Any suggestions? Used in buildings they enable thin, highly insulating constructions to be realized for walls, roofs and floors". Who will be installing this product? This is a misguided idea to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.Solution: Spray foam that creates an air seal passes code using the performance method. The spray foam insulation or spray polyurethane foam (SPF) is a popular alternative to traditional building insulation such as fiberglass. and for building breatheable structures rather than hermetically-sealed containers. When one is ready to take a break and turn the wheel over, rather than taking the time to stop, they may decide to trade places while the vehicle is moving down the highway. Get the mixture wrong, the temperature wrong, spray too thick of a layer all at once, use a spray nozzle that hasn't been properly cleaned and maintained and you may get a bad installation and a house full of off-gassing toxic foam that will never properly cure. Your contractor may suggest just an inch of closed cell spray foam coupled with the fiberglass insulation, but 1-inch of spray foam isn’t going to create an air seal. You may login with either your assigned username or your e-mail address. Vapor-retarder paint wont work They can also cause skin, eye, and lung irritation, asthma, and chemical sensitization when absorbed through the skin or inhaled. Very tight homes, regardless of the materials you use to make them airtight, are not generally compatible with burning wood in a fireplace. Once set, open cell spray foam is less dense – you can compress it with your hand. The plan is to open all the windows on the 1st floor and to bring more fans in to circulate the air before moving back into the house. Spray foam is oil based and the two most common types are open and closed cell. What's a homeowner or builder to do? Talk to them directly if you can to gauge their level of knowledge about the materials they use. He suffers from eczema and many allergies. We are in the process of building a new single story home in northern Arizona. Do you really need this product? One leading green remodeler offered this perspective: "I have stopped using SPF in any of my projects at this point. New Home Insulation Problems: 5 Things You Don’t Want to Happen. 3. flash and batt insulation | "But I'm very sensitive about tagging a product as 'of concern' or 'may be toxic'" before the data has been gathered and reviewed. Our builders encouraged closed-cell spray foam, as it is the best R factor per inch of insulation. What do you think about the SPF issue? Spray foam insulation requires time to cure. Though most of the projects involve closed-cell spray foam insulation, open-cell spray foam is often required for certain applications like soundproofing. Polyurethane is in a lot of stuff, from foam mattresses to bowling balls. Fast forward one year- our house has an acrid smell from the attic and walls, especially when it heats up outside. But the cumulative evidence to date has moved EPA to take real action on this issue, mainly to gather reports of adverse health effects from manufacturers, and to consider initial rulemaking for both consumer-applied and professionally applied SPF products. What Causes Condensation on Interior Walls? This type of diligence will help avoid any spray foam insulation problems in the future. Very nice article although I would like to have seen the "Let's hope that the general public doesn't jump to conclusions too rapidly" comment early on in the article and not at the end where many readers likely have moved on and made exactly that conclusion. Remember the first low-flow toilets? The smell is definitely the insulation as we had a 2 week break beforehand and were waiting for the insulation to start and the smell (so says my husband) started immediately afterward and that was the only thing done on Monday. Paul, I suggest calling the contractor and asking them your question. They did test the air for isocyanates after spraying on Monday and said there were none detected afterward. This is underscored by the fact that you have to remove your seatbelt, in a speeding tractor-trailer, before you can even begin! Some days the smell is so overpowering it drives me crazy! check out the learning center on our website. But we are behind in that race. The issue of the day is spray polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation products. I have many concerns we were not told about before being put in, we live in Texas lots of humidity but we had our windows open the other night to get fresh air and our builders has now informed us that with the foam insulation you can not open the windows or it will over work the A/C the next day it also holds the humidity in the house and causes the carpet and things to be damp? For over twenty years i have stated that old houses cannot be properly insulated and have said that you cannot trap heat and the materials you use to prevent heat loss in some respects will allow heat to escape from your property by acting as funnels. The walls of that room are not insulated with anything. But more research and standardized testing is clearly needed. Thanks again for a very informative article. I am highly suspicious of spray foam insulation and hope it is investigated thoroughly. So it can’t be used as a structural support. Published June 1, 2018 EPA Raises Health Concerns with Spray Foam Insulation. 