This 20-Year-Old Spray Foam Job Had Some Problems

We see some interesting things in attics around Savannah, but this one was definitely up there.

The homeowner actually ended up calling us because his HVAC guy noticed something wasn’t right. Thank goodness he did, because once we got up there and really started looking around, there were problems everywhere.

This home had spray foam installed about 20 years ago. The problem wasn’t necessarily that it was old. It was how the job had been done in the first place.

The old fiberglass insulation had never been removed before they sprayed the attic. The soffits were still open. The ridge vent was open. There were also several bays that just never got sprayed at all.

So basically, this attic had been sitting like this for around two decades.

His HVAC Equipment Was Fighting for Its Life Up There

When you spray foam the roof deck and bring an attic into the conditioned space, you can’t just spray some foam and call it a day.

The attic needs to be sealed correctly.

That hadn’t happened here.

Outside air was still getting in through the soffits and ridge vent, and there were areas of the roof deck without foam. On top of all that, the old fiberglass was still sitting on the attic floor.

And there was moisture.

A lot of it.

His HVAC equipment was up there trying to operate in those conditions, and honestly, it was fighting for its life. His HVAC guy deserves some credit for catching it and telling him he needed to have somebody take a look at the insulation.

The Vac Out Wasn’t Fun

Our first step was getting all that old fiberglass out of the attic.

Normally we can get in there with our equipment and start vacuuming everything out. This one fought us pretty much the entire way.

Because of all the moisture that had been in the attic, that old fiberglass did not want to come out. Wet insulation is heavy, messy and a whole different animal than dry fiberglass.

We kept at it.

A full vac out was really the only way we were going to be able to see what we were dealing with and get this attic where it needed to be.

Once we got the old material out, we could get to the areas that should have been addressed when the spray foam was originally installed.

Sealing What Should Have Been Sealed 20 Years Ago

Next we went after those open soffits and the ridge vent.

Those needed to be sealed off so the attic could actually function the way a spray-foamed attic is supposed to function.

We also had those missed bays where there wasn’t any spray foam at all.

It was one of those jobs where you keep finding yourself wondering how nobody caught this sooner. But when everything is hidden away in an attic, homeowners really don’t have any way of knowing.

For 20 years, it probably just looked like the house “had spray foam.”

That’s a big difference from having a properly sealed spray foam attic.

Glad the HVAC Guy Spoke Up

This job is also a pretty good example of why we like working with other trades.

An HVAC technician sees things we may not see because he’s looking at the house from a different angle. In this case, he knew his equipment shouldn’t have been dealing with the conditions it was dealing with up there.

He told the homeowner to get the attic checked out, the homeowner called us, and we were able to find the bigger problem.

That phone call probably saved him from continuing to put unnecessary stress on his HVAC system.

If you have an older spray foam job in your Savannah home, especially one that’s been there for 15 or 20 years, don’t assume everything was done correctly just because there’s foam on the roof deck.

Sometimes it’s worth getting up there and taking a look.

Call Koala Insulation of Savannah or visit our website for a FREE evaluation!