It’s late November and we’re finally getting our insulation! We have an interesting situation with our insulation. We had originally wanted to utilize ”whole house encapsulation” with a product called Icynene. Icynene is best described as that expanding foam stuff you can buy in a small can to fill in voids in your wall or around a window. We saw the stuff used in an attic of a LEED Platinum home over a year ago, and the attic looks like a winter wonderland with mounds of the stuff sprayed over all the walls and ceiling. But we found out that a 6″ covering of icynene has an R-factor of only 19. We wanted a higher R-factor so we went with a new product called JM Spider. It gets a R-23 rating when used in 2X6 cavaties. Read more about JM Spider here. The photo above is the JM Spider product being installed in our studio walls.
We are using icynene in our exterior ceilings. BUT….when the insulation contractor sprayed the icynene they didn’t spray it evenly and there are large parts of the ceilings where the foam is less than 6″…and it looks like some places where it’s less than 4″. Our contractor is bringing that fact to the attention of the installer so it can be rectified (yes, another delay!).
We still get our “whole house encapsulation” because the insulation contractor sealed all of seams and voids in the exterior walls and ceiling of the structure prior to installation of the JM Spider product.
One other point: we made the decision to insulate our Meditation Room and our Master Bedroom to take advantage of the foam’s ability to deaden noise. And the contractor insulated the entire laundry room…which wasn’t planned. I can’t decide if that’s fortunate or unfortunate…it will certainly make the washer and dryer noise completely hidden throughout the house!
With the insulation installed, the walls are starting to look like walls and the house is suddenly quieter inside…which makes us feel that much closer to moving in!
