Lee’s Summit’s Spray Foam Insulation Guide For Homeowners

Your Lee’s Summit Home: Is Spray Foam Insulation The Right Choice? 

One of the perks of living in and around Kansas City is that residents get to experience the full range of seasons. However, this also means that making your Lee’s Summit home as energy efficient as possible is crucial for your wallet. It quite literally pays to know about the best insulation product to use in Lee’s Summit—spray foam insulation.

While spray foam insulation (SPF) has a thermal resistance and air barrier that can’t be matched by traditional insulation, such as cellulose and fiberglass insulation, it's not appropriate for all areas of your home. In this article put together by our Lee’s Summit insulation experts, you’ll learn everything you need to know about SPF to determine whether it’s right for your home, as well as whether you can install it yourself.

What Is Spray Foam Insulation?

Spray foam insulation comes in a can similar to spray paint, with a straw-like nozzle on the end for fitting into tight spaces. For professional use, installers will use heavy-duty machinery to apply the product instead. Technically known as spray polyurethane foam, when the nozzle is opened, a white, foamy substance is ejected and immediately expands. Once dried, it is hard to the touch and prevents both air infiltration and temperature changes, making it not only an excellent air barrier but also a very effective insulator.

Other common types of insulation are fiberglass batt insulation and blown-in insulation, as well as cellulose blown-in insulation. These traditional types of insulation are soft to the touch and have large air pockets within the fibers that trap heat to minimize heat transfer.

Types of Spray Foam Insulation

There are two main types of spray foam insulation, each with different applications:

• Open-cell spray foam insulation: The cells within this type of foam aren’t fully enclosed, giving the hard material a bit of ‘squish’ to it. For this reason, it has a lower R-value, or resistance to heat flow, than closed-cell foam.
• Closed-cell spray foam insulation: As the name suggests, the cells within this foam are fully encapsulated. There is no give to this spray foam, but the closed cells allow it to have an even higher R-value than open-cell foam—almost twice as high!

Pros Of Spray Foam Compared To Other Insulation Types

As with most logical decisions in life, making a pros and cons list can be a big help. Below, we’ve broken down both the drawback and benefits of spray foam so that you have all the information you need to determine if it’s right for your home in Lee’s Summit. Spray foam insulation has the following main benefits:

High R-Value

Though discussed briefly above, let’s take a minute to break down exactly what R-value is. As mentioned, R-value refers to the ability of a material to resist heat flow. This thermal resistance is measured per square inch. The higher the R-value, the higher the thermal resistance and the better insulator the material is.

R-values vary from product to product, but each type of insulation tends to fall within these general ranges:

• Blown-in cellulose: 3.2 to 3.8 per inch.
• Blown-in fiberglass: 2.2 to 2.9 per inch.
• Fiberglass batts: 2.9 to 3.8 per inch.
• Open-cell spray foam: 3.5 to 3.8 per inch.
• Closed-cell spray foam: 5.5 to 6 per inch.

As you can see, the R-value for closed-cell spray foam insulation is much higher per square inch than those for all other insulation types. But how high do you really need the R-value to be?

Based on Lee’s Summit’s climate, the recommended R-values are as follows:

• R13 to R21 for wall cavities
• R38 to R60 for attic insulation
• R25 to R30 for floor cavities

Thus, for wall cavities, you’d need as little as 2.2 inches of closed-cell spray foam insulation in Lee’s Summit, KS. In contrast, you’d need at least 4.5 inches of blown-in fiberglass.

Diverse Applications

SPF is a great choice for smaller areas that also require air sealing, such as exterior walls, roof rafters and crawl spaces. It can also be used to seal around plumbing vents and gas pipes. Unlike fiberglass and cellulose, spray foam may be used for outdoor applications due to its resistance to moisture.

Energy Savings

The more insulated your home is, the higher your energy efficiency and the lower your energy bills will be. While your target R-value can be achieved with any insulation material, whether spray foam, cellulose or fiberglass, you may still have some energy costs associated with heat loss. The sealing benefits of closed-cell spray foam ensure that your utility bills will be as low as possible—at least, as far as energy loss is concerned.

Some homeowners in Lee’s Summit worry that using spray foam will result in ‘oversealing.’ After all, an exchange of interior and exterior air is important for preventing stagnant air and improving the air quality within your home. To this, we say that although ventilation is important, it should always be controlled. Allowing air exchange to take place passively through cracks and crevices in your home’s structure should be avoided. Rather, air exchange should take place through roof vents and the natural opening and closing of your windows and doors.

Water Resistance

One of the biggest benefits of using spray foam insulation in Lee’s Summit, KS is the fact that this material is water-resistant. Closed-cell foam is 100% waterproof, while open-cell foam is highly water-resistant, but may become waterlogged if exposed to prolonged moisture.

Due to being a vapor barrier, you can use closed-cell foam on the exterior of your home, including your home’s roof. By blocking outside moisture, your home’s attic will be protected from water damage. If you’ve ever dealt with water damage and wood rot in your home before, you know just how expensive this repair can be.