4. Why am I putting special windows so I can enjoy the fresh air if this can not be done? Do they actually follow the recommendations of the manufacturer regarding layering, cure times, and personal protective equipment? Hi, J c! What house-owners need to be told is cold air comes in via a hole in your property and HOT AIR leaves your property through the exact same hole. If an air seal isn’t created, then condensation will form as warm air meets cold air in the wall cavity. He believes that this substance came don from the ceiling, which has the same stuff on it. The unvented attic is indirectly conditioned space since heat and moisture transfer occurs through the top floor ceiling, particularly if the ceiling is not airtight. They can also cause skin, eye, and lung irritation, asthma, and chemical sensitization when absorbed through the skin or inhaled. My doctors say I will make 90 with no problem, why? I recently had an issue with open cell foam insulation throughout a new addition – including the attic and the insulation inside walls facing the outside. These are averages since every SPF product will vary based on the formulation. This is not just a DIYers issue. RELATED: New Home Insulation Problems: 5 Things You Don’t Want to Happen. I have had MRI, EKG's, ct scan of sinuses. Your insulation contractor has suggested the combination of closed cell spray foam insulation with fiberglass batts to create an air barrier and thermal barrier. Someone recommended using spray foam, however, I am concerned about the health effects. Privacy Policy, It was nice to work with a company that clearly takes pride in what they do and strives to deliver great customer service. CEUs available. For instance: My own father had part of his lung removed to cut out to remove cancer he had, he was dead within 6-months. It is always good to look at the big picture to understand the flash and batt insulation pros and cons. Since the work was completed, we have noticed a smell in the house. Thank you! Servicing Michigan's Lower Peninsula & Greater Toledo, fiberglass insulation problems | I'm unsure how to find out what the substance is, but rest assured that if it is spray-foam insulation, the cured product is not generally considered to be harmful. SPF helps seal cracks, gaps and penetrations in the building envelope in order to mitigate air leakage and to improve thermal performance of a home. What have we done. Karla, thanks for your questions. Do you use it, or not? EcoLogic Energy Solutions is a leading spray foam, fiberglass, and cellulose insulation company serving Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. That air seal is important because that keeps the air you pay to heat or cool inside and Mother Nature outside.Solution: A minimum of 2-inches of closed cell spray foam is required to create an air seal. EPA is not working alone on this issue; several other federal agencies--including the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission--are part of the team. Sprayfoam is EVIL. A New Halogen-Free Polyiso Insulation from GAF. Second, it is not recyclable (Just saying it is carries no credability) I can find no such recycling station. The issue with this product type is that "going just fine" depends entirely on the vigilance and knowledge of the installer. I contacted spray foam company and they find no reason that they have done any thing wrong. However, there are still problems with the method from moisture issues to no air seal. It has been at least 2 weeks since the project was completed. Isocyanates are a highly toxic sensitizing chemical, responsible for documented worker deaths in the automotive industry. I think it’s really sad that the county failed to inform me of the risk of spray-foam insulation. 200 Grover StreetPO Box 3098Montrose, MI 48457, © 2021 RetroFoam of Michigan Inc. All Rights Reserved. •Open-cell spray foam is vapor-permeable, so the moisture in interior air often diffuses through the foam until it hits the cold sheathing. "It's appropriate for EPA to look at this stuff; that's what we do," Price said. Are the chemicals also carcinogens? He put two fans in the 2nd floor windows today and there are workers upstairs putting up drywall today. It’s hard to describe. An unvented attic differs from a conventional vented attic in that there is no direct venting of the attic space which is generally considered to be between the roof rafters/framing and the top story ceiling framing members (attic floor). The action plan leaves open questions about how far EPA will go to clamp down on these products, but it's safe to think of this as a shot across the bow from EPA for the SPF industry. An alternative but similar argument is "If I set fire to these goods and burn these goods or items I am handling on a daily basis, will the smoke produced if inhaled damage my health," you then have similar arguments about drinking a huge range of liquids, oils, paints and greases and for good measure you can include powders. I have great concerns about Cancer Charities advertising, and their alleged claims of finding a cure: I state that since 1940 no known successful cancer treatment has emerged, and no one has been cured and if you look at the life expectancy of those individuals with cancer - measured from the date of the first diagnosis until when death occurs - there's not been any noticeable improvement in life expectancy or patient health with, or without treatment. Does SPF react with water over or/and under water line? It's when it's being applied that it is problematic. All houses are warm on warm days and bitterly cold on cold days, and it is the entry of cold air that needs to be prevented. This was a huge void under a 60 foot long and 6 foot wide concrete porch. Take this doubly seriously if anyone in the family has asthma. Open Cell foam has some great applications and a few limitations. And we're not usually completely ready with a seamless hot swap. Since this news came out, comments on message boards that I have seen have tended toward defense of SPF and annoyance (that's putting it politely) at EPA. Tearing down all the walls would be cost prohibitive. If they suggest to you that these guidelines are overkill or you get any whiff that they might