Hey there.
This video is going to show you how to do DIY spray foam insulation, how to use it in
your house to improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling system.
I’ve also got two other awesome tips for you, so let’s get to it.
The DIY spray foam insulation I’ll be talking about today is Great Stuff, and I love it
because you can use it to fill gaps up to 1”.
Follow the directions, though.
Make sure you shake that can for 30 to 60 seconds.
What’s cool about Great Stuff is it’s good for one-off applications, and you only
need to fill the voids by <50%.
If you get any uncured Great Stuff on you, you can use acetone to get it off, and you
can use a utility knife to trim any of the cured Great Stuff that’s in your space.
Now you can save about 20% on your heating and cooling cost by using this.
This is the Big Gap Filler, and you can use this for gaps that are >1”.
Now there is also a Window & Door Great Stuff.
This is great for, you guessed it, windows and doors, especially around doorways whereby
you’ve got the jam and you’ve got a space in between the jam and the framing.
So again, follow the directions because this can says to shake it for 60 seconds; the original
Great Stuff says to shake it for 30.
There’s also a Pestblock Great Stuff, and this is pretty wonderful for if you need to
insulate and also prevent pests like ants and spiders and stuff from coming inside your
house.
But again, make sure that you read the directions well.
And the cool thing is there’s no pesticide in it.
And it’s super important to wear gloves when you’re using Great Stuff because this
stuff gets super tacky and sticky.
And trust me, you don’t want it on your skin at all.
And you also want to wear eye protection.
You don’t want Great Stuff in your eyes.
So shake the can really well like I said before – 30 to 60 seconds – and the twist no
the extension tube.
But be careful.
You’re going to twist it on clockwise.
Not too tight because you will break it.
I’ve done this before, and it’s a real pain because you have to buy a whole new can.
So I’m going to be insulating the door between the door and the framing.
As you can see here, there’s a gap.
And what you want to do is press on that tube till the spray foam insulation comes out.
Again, you only want to fill it to the point whereby the void is about half-filled.
It’s kind of hard to do with small spaces, so don’t beat yourself up for this.
You also want a rag to wipe off any excess Great Stuff.
Great Stuff is also really awesome for around big pipes or small pipes – really good for
filling those gaps.
Once the Great Stuff is cured, use a utility knife to trim off any excess.
So what you’ll do is you’ll score it on all sides, and then you just peal it off.
It’s really easy to work with.
So another really great place to insulate your house is in the rim joist.
You can either buy Roxul or Johns Manville.
Those are two really great brands that I like because Roxul, you can cut to size, very simple,
easy to do; and Johns Manville is great because it’s formaldehyde-free.
So pick one of those two insulations, and fill in the rim joist.
Here’s the Johns Manville Multi-Purpose Roll that I was using for the rim joist.
This is only 2” thick x 16” wide x 48” long.
You also want to use a respirator no matter what insulation you’re going to be using
along with protective eyewear.
So the rim joists are, again, up above your basement wall.
And you just want to fill in the space with insulation.
I would’ve preferred Roxul, actually, for this, but this Johns Manville insulation worked
out pretty good.
A third really food way to insulate your house is to insulate around the outlets and switches,
especially outlets or switches that are on exterior walls.
And you can use these electric outlets sealers by Frost King.
They are super affordable, easy to install, and they’ll stop those drafts coming in
through your outlets or switches.
Remove the outlet cover by turning the screw counter-clockwise.
Feel for a draft, and then place the foam insulation over the outlet or the switch.
You’ll have to poke a hole in the center, though, for the screw for the cover plate.
So again, just put that foam over the outlet.
Make sure that you try and cover it the best that you can.
And here’s what it looks like.
And all you have to do is put the cover back on, and you’re done.
It’s as simple as that.
Well there you go.
There are some really awesome tips for how to use DIY spray foam insulation.
I hope that you like this video.
I hope you got some good tips for your own house.
You’re trying to insulate it through the winter.
And even the summer months will help you out with you heating and cooling bills.
And it’ll make your house a much more comfortable place to live and to host friends and family.
So again, I hope you liked this video.
If you did, go ahead and click on the subscribe button.
That way you won’t miss any videos that I have coming out, which actually you’ll
see every single Friday because a new video tutorial comes out every single Friday.
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That way somebody else can see the video, and it will possibly help them out, too.
Thanks as always for watching the videos.
I enjoy this stuff thoroughly, and I really, really enjoy talking with you.
So if you have a question or questions, let me know in the comments section.
Take care.
I’ll see you in the next video.