westcliffe01
Veteran Member
I have been doing some research into the cost of spray foam insulation and there seem to be huge disparities in cost. I'm looking to build on some remote property and the location alone will mean that I will have a small selection of contractors willing to come out to the property to begin with and then paying for the cost of their travel time on top of everything else.
So I am wondering at what point it is simply better to do the work yourself ? The going rate seems to be somewhere around $2.50/square foot of surface, provided you live in an area with good access to contractors a short distance away. That number seems to fluctuate though, some locations asking 3x more.
The first item on the agenda is a 40' High cube container that I will be prepping here in MI, then loading up all my equipment and installing a diesel fired water heater and genset as well as creating some living space so that I have somewhere secure to live while I am building. The High cube containers are about 10' high x 8.5 wide and I intend to spray about 2" of foam on the inside after welding in steel purlins to hold paneling on walls and ceiling. So that works out to about 1400sqft of insulation. By the "average" rate, that would set me back $3500 or about the same cost as the container itself.
Then on site, the first thing to go in is the septic system, followed shortly afterwards by a steel barn. I'm looking at a 40x40 foot floorplan (minimum) with the (large) door on the east side, a shed style roof sloping down to the North and glazing high on the South Side to let in light all day. I intend to install a solar panel array below the glazing, but still above head height so that it is easy to keep the panels clean, but they are inaccessible to any 4 legged critters that may be wandering about. I'm thinking of a metal building because other than installing the cladding and roof sheathing, I should be able to do most of the work myself. I'm figuring labor is going to be a difficult commodity in that location. Brush fires are always a concern too.
So basically in the first years building season, I want to get onto the site, set up, do the septic system, do all the footings for the barn, lay out the rigid insulation, rebar and PEX lines for radiant heat in the barn, have a contractor come in and pour the slab/footings and finish it. Then install the framing for the barn, then get a contractor out to install the roof and siding and hang the doors. This has to all be done before fall so that spray foam can be applied to material at a reasonable temperature. I have done the math on the barn and it will be 3400+ sq ft of surface (walls and roof) and in my opinion is the only sure way to seal up such a structure reliably for the long term. Remember, this is a remote location, there are no utilities and probably never will be. So heat is whatever you get from passive solar + what will ultimately come from several solar collectors feeding into the radiant floor system. For back up, there will be a diesel fired hot water heater with 80 gal hot water storage and potentially a large wood stove. The diesel genset will be tied into the hot water system (heat exchange to the water in the storage tank + heat recovery from the exhaust) so it will essentially be a co-gen type setup. Both of these systems will be set up - ready to go in the container before I leave Michigan and next winter they will be tested in that format. The objective is to re-locate them into the barn when it is ready, then the container goes onto its next duty, which is remote garage during the winter season near to the county highway.
So, even at average market prices, I would be looking at $8500 to insulate the barn with spray foam. I have read of people paying close to double that for a similar size structure. So for 2 jobs, I'm already at $12k. That still leaves the main residence which externally will be insulated with rigid foam and it too will have a steel roof which will be spray foamed underneath.
So all this uncertainty regarding cost has had me looking at alternatives. I looked at but quickly rejected the "Tiger Foam" type option. Hideously expensive, huge amounts of trash (basically the equivalent of 2- 20lb propane cylinders + lines and nozzles) and they also never appear to deliver the stated amount of insulation value.
Then I came upon this website: Spray Foam Insulation Equipment | Portable Spray Rigs | Graco E-8P Reactor
They had a smaller spray system than any other I had seen with all the doodats ("proper" spray gun, heated lines, "proper" proportioning unit etc) for $8500
I then found this place Spray Foam Equipment- Soythane 2000 2 Pound Foam which lists the bulk components for the foam itself. Material wise, less than 1/4 of the price of the "Tiger foam" stuff. Basically $2000 for 110 gal of material yielding 4500 board feet of foam insulation. So at a 2" thickness, that works out to 2250 sq ft of coverage for $2000 or $1.125/sqft. It seems one would potentially recoup the cost of the equipment from the insulation done at a single site. After that, sell it to someone else in the area needing to do a similar job, or offer the service to other people in the area.
