Install temps for closed cell foam
tuolumne7
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
I am having Corbond installed in our home at the end of the month. It will be 5″ in the roof and 3″ in the walls. The supplier recommended a minimum temp of 45* in the house for the install. This will be tricky if it is near zero outside, as my heat source is two wood stoves and an EPA fireplace. Will the results be much better at 60* or 75*? How does the blowing agent respond to ambient temps? I am wondering if I should delay the installation for a few weeks until I get the boiler going, where I could be running the two radiant floor zones and a temporary fan coil too.
Replies
that is probably best.
My guys refuse to spray it if the temp in the huse and surfaces is too low. The foam shrinks back and can fail to bond, crack, etc and take way more product to get the same 3" . Since they are getting paid by the inch of installed and not by the amt of chemicals they spray into the house, there is great incentive for them to have it warm enough.
Your incentive is that you want the material to bond to the sheathing and studs and not shrink. You do not want it too dense either where the insulation value is less.
So delay might be a good idea.
I had one sprayed one time when it was below zero outside. We had two torpedos going to get the place warmed up and he had one heating chemical in the trailer. House was so warm that you could hardly breathe. We had one bay develope a split where it was near a corner and the wind was blowing that day, accelerating at that corner of the house, so it was probably ripping heat off the wall there. He just resprayed that bay.
Any shrinking or cracking that happens, does so immediately. You can tell if you have a solid fill by whacking the surface with your forearm in a block ( if you have played football or done martial arts, you know what I mean) to see how firm it is as soon as thirty seconds after it gets sprayed.
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Thanks Piffin. I'll keep an eye on the weather. I spoke with Corbond today and 20 degrees is the abosolute minimum. It sounds like the 45 degrees recommended by the installer is providing some margin of safety. It is a relief to know that the install quality will be evident quickly and not down the road. I may still wait until I can get a fan coil and some floor heat going. I don't like the prospects of a cold corner like you mentioned.