That spray foam insulation gimmick I wrote off for years finally won me over

I spent 6 winters in Minneapolis stuffing fiberglass batts into every gap and still had drafts. Last November I paid a crew $1,200 to foam the attic rim joists and my heating bill dropped 40 bucks that month alone.

2 comments

2 Comments

sandra9165d ago

My uncle did the same thing back in 2018 and his electric bill barely moved maybe $8 a month. The problem is once that stuff gets wet from a tiny roof leak or ice dam it traps moisture and rots your sheathing from the inside out. Took him three years to notice the soft spots in his roof deck. And if you ever have to rewire anything that foam becomes a nightmare cheap fiberglass you can just pull out. I bet that $1,200 foam job will cost him triple in hidden damage later.

gray_patel5d agoTop Commenter

lol that "barely moved" part hit home. I spent $1,500 on spray foam in my attic two years ago and my bill went down maybe $10 a month. Then last year I found a wet spot near the ridge vent and it was a whole mess. @sandra916 is dead on about that trapped moisture thing. I had to rip out a section of foam last month to run a new vent pipe, and let me tell you I'd rather eat a bag of glass fibers than deal with that sticky nightmare again. Should have just stuffed more fiberglass batts up there and called it a day.