Walking in a Winter Wonderland

The insulation guys finished up day three today of what should be a 4-day job. It's coming out great. I have learned a few things along the way about the spray foam insulation. First, there is a misty overspray that comes from their work. Foam particles land EVERYWHERE and then expand, like tiny styrofoam spheres. The stuff coats everything. It's not a problem because the guys were really good about covering everything with plastic(windows, doors, tools, equipment, etc.). The other thing is that the foam expells fumes after it's applied. My vision was hazy after spending much of the first day on-site. Venting the house is important.



I used a company called Energy and Comfort Solutions. The crew is Spanish-speaking. They know only a little English. That has caused at least one minor problem. I asked them if they could save a particular room until last because there were still some things I was considering installing in the walls. They said yes, but they did that room first! It turns out it wasn't that important, but still...



This company offers a caulking package where they caulk seems everywhere (between two studs, between the sill plate and the slab, around window & door headers, etc.). It's another thing to help with air-tightness. They've done a good job with that.



I also have to thank the management of the company. I have a bathroom with bedrooms on either side, and I'm concerned about noise from the bathroom spilling into the bedrooms. I purposely designed it so that the plumbing for the shower is NOT in the wall that borders a bedroom, but I still wanted to add something in the walls to absorb some sound. I had not planned to put spray foam there because it's more expensive than other materials. I called them to ask what other material they thought was second-best at absorbing sound. He offered to just have them spray the walls while they were there at no cost! I hadn't had sheetrock installed on one side of the walls, so I had to rush over to staple some tyvek material on one side of each wall to provide backing where they can spray. They are going to do this tomorrow. Afterward, I'll peel off the Tyvek and the foam ought to stay in place.



Here are a few pictures from Day 2. This doesn't show all they finished today: