Experienced technicians have to suit up and mask to spray foam insulation just as painters do when spraying paint. This can be worse as foam sprayers sometimes have to work in confined spaces. For this reason, preparing your home for spray foam insulation takes just a bit of effort on your part, and should be completed before the technicians arrive.
You should also be aware that the spray foam equipment and the spray foam liquid solutions take up a lot of room and requires a fairly large truck. The truck I use is 13 metres long and 3.2 metres high. The hoses for spraying are 60 metres long. This is usually more than adequate to reach all the parts of a home or building. This is of course as long as the truck has access close to the building or can move around it to further apart areas. This is one question I will ask when receiving a quote request.
So what do you need to be aware of? For example, underfloor insulation? For an existing home elevated on stumps homeowners find that underneath is a wonderful place to store things. Also over time debris can also collects.
Questions I will ask when I receive a quote for this type of insulation are:
- Have you got a min underfloor height of 500mm?
- Is there ready access close to the building?
- Is there ready access close to the building?
This is because machinery is mounted in the truck and the hoses run out of the truck. - As a great deal of my jobs are in country properties are there trees that are going to restrict the truck access?
- As a great deal of my jobs are in country properties are there trees that are going to restrict the truck access?
- As a great deal of my jobs are in country properties are there trees that are going to restrict the truck access?
I will also ask if photos can be supplied and if possible a plan of the building.
For other areas that are requested, existing cavity wall insulation, roof insulation, ceiling insulation it is difficult to quote sometimes on. This is because of access as follows.
Retrofitting.
Retrofitting foam insulation in existing houses can be a real problem. Lets look at the various areas that you may want foam insulation applied.
Underfloor Foam Insulation.
Generally underfloor insulation is not a problem as long as the minimum height of 500mm is met and the underfloor is clear.
Cavity Wall Foam Insulation.
Retrofitting the wall cavities of an existing house is difficult to accomplish because of the nature of cavity walls especially on weatherboard. This is because of the construction of the framing where you have vertical supports and horizontal studs which make it difficult to inject foam in the right places.This is difficult to accomplish because of the nature of cavity walls especially on weatherboard or brick veneer houses. This is because of the construction of the framing where you have vertical supports and horizontal studs which make it difficult to inject foam in the right places. It is sometimes easier on brick veneer houses but can only be done from the outside.
Roof and Ceiling insulation.
Access again is a problem. In existing houses access to roof space is a problem in most homes and unlike industrial, sporting buildings, garages etc. this is usually limited to a small hatch. Once again I limit this to new houses and renovations where access is usually more easily met.
Access again is a problem. In existing houses access to roof space is a problem in most homes and unlike industrial, sporting buildings, garages etc. this is usually limited to a small hatch. Once again I limit this to new houses and renovations where access is usually more easily met.
Nash Harris.