Closed Cell Foam Shrinkage
I’ve had a lot of work done under the house in the last 6 months. This last project was the installation of Closed Cell Foam between the floor joists of the first floor. Every thing I read said this was the “be all, end all” for insulation products. Fine Homebuilding Mag provided an analysis of Open Cell vs. Closed Cell. My Termite contractor said closed cell was the way to move the “dew point” away from the plumbing and the wood sub-floor. Many articles said yes-do it!
It’s been two months since the installation. Up until this point we had been hearing what sounded like “small arms fire” underneath the house.
Went under too see what was going on and found the pale green closed cell foam had shrunk popped away from the the joists cleanly in many spots – in some spots as much as 3 inches!
Has anyone else seen or heard of this?
Can you tell me the name and contact information for your contractor, manufacturer or closed cell foam source?
I contacted my contractor. He said he had 4 other incidences of this happening recently. He told me he had contacted the manufacturer and the manufacturer said that he had applied the foam too thickly. I’ve looked at the application – no thick areas have “popped away” as described earlier.
I think this may be a materials issue ie., the manufacturer changed to a cheaper hardener.
Any other ideas are welcome.
Replies
The only time I have seen shrinkage, was when the surface it was applied to was way too cold, it happened immediately, and he re-sprayed right away.
I use Corbond ( pink) and another Polyurethene foam. Never seen a green one. What brand was yours?
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"the manufacturer said that he had applied the foam too thickly."
Missed that on first read
Yes, it is supposed to be applied in several passes, with each wave of the sprayer adding about 1-1/2" or so. too thick and it will generate internal heat stress from curing. but it still is normally obvious almost immediately. shrink cracking months or even days after sounds odd.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
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Crawlcritter,
Insist that the insulation contractor take responsibility for the problem. You should suggest that a meeting with the manufacturer' rep (a site visit) might be appropriate.
Let others on this forum know the name of the insulation manufacturer.
I had Resintech (green colored) sprayed in, 6", no cracks, pops or other noises. Piffen is probably dead on, they didn't spray it in correctly and proper application of the foam is one of the most critical factors for it's success. They should have built up the cavity in progressive layers. My installers would shoot the corners and crevices first, letting it foam up and harden, then shoot thin layers, taking maybe 3-4 passes to get it to its proper thickness.Z