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Does anyone know if its the standard nowadays to do spray foam insulation in new construction? Not one-off custom homes (where I know I can ask for it), but when a builder is developing an entire neighborhood at once?
Last time I owned a new construction house (20 years ago) it wasn't really even an option, but now it seems like it would be. Does anyone know?
Do you mean foam like Icynene? It is used here by some builders but it is definitely not a standard installation across the board. It definitely has great thermal benefits but there are some downsides, too. Still, I'd rather have it than not.
Don't know if it's the norm, but I see it more and more nowadays. If I built a house today I would probably use spray foam. I'm sure the cost is higher than fiberglass. But spray foam probably much more efficient.
I would imagine the type of insulation you see will vary a lot depending upon local climate and building codes. Here in the Boston area, we see a lot of extremes of heat and cold. Our building code in the last 5 years or so has begun to incorporate a lot of energy efficiency requirements and one thing that makes it easier to hit those numbers is good insulation. A lot of builders here now use spray foam insulation because of that. I generally don't see an entire house treated with it. However, it's incredibly common to see foam insulation on the underside of the roof and in the blocking area of the basement. Typically, I still see fiberglass bats in the walls and either fiberglass or rockwool between the floor joists on the first floor.
it's about 14k for a upgrade on my new construction home. Maybe a bit less after subtracting the batt costs. I am going to do it since besides the R value, Bugs can't nest and don't eat it. It doesn't attract dust like fiberglass. I plan on living in this house for 20+ years till the mini me's are out of college. If you are planning on selling in 5-8 years it's prob not worth it.
It may not be the norm because of the cost. I added a large addition years ago and had about 2 inches sprayed in and followed it with batt fiberglass. The stuff is incredible as it takes very little to heat and cool the structure. It was one of the best choices we made for the addition. Also, it is very quiet in the building,
I’m not sure I’d want foam in an attic. I have seen enough attic fires to know how hot they burn and how difficult they are to extinguish. Seems like it would make it extremely difficult to track down a roof leak as well.
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