Spray Foam Insulation Pros and Cons

Spray foam insulation offers many benefits over other types of insulation materials. Spray foam insulation offers a higher R-value per inch than any other insulating product on the market. In addition, due to the fact that it is sprayed on, in between wall stud bays, and floor and ceiling joists, a much tighter insulation job is achieved. As a result, spray foam insulation is the best solution for insulating your home.

Besides providing the highest thermal resistance per inch, and preventing air and moisture infiltration, spray foam insulation also helps strengthen the structural integrity of the home.

Once it expands and hardens, spray foam insulation helps improve the strength and rigidity of the wall, ceilings and floors. As a result, a home is less susceptible to wind sheering and racking.

Another spray foam insulation pro is the fact, that unlike batt or rolled insulation, it will not sag over time. Therefore it maintains its thermal resistance over time.

Another benefit of spray foam insulation is the fact that it creates such a tight seal, moisture and associated mold and mildew issues are not a problem. In addition, it also helps to prevent rodent infiltration.

Spray foam insulation, or sprayed polyurethane foam, also can eliminate the need for using exterior house wraps or vapor retarders on the inside of the home. As a result, construction costs can be saved, thus mitigating the higher costs of spray foam insulation.

Finally spray foam insulation is an excellent solution for sound proofing a room. Again, due to the fact that it forms a continuous and monolith seal between wall stud bays, sound waves from adjacent rooms are highly attenuated.

So if you are building a new home, consider spray foam insulation. Though it may cost you a little more money up front, up to 20% more compared to traditional home insulation solutions, you will likely recoup your costs in just a few years with the energy savings that you achieve.