Foam insulation

Foam insulation

Foam close up

foam

Last Friday, the guest house was insulated with spray foam insulation.  Chris from the colorado-based insulation company Seal It Up pulled up to our driveway in one of his mighty trailers. Foam insulation is an impressive product, a mix of two chemical components (isocyanate and polyol resin) that are forced through a high pressure gun.  In the last inch of the gun, the two components mix.  Within 8 seconds of leaving the gun the mixture hardens.  It fills the smallest cracks, crevices and voids, making it a very effective insulating material.  While the military has been using a form of it since the 40s on aircraft, the product is gaining in popularity in residential and commercial applications as an alternative to traditional fiberglass.  In addition to being a highly effective insulator, it also works to strengthen a structure, improve soundproofing and reduce moisture and mold penetration.   As the close-up pictures demonstrate, it has a tactile quality that makes you want to touch it, but unlike the fiberglass insulation that you may have poked your fingers into as a kid (cotton candy impostor!), it won't bite.