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What is the Best Insulation System?

The “Best” Insulation System.

I hear this question a lot, “What is the best way to insulate my new house?”

Too often, I have competitors who only offer one system and truly believe their one system is The Best.

Too often, I have vendors try to convince me that their system is The Best.

Several times I have had clients tell me price is a big part of defining The Best.

I think the market is beginning to tell me The Best is the most ecologically friendly, as well as the best performing, most cost effective, durable, and safe system.

I believe The Best is a combination of foam and cellulose. We have been spraying materials for quite some time now, and I have tested buildings we insulated with all foam and combinations of foam and cellulose enough to be certain that the customer who buys the combination approach is getting the highest performance I can deliver at the lowest cost.

We are currently endorsing the use of closed cell foam in rim joist, band joist, along the soffit edge, wall cavities that cannot be done properly with the spray cellulose due to practical limitations, cathedral ceilings, floor overhangs, and other areas where the cellulose will not be supported adequately. The balance of the exterior walls are insulated with spray cellulose. Any attic floors are insulated with loose fill cellulose. We do air seal penetrations in the attic floor with foam or mastic as appropriate, and we do not use poly vapor diffusion retarders because they destroy the bond between the air sealing materials and the substrates.

On a 3500 sf house, this approach will save a homeowner approximately $ 3000 as compared to a job done all in foam. It will test out with a blower door at well below the minimum vent guidelines set by the Building Performance Institute. And, Infra Red indicates the interior sheetrock surfaces of the exterior and partition walls will be closer to the same using this approach than they are with all foam.

Customers are also looking for LEED points and ecologically friendly materials. Cellulose is all recycled news print. Foam is a petroleum product, but we are using soy based foam from Demilec, so it is as Green as we can get it.

Costs less, performs just as well and is green to boot, Cool.

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