not follow them, request a new sub because they have no idea what they're talking about. R-Value vs Air Seal: What is More Important When Buying New Insulation? The need for air barriers in exterior walls is well understood in the building community. Condensation can occur under vinyl flooring, resulting in fungal growth and decay. In my view cancer will never be cured or solved, because there might be 100 000 causes, and cancer cannot be treated or in many respects prevented. And since it's a full reno ... that smell could be anything. We have been inventing new chemicals that affect our indoor air quality for well over 100 years. flash and batt problems. This is because moving air can carry unwanted moisture, contaminants, or noise into a building. When you need to pump a material in, injection foam is sometimes used. We are racing to make our buildings safer, healthier for occupants, less-polluting, and lower carbon. We recently built a new home (just LEED certified at the gold level), and the choice of insulation was one of the most difficult decisions I had to make. However, I would be concerned with the lack of ventilation in the bedroom even without the smell. Last month the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a new action plan for a key family of chemicals used in SPF. (Our installer was fully protected, just like in the picture.) It is slightly fishy. The company is very apathetic, and will not disclose the name of the product used, or the competency of workers who installed the substance. Let's look at the wearing of face masks, I am certain I am not the first insulation installer whose been wearing a mask all day, whose stopped work and blown and picked dust out of his nose, spit dust our of his mouth and throat, and on occasion vomited a Yellow Bile and stomach contents which did not look that healthy? Though more expensive than air-permeable insulation, foam doesn’t require air and vapor controls, which drive down its relative cost. I purchased an older home only to learn that the house has no insulation. How can we find and get a specialist to analyze this substance, to isolate its components. Spray polyurethane foam insulation, of any kind, uses isocyanates in 50% of the formulation -- even those claimed to be made with soy or other natural oils. a new action plan for a key family of chemicals used in SPF, Spray Foam Quality Control – Canadian Installation Requirements, register for a BuildingGreen Basic membership. For instance, the name “Icynene” has become a synonym for the term “spray foam insulation” amongst builders, architects and homeowners since Icynene pioneered modern open-cell spray foam insulation in the mid-1980s. While the reported data is technically public information, penetrating it is very difficult, in some measure because manufacturers often claim confidentiality for proprietary components in their chemical formulations. Chemical sensitivity is most likely to happen with a fresh application applied in a none vented area. Icynene is an open-cell foam, meaning air is trapped within the material as the bubbles created during the foaming process break open. I built house in 2009. I live near Denver CO, and was informed by the auditor, with our drastic climate variations (80deg one day, blizzard the next) we really shouldn't have a sprayed attic at least on the ceiling joists/rafters. EPA's SPF action plan for MDI is being developed within its Design for the Environment (DfE) program under jurisdiction from the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which requires U.S. chemical manufacturers, importers, processors, and distributors to report to EPA any information suggesting that one of their chemicals "presents a substantial risk of injury to health or the environment.". I would judge by the asthma rather than the smell, though. See the guy in the Tyvek suit spraying this stuff? A friend of mine used to be a long-haul truck driver. In far too many instances, the home-owners have had to permanently vacate their new or newly-renovated homes because of chemical sensitivity apparently initiated by the insulation. I wish you well. Our contractor recommends spray foam insulation throughout the structure. We had received 1600 sq ft of commercial grade Roxul for free (from my work) that we wanted to use and had to find a company to install it. Throughout her career as a journalist, she has won several awards from the The Society of Professional Journalists - Detroit Chapter and the Michigan Press Association. It is relatively new to the market, but is readily available throughout the USA, and very price competitive with spray foam. The undercurrent seems to be: Is the whole industry going to get stained because of some untrained DIYers? When I heard this, it felt to me a lot like a situation we face with some regularity in green building. These are rare, but you should negotiate who's going to take responsibility if you're one of the few this happens to. We would generally recommend dense-pack cellulose for a whole-house insulation retrofit. ft. and it is not recommended for outdoor applications. ft., closed-cell foam may cost $15,000 to $30,000 to fully insulate an average house— about twice the cost of cellulose and four times the cost of fiberglass. If you have four chimney pots then you have four huge holes sucking the heat out of your property and allowing cold air into it. Choose open-cell spray foam when insulating roofs, since closed-cell foam can trap water from a leaking roof, damaging the framing material and roof sheathing. She also loves knitting, making art, cooking, and hosting dinner and a movie night for friends and family. The buzz words is shut that door, block that hole, seal that gap and use House Wrap. Sounds like you have a good ventilation plan. Let us know below. I was never told to vacate