What's the best option for insulating your exterior walls?
Let's talk about it.
Welcome to Foam University. Today we're going to discuss the best
insulation for exterior walls. We're going to be talking about
foam board, Nu-wool and spray foam. Before we get into that, please go below
hit that like button for us, thanks. So, first we're going to be taking
a look at Nu-wool insulation. Now this will
typically come in a roll or a batt. Now, keep in mind when you're using a
material that comes like that, you're going to have to seal it in place
somehow. We usually recommend canned foam because it's an insulator as
well as a seal. Some people may recommend other things,
like caulk or silicone, or even putting some type of netting up
over top of that to hold in place. There's a lot of options. They all kind
of add some complication, and of course it's adding a step on top
of the insulation itself. Now, Nu-wool. Let's take a look at it for
doing its job. It is a decent property for actually
resisting thermal transfer. It does a good job at stopping heat.
Now, when it comes to air seal that's where it kind of falls short a little
bit. Now, again if we're going to use
something like canned foam, that can air seal around it, that does help but keep
in mind, you won't necessarily have that true air
seal that we're looking for inside that cavity. So Nu-wool, it can
definitely be a good option, and this could be a good DIY option if
you consider yourself a handy person, you want to get that remodel done
yourself or if you want to do some of the work yourself
on a new build that you're working on. So Nu-wool it is a good option for you.
So, next we're going to be discussing foam board for insulating those exterior
walls. So, this is a good option if you're
looking at something that can provide an air seal but still
is a DIY option for you. Now, compared to Nu-wool that we just talked about,
foam board would be a better way to go for a lot of different reasons.
One, it is an air seal, but keep in mind you will still have a couple added steps.
For instance, you will still have to seal around that
foam board inside every cavity. One, you want to make sure
it stays in place but then you want to establish that air seal as well.
Now foam board by itself will be an air seal in the middle of the cavity through
the board, however that gap around the board, you
want to make sure you use something like i said, we recommend can foam
because it's an insulator and an air seal
to make sure that it's sealed off all the way around. Now, of course you will
have to do that in every single cavity. So, it does add a couple steps but if
you're looking for a good DIY option for insulating those exterior
walls, foam board could be a better way to go. So, lastly we're going
to talk about spray foam for those exterior walls. Now,
spray foam will be the best option in this topic. Now, we say
that because, one, it performs the job best. It does
provide the best resistance to heat transfer through
those walls, it also establishes that air seal,
as a one and done option, you don't have to add anything to it to get that total
seal. Now, when you're looking at this compared
to the other options like Nu-wool and foam board,
you lose the DIY option. Spray foam is really not a DIY
option for you. You will have to seek out a professional contractor and have them
out to do this install for you, and of course spray foam will be the
most expensive. However, if we're looking at this as
compared to the other products, spray foam will by far be the best
performing. So if you're looking for something that establishes that air seal
throughout and it performs the best as stopping any
moistur, air loss as well as heat transfer. Spray foam is
definitely going to be the clear choice for you.
So now, let's talk about all three of these products. So,
Nu-wool can be a good DIY option, it is readily available for the most part and
you can get it ordered to you if it's not
at a specific store that you're trying to pick it up, but it's a good DIY option
and it can work as far as insulating your walls,
and like i said, keep in mind you will have to add some steps to that.
Moving up to the next option would be foam board, where it does perform a
little bit better and establishes that absolute air seal
in the middle of the cavity, but keep in mind you still have a lot of
added steps being that you have to can foam
and, or caulk around the entire board in every single stud cavity
to make sure the air seal is throughout. Now, we're jumping up to the best option
when we look at spray foam. We look at performance and overall
efficiency and effectiveness. Spray foam is going to be the best
option for these. The only things to keep in mind is, it will be more expensive
than the other two and you lose the option to do it yourself. You will have
to get a professional contractor in to do that spray foam for you. However if
you're looking for the absolute best performing product,
spray foam is the clear way to go.
If you want to learn more about the best way to
insulate your exterior walls, please click the link below.
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