So I'm curious how others have handled a similar dilemma ? I'm sure the solutions one picks needs to fit your situation at your location, so what has your experience been ?
So I am wondering at what point it is simply better to do the work yourself ? The going rate seems to be somewhere around $2.50/square foot of surface, provided you live in an area with good access to contractors a short distance away. That number seems to fluctuate though, some locations asking 3x more.
The first item on the agenda is a 40' High cube container that I will be prepping here in MI, then loading up all my equipment and installing a diesel fired water heater and genset as well as creating some living space so that I have somewhere secure to live while I am building. The High cube containers are about 10' high x 8.5 wide and I intend to spray about 2" of foam on the inside after welding in steel purlins to hold paneling on walls and ceiling. So that works out to about 1400sqft of insulation. By the "average" rate, that would set me back $3500 or about the same cost as the container itself.
Then on site, the first thing to go in is the septic system, followed shortly afterwards by a steel barn. I'm looking at a 40x40 foot floorplan (minimum) with the (large) door on the east side, a shed style roof sloping down to the North and glazing high on the South Side to let in light all day. I intend to install a solar panel array below the glazing, but still above head height so that it is easy to keep the panels clean, but they are inaccessible to any 4 legged critters that may be wandering about. I'm thinking of a metal building because other than installing the cladding and roof sheathing, I should be able to do most of the work myself. I'm figuring labor is going to be a difficult commodity in that location. Brush fires are always a concern too.
So basically in the first years building season, I want to get onto the site, set up, do the septic system, do all the footings for the barn, lay out the rigid insulation, rebar and PEX lines for radiant heat in the barn, have a contractor come in and pour the slab/footings and finish it. Then install the framing for the barn, then get a contractor out to install the roof and siding and hang the doors. This has to all be done before fall so that spray foam can be applied to material at a reasonable temperature. I have done the math on the barn and it will be 3400+ sq ft of surface (walls and roof) and in my opinion is the only sure way to seal up such a structure reliably for the long term. Remember, this is a remote location, there are no utilities and probably never will be. So heat is whatever you get from passive solar + what will ultimately come from several solar collectors feeding into the radiant floor system. For back up, there will be a diesel fired hot water heater with 80 gal hot water storage and potentially a large wood stove. The diesel genset will be tied into the hot water system (heat exchange to the water in the storage tank + heat recovery from the exhaust) so it will essentially be a co-gen type setup. Both of these systems will be set up - ready to go in the container before I leave Michigan and next winter they will be tested in that format. The objective is to re-locate them into the barn when it is ready, then the container goes onto its next duty, which is remote garage during the winter season near to the county highway.
So, even at average market prices, I would be looking at $8500 to insulate the barn with spray foam. I have read of people paying close to double that for a similar size structure. So for 2 jobs, I'm already at $12k. That still leaves the main residence which externally will be insulated with rigid foam and it too will have a steel roof which will be spray foamed underneath.
So all this uncertainty regarding cost has had me looking at alternatives. I looked at but quickly rejected the "Tiger Foam" type option. Hideously expensive, huge amounts of trash (basically the equivalent of 2- 20lb propane cylinders + lines and nozzles) and they also never appear to deliver the stated amount of insulation value.
Then I came upon this website: Spray Foam Insulation Equipment | Portable Spray Rigs | Graco E-8P Reactor
They had a smaller spray system than any other I had seen with all the doodats ("proper" spray gun, heated lines, "proper" proportioning unit etc) for $8500
I then found this place Spray Foam Equipment- Soythane 2000 2 Pound Foam which lists the bulk components for the foam itself. Material wise, less than 1/4 of the price of the "Tiger foam" stuff. Basically $2000 for 110 gal of material yielding 4500 board feet of foam insulation. So at a 2" thickness, that works out to 2250 sq ft of coverage for $2000 or $1.125/sqft. It seems one would potentially recoup the cost of the equipment from the insulation done at a single site. After that, sell it to someone else in the area needing to do a similar job, or offer the service to other people in the area.
So I'm curious how others have handled a similar dilemma ? I'm sure the solutions one picks needs to fit your situation at your location, so what has your experience been ?
