I’m going to build a new house this Summer and was looking at a product called TechShield from Louisiana-Pacific. (For those who haven’t seen it, it’s plywood or OSB [your choice] with a layer of aluminum “foil” laminated to one side.) LP claims that it prevents up to 97% of the sun’s heat from entering the attic. Cooler attic = cooler house = lower energy bills… you get the idea. This house will get full sun for most of the day and it sounds like a good product. It won’t add a huge amount of money to the overall construction costs but before handing over the additional money, I’d be interested to know if anyone out there has used it and what they think.
Thanks!!
Edited 4/23/2002 12:32:52 AM ET by Tejanohombre
Replies
Just curious, what is this stuff for? Reflective surfaces need an air gap in order to have any effect, how do you install this product? How much is it? Joe H
Here are a cpouple of links:
http://oikos.com/esb/38/koolply.html
http://www.coxlumber.com/osb_sheathing.html
I'm also not sure I'd buy the idea that it would work. Seems a bit fishy.
Redneck Extraordinaire
It's radiant barrier roof sheathing. You install it face down with the aluminum foil facing towards the attic air space. (Installing it face up or covering the foil cancels out the effectiveness of the product.) According to the LP rep, it should only add about $5 for each 4x8 sheet of plywood or OSB.
It's an iteresting product. Here be the website: http://www.lpcorp.com/prod/techshield/
Allan,
Thanks for the thumbs-up! I think it's a worthy investment for my application here in the deep South. The house will get mostly midday and afternoon sun so it will get hot sure enough. Thanks again!
Used very extensively here also. Good stuff, and it does work wonders.
Used to be called Kool-Ply (as someone stated already) and is very popular.
TRY IT, YOU'LL LIKE IT!James DuHamel
J & M Home Maintenance Service
"Southeast Texas"