house when sprayed and wonder if that could be problem. However, Some products, however, such as adhesives, coatings, and spray foam, react while being applied by builders or homeowners doing insulation retrofits, and continue to react for some hours afterwards, and may contain "uncured" isocyanates to which people may be exposed. Can Old Houses Be Successfully Insulated? It’s not as good an insulator as closed cell foam, so you’ll need to install a thicker layer to get the same level of insulation. In view of this, I believe it's about time we had truth in medicine starting in hospitals and surgeries everywhere. I have been trying to find out since I found out about it has it been good or not so good idea use it as seal? It also has some really gross stuff in it. In our efforts to educate homeowners, we have compiled a list of some of the problems caused by flash and batt insulation. I live in Michigan, Macomb county, and I was qualified for a weathereization program and the foam insulation was sprayed in my basement without my knowledge that the spray foam was being used. The problem arises when an imitation product is falsely represented so you have lack of adhesion to the cavity the foam is sprayed in and moisture management issues that can create mold and mildew, according to … That’s because foam insulation is the only product that acts as an insulator and an air seal. If you’d like to learn more about spray foam insulation and its benefits, check out the learning center on our website. I look forward to the day when the products we humans make for our homes are both effective and non-toxic, and our choices are not a trade-off between one or the other. Also, stay tuned; the SPF industry is working on a new class of SPFs--hybrid non- isocyanate polyurethanes (HPINUs)--that may pose much less serious occupant and worker health issues than our current slate of SPF building products. What I can do and can not do. And in the attic, nothing can compare with the envelope of insulation that is installed with spray foam. Recently my son rented a Pod to move from Virginia to Colorado. My wife and I closed on a brand new build in December of 2017. eight times better than that of conventional insulation. Note: Peter Yost, Vice President, Building Performance, and Paula Melton, Research Associate, contributed reporting to this column. My parents developed the same autoimmune disorder after the contractor showed up to renovate  the attic in a hazmat suit and told them to leave for 24 hours. Around ten years ago, individuals related Polyurethane Spray Foam Insulation as an obscure, untested type of home insulation, which could be a risk to mortgage holders of the property. I am just now consulting internet information and realizing there may be health reasons for not using it. I live in Wisconsin and had spray foam applied because I had mold many years ago and remediated by company. I know one water well where it has been used over and under water level. Kasey, I'm not sure what kind of odor you are smelling. or in a crawlspace? Price has seen some of the anecdotal evidence as well as some of the scientific findings, and says that no cause-effect relationship has yet been found between SPF installation and post-occupancy illnesses. Also how do I find out what the company used in the foam. I have noticed some builders are applying some type of foam to the underside of the roof decking. The known risks from spray foam are for the workers who install it. Flash and batt insulation is used most commonly in new construction homes or remodeled homes in the walls, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with its fair share of problems. The American Lung Association also recommends it, for a different reason: it is the best for mold prevention. Open cell spray foam is a lower density material that is made with polyurethane. Installing spray foam insulation. Our dedication to building customer trust and delivering quality, consistent installation services has earned us an unbeatable reputation with 100% customer satisfaction. I feel truly sorry for those parents who mortgage or sell their homes to provide (often in a foreign country) medical care for a child, in no cases, that I know off, do one of these afflicted children live any longer, or ever been cured. As part of the RetroFoam of Michigan family, Amanda uses her experience as a journalist to write content that will help educate homeowners on the benefits of foam insulation. For reading material and lots of good ideas visit Du Ponts Typar breathable membrane www-site. You can add to that a growing number of complaints about adverse health effects from homeowners and occupants of office buildings where SPF has been applied during energy retrofits. The smell is leaching into the house and is horrible. I cannot thank you enough for answering my questions! Aside from the logical absurdity of using petro-chemical foams to save petro-chemical energy (and the earth's climate), there are hygrodynamic reasons for avoiding relatively impermeable building materials such as plastic foam (I teach hygro-thermal engineering and building science). We live and work in an industrial age, and just about everything we touch or handle as got a warning label attached to it. I have long advocated using natural materials (such as borate-treated cellulose or mineral wool) for insulation as well as for other elements of residential construction (real wood or plywood rather than OSB, and felt rather than plastic housewraps, e.g.) spray foam insulation problems | John Sebrowski, a senior associate scientist with Bayer MaterialScience and chair of the task group working on this ASTM standard, is helping develop a standard practice to establish re-occupancy times after onsite SPF application.

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