people breathe every day. As most individuals spend around 90 percent of their time indoors and at home, it's vital that residents have access to resources that can keep their airways safe at all hours of the day and night.

 Icynene spray foam insulation offers one of the industry's best R-values, with uniform thickness and general protection in all parts of a home where this material is used. What's more, the source pointed out that around 90 percent of Icynene insulation is actually made up of air, making it very durable and structurally sound. Taking advantage of this substance is therefore much easier than with traditional options, as it generates a total seal using more natural assets than comparable products.

Buying the best
That's also where Icynene fits in to major building projects, whether they be large-scale complexes or just a single-family abode. Therma Seal's experts conclude, the presence of Icynene spray foam insulation in the walls, floors and attics of buildings makes these structures better suited for maintaining a constant level of comfort.

Unlike other kinds of insulation, Icynene generates a total seal and fits exactly in every space where it's sprayed. The end result is much better heating and cooling oversight that makes it easy to save  money for residents in any kind of building. Additionally, as buildings see their operations expanding, it's necessary for these entities to ensure they have resources in place that facilitate the best kinds of responses and oversights for a number of different enterprise issues.

Call Therma Seal today to learn more about the positive outcomes you can achieve by adding this kind of spray foam to your infrastructure. With the right combination of total coverage and better oversight of home life, residents can easily experience an increase in quality of life while eliminating the harmful particulates that might otherwise reside inside your home.

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Fire Safe Attic System and Icynene Classic Max

Introducing Icynene Classic Max and the safest attic available.  From protecting your loved ones to creating the most energy efficient insulation system on the market, you can rely on Therma Seal for your energy solutions!

Improving building performance with open-cell spray foam: Energy Efficiency | Icynene

Open-cell spray foam can be used to successfully deliver sustainable, high-performance results. Incorporating open-cell spray foam, such as Icynene’s LD-C-50, into a sustainable building can have a tremendous impact on achieving the core sustainable strategies of energy efficiency, moisture management and whole building design. Today we take a look at how quality open-cell spray foam aids in the energy efficiency performance of a home.

It’s believed that up to 40% of a home’s heating and cooling costs are caused by air leakage. To curb such expenses as well as minimize air leakage and excessive energy waste, the use of an effective, continuous air barrier is recommended. Both open-cell and closed-cell, such as Icynene’s MD-C-200, can help reduce energy costs by up to 50%.

A quality open-cell product has the added benefit of longevity in that 100% water-blown foam does not release emissions that would degrade the material and, ultimately, degrade its performance over the long-term. As a permanent solution that offers longevity, open-cell spray foam insulation helps minimize operating costs and also significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Selecting a product that provides longevity also eliminates the need for re-installation of additional materials in the future. Furthermore, open-cell spray foam insulation cures soft and remains flexible allowing it to expand and contract within the substrate helping ensure a reliable and permanent air seal. The flexibility of open-cell spray foam maintains integrity of the air seal for the life of the building.

Contributed by Icynene Corp.
Improving building performance with open-cell spray foam: Energy Efficiency | Icynene