FAQs - LaMere Foams & Coatings

LaMere Foams & Coatings

What is Sprayfoam?

Spray foam insulation is an insulation and air sealing system that is ideal for residential and commercial applications. An application of spray foam insulation combines both a material and a service. The material is a lightweight foam compound called poly spray foam insulation. The service is custom installation of each stud cavity or rafter cavity of a building directly on the construction site by trained, licensed installers. Spray foam insulation is much more than just another insulation. By virtue of its low permeability to air infiltration, its adhesion to other building materials and its flexibility, it provides good air leakage control, moisture control, and sound control, as well as great insulation, all in one application.

Does Spray Foam Insulation Have Building Code Approvals?

Yes! Spray foam insulation has approval of all four major building codes in the United States and the Canadian building code. In fact, it is one of the most extensively tested insulation products ever developed. Concern in the 1970's over the excessive off-gassing of an early foam product called urea formaldehyde, and related concerns in subsequent years over the health effects of other insulating products, specifically asbestos and fiberglass, have resulted in some of the most thorough and sensitive emissions testing of a new building product to date. Based upon the results of this stringent testing, Spray foam insulation has met the requirements of the building codes and subsequent recertifications as required on a periodic basis.

What are the Advantages of Spray Foam Insulation?

The major advantage of spray foam insulation is that it does more than just insulate. It also wind proofs and air seals walls and ceiling cavities from air movement, with a 3 1/2" sample of foam proving to be about 24 times less permeable to air infiltration than a similar thickness of fiberglass batt insulation. In addition, the insulating power of spray foam insulation is not diminished by lower temperatures or by air movement. Its R-value performs as stated. By contrast, some building experts state that an R-13 fiberglass batt in the presence of a 10 mile per hour breeze diminishes the insulating power of a batt to an R-5.

What is Spray Foam Insulation Made of?

Spray foam insulation is an organic material developed from products of the petrochemical industry. It is a two component system that is sprayed like paint. The chemical constituents are similar to those used in the manufacturing of many products already in your home, such as upholstery foam and the foam used for pillows and mattresses, although the properties of the foam are different. Spray foam insulation is an environmentally friendly urethane in which the ozone robbing CFC's have been replaced with air and water.

How Long Does it Take to Cure?

The foam is created within seconds after spraying. You can watch it expand within seconds to 120 times its original volume, right before your eyes. It completely cures within a few minutes.

Does Spray Foam Insulation Absorb Water?

No, it looks like a sponge but is actually hydrophobic, meaning it repels water. If placed in water it will float, and on removal, it will dry rapidly with no loss of insulating properties. If you ever have a roof leak or plumbing leak in your home which would soak the insulation, the water will ultimately settle out of the spray foam insulation and it wil not damage the foam. Water breaks down the glue in fiberglass insulation, destroying it and causing a loss of effectiveness. Water also turns cellulose to mush and it dries out very slowly. It settles in a "lump" leaving a large un-insulated cavity. Wet cellulose can also cause wood rot and foster mold and mildew growth.

How Tight is Too Tight?

Many customers often question how or if foam insulating can cause problems by being too tight.
Builders are often concerned about the impact that tightening up houses to both reduce energy use and meet new energy standards has on the building. The most common question is will tightening a home to reduce air leaks make the home too tight and lead to indoor air quality problems? The answer is no, but it is important to ventilate properly.
There is a common misconception that a loose home with lots of air leaks is adequately ventilated. The second misconception is that a leaky home is healthier.
The idea that a tight home is unhealthy comes from the recognition that a home needs to be ventilated. This is correct but how reliable the ventilation strategy is what really counts. Simply having lots of avenues in the building envelope for air to infiltrate does not ensure adequate ventilation.
For a home to get needed fresh air, there must be both a hole to the outside and air movement. Most ventilation airflow only occurs if there is a pressure difference between indoors and outdoors. Some air flow occurs if there is a temperature difference between inside and out, but only during the coldest weather.
Even leaky homes can have bad indoor air quality for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with the air exchange rate. Off-gassing of building materials, excessive moisture due to over-humidification, backdrafting of fireplaces and combustion appliances, and normal household activities that generate fumes, like cleaning products, all contribute to bad indoor air quality. An example, is to consider that many homes today have humidifiers and homeowners aren't sure how to operate them properly. Dust mite populations grow largely in relative humidities over 55%, and the by products of dust mites can be allergens, which in turn can cause allergic reactions and asthma.

Factors that Affect Air Quality

Infiltration through cracks and gaps in building enclosure is neither a reliable source of fresh air or an effective means of exhausting bad air. This type of ventilation is accidental at its best. When you are considering healthy indoor air quality, you need to consider all the factors that impact your home such as pollutants and their source strength, how many hours a day people are exposed to the pollutant source, the ventilation or dilution rate and how consistent the ventilation rate is, and a person's individual sensitivity to the air quality.
The best advice is to build tight and ventilate right. That means stop air leaks in a house and install a controlled ventilation system that will deliver fresh air to the individuals that occupy that space, dilute indoor air pollutants, and exhaust air from the locations in a home where the most moisture and pollutants are generated.
If you add up all the cracks and gaps in a typical home, it would equal about 150 sq. inch hole that is open all year long. A typical house has more than 2,000 linear feet of cracks and gaps. These breaches through the building enclosure are not necessarily located where occupants need fresh air. Actually, the rate of airflow depends on the outside weather, wich is always changing and always unreliable. In the winter in cold areas, thre is greater driving forces from higher winds, and greater temperature differences. In the spring, summer, and fall, these forces are much less or even nonexistent. This means that homes are over-ventilated in times of cold, windy weather, which in turn drives up energy costs, and under-ventilated the rest of the year. In the winter months, heated air inside the home wants to escape to colder outdoor air. As this heat tranfers from in to out, it brings moisture-laden air with it. In the summer, if the home is under negative pressure, the opposite can occur, with the house drawing hot, humid outside air inside through air leaks.
The bottom line is that experience has taught us that leaky building shells cause problems and increase chances for mold growth. There is far less moisture and durability problems in energy-efficient, well insulated homes.
As we know, people want homes that are affordable to heat and cool, as well as healthy to live in. We have the ability to do both cost-effectively. Remember the best advice is to build tight and to ventilate right.

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