Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: foam insulation (was Re: Sound Barriers)

[James Kacki (jimkacki]

One thing to keep in mind when using foam in existing walls, and  
confined spaces is that many are designed to expand to fill cracks &  
crevices.  Some can exert enough pressure to cause wall finishes to  
bulge. There are some low expanding foams to deal with this problem,  
but its important to check with the manufacturer /supplier re/  
application procedures etc.
James

On 19-Mar-08, at 7:12 PM, Ellen Keyne Seebacher wrote:

> stuart [at] caercoburn.org writes:
>
> > I was watching "This Old House" on DIYnetwork. The episodes were the
> > "East Boston Project." They used foam insulation within the existing
> > lath and plaster walls so they wouldn't have to destroy the
> > walls. The contractors drilled holes between the joists on the
> > interior (so they could avoid holes in the stucco exterior) and the
> > foam was blown in through the holes.
>
> I lived in a house where this was done, ten years ago.  My spouse's
> family owned a house in Nantucket -- built in 1872 as a summer cottage
> -- and since we were planning to live there over the winter, they had
> foam insulation blown into all the walls.  It helped somewhat with the
> chill, though nobody had quite considered the fact that the house was
> built on stilts at the top of a cliff, so the first fall nor'easter
> drove the wind up through the floorboards instead. :-)
>
> Can't tell you how it helps with sound insulation, but it's certainly
> doable as a retrofit -- and not ridiculously expensive, either.
>
>
>         Ellen
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