Insulation
Which has a higher R value, Fiberglass or foam insulation? If foam insulation, closed or open cell to insulate inside the garage and underneath the house?
Can anyone refer a reputable contractor in New Jersey if I use foam insulation?
Can anyone refer a reputable contractor in New Jersey if I use foam insulation?
2 answers
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@Kevin Cortez All great questions. Fiberglass is the lowest per inch R value. runs around R 3.1 per inch high density. Then you have blown in insulation which is slightly higher then the batt products and in several cases if applied can be a great choice. It runs around 3.5 and slightly higher per inch. Regardless of type fiberglass or blown in these insulation products rely on proper application. The blown in types can be a bit messy, but they fill all voids and gaps while the blanket or batt types tend to have voids or are crushed by wires lowering their overall value per inch. So your blown in tend to be more of an honest R value installed then the fiberglass batt types that must be perfectly installed to achieve the ratings on the bag. Then you have open cell foam coming in around R4 or there about depending upon factors such as weight per cubic foot and type of foam used. Then you get the closed cell product which runs around R6 per inch and again depends upon weight of foam type of foam and the quality of the application. With weight and type of foam applied comes a few other issues with spray foam. Fire resistance. Some foam types are fire rated, slightly higher in cost but can remain exposed. You will see these foams applied to attic areas. In some cases a non fire rated foam is applied followed by a spray coating of a fire rated paint. If the product can be covered such as a wall area then a lower cost foam can be applied as the drywall will be used as the fire block. The bottom line is each product has a special place in insulating a home. costs of foam are very much higher then simple fiberglass, but the payback is much greater. Foam applications run around $1.50 per board foot applied. A board foot is 12" x 12" by 1" thick. So a 4.5 inch wall per square foot will run $6.75 about 5 times the amount of fiberglass. There are other methods that can be used also that can lower that cost difference such as foam boards which we use a lot. But again it all has to do with the application that is required. If you check out my profile and give me a call, I can assist you in this work and or provide you with more information about what it is your trying to achieve. I am a local contractor.
Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com
on Apr 30, 2014
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use the foam...
Joni Yuhas Fecher
on Apr 30, 2014
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