Another insulation thread - HELP - sorry :-)

Iplayfarmer · Nov 4, 2010

DaveOmak brought up a good point about the added cost of sheating. I was just pricing OSB yesterday... $11.47/sheet for 19/32" at Home Depot. If you did the whole 16' height, the cost will be about $1,000. That brings you within a few hundred dollars of your quote for spray foam.

I've worked in a food plant where they had spray foam on the walls in the storage areas. It's good insulation. Not only does it insulate, but it seals up any cracks and crevises too. The stuff I worked around had a top coat of a thick epoxy type paint on it to make it less porous and more durable.

You may also call around a bit and see what different quotes you can get.

brownsl · Nov 4, 2010

I am getting a 32x52x12 garage built starting next week. I will be going with sprayed foam insulation but have not priced it out yet. Something to consider though is the thickness. I have a friend that built a barn and lives in it. He used spray foam for insulation. The company gave him a quote for 6" thickness, out to the posts. Instead he told him he wanted it only 4" and not to trim it. So they sprayed it for 4" thick but it fully expanded to 6" since they did not trim it. If he would have got 6" thickness they would have trimmed it at 6". So he got 6" but paid for only 4". Uncovered it does not look as nice but if you cover it up with OSB who cares. This is what I plan on trying to do.

ITHINKICAN · Jan 10, 2011

Edit - I started another thread instead.

Thank you!

ecoslik · Jan 10, 2011

Yes, the foam will seal out the water. I have some neat stories about it working very well to seal out water.

Open cell foam and closed cell foam have different R values. Open cell is less expensive and will expand more than an equal fluid volume of closed cell foam; thus, it takes less product for the vendor to achive the thickness that they have promised. Importantly, closed cell foam is more durable (surface rigidity/hardness) so that when exposed in a metal building versus fully enclosed in a wall cavity, the extra durability/hardness helps keep it intact when bumped or rubbed ... and certainly keeps out more bugs and dust.