Soundproofing

As we’ve already discussed, closed-cell and open-cell SPF provide an air-tight seal, preventing air leakage in your home in Lee’s Summit. Spray foam insulation is also a great material to use for sound reduction through sound blocking, as well as sound absorption.

If you live on a particularly noisy street that keeps you up at night, and you already have double-pane or triple-pane windows, adding spray foam could help block the sound from traveling through your exterior walls and into your bedroom.

Likewise, if your teenager has recently picked up the trumpet and you’d like to avoid hearing it until they’ve improved their practice, spray foam can be used to absorb sound produced in a single room, so that the sound waves do not enter other rooms. You’ll still be able to hear noise within that room, but it’ll be much quieter than it would otherwise.

For sound blocking, both open-cell and closed-cell SPF may be used, but for sound absorption, you’ll want to stick to open-cell.

Cons Of Spray Foam Compared To Other Insulation Types

Despite all the above benefits of using SPF, there are also cons to using this material in Lee’s Summit. Spray foam insulation is costly, cannot be used everywhere within your home and can present some health risks during the installation process.

Cost

Although the R-value of closed-cell spray foam is much higher than other types of insulation, its cost is also much higher. With supply chain shortages and inflation, it’s impossible to give definitive numbers, but closed-cell spray foam insulation can be as much as 6 to 7 times more expensive per square foot than fiberglass batts and cellulose blow-in insulation.

However, you typically need much less of it. If you were planning to replace your attic insulation entirely with closed-cell spray foam, you’d find it to be a very costly endeavor. Homeowners in Lee’s Summit typically use spray foam where needed to help support their existing fiberglass or cellulose insulation.

Applications

There are some areas where you should never use spray foam insulation in Lee’s Summit, KS. Any area near an electrical box or any other electrical infrastructure should not come in contact with expanding foam of any kind. There are certain chemicals in spray foam that can be flammable, so you’ll want to keep it away from your outlets.

For the same reason, keep this product away from your recessed ceiling lights, or any other kind of lighting. The heat generated by bulbs can increase the risk of a fire.

Water Absorption

Though closed-cell insulation is waterproof, open-cell is not. Avoid using open-cell products in spaces where you need complete water resistance, as moisture infiltration can damage your home, reduce the effectiveness of your insulation and subsequently result in energy loss.

Additionally, because spray foam is so effective at creating a seal, you’ll want to ensure that the area is completely dry before applying it, as you’ll trap any moisture once the foam is set.

Health Risks

Though there’s considerable debate around whether spray foam is a significant health risk, there’s no arguing about the toxicity of one substance within this insulation—isocyanate. When sprayed, the isocyanate comes into contact with another substance within the can—polyurethane—resulting in a chemical reaction that results in foam.

Within the isocyanate are VOCs (volatile organic compounds). Exposure to these compounds can result in lung damage, asthma and skin irritation. While curing, it releases gasses into the air. It’s generally accepted that breathing in fumes during the curing process should be avoided, as homeowners are instructed to leave for a minimum of 24 hours after the foam is applied. However, some have suggested that the off-gassing process takes between 4 and 5 years.

There’s no concrete evidence that there’s any impact on homeowner health following the curing period, but it’s important for homeowners in Lee’s Summit to use the information they have to make the best decision for their household.

DIY vs. Professional Lee’s Summit Spray Foam Insulation Services

So, you’ve considered the pros and cons of using spray foam insulation in Lee’s Summit, KS, and you think you may want to use it in one or more places around your home. You may be wondering, can you install it yourself? Or do you need to go with a professional Lee’s Summit spray foam insulation service?

Though the application process may seem straightforward, there are several common insulation installation mistakes that homeowners make when trying to install any type of insulation. Some of the factors to keep in mind when considering whether or not to hire a spray insulation contractor for a Lee’s Summit spray foam insulation service are as follows:

• Safety: Professionals have all the equipment and training to handle spray foam safely. Exposing yourself to the chemicals within this product during the spraying process can have health effects that can impact you long-term.
• Building codes: A professional is up-to-date on all building codes in the area and can ensure that they apply spray foam to the required R-value for your home and area.
• Proper application: Because spray foam hardens quickly, if you’re not finished applying it in a given area before it cures, it can develop folds and leave air pockets, thereby reducing your energy efficiency. To apply correctly, you need experience.

Hiring a professional for a Lee’s Summit spray foam insulation service is therefore the best option for your peace of mind and the overall effectiveness of the installation. If you’re set on giving it a shot yourself, you can purchase a spray foam insulation kit.

Expert Lee’s Summit Spray Foam Insulation Application, Contact Koala Insulation Of South Kansas City

Instead of searching for ‘spray foam insulation near me,’ trust our expert team at Koala Insulation of South Kansas City. Still not sure what kind of insulation is right for your home’s insulation goals and needs? We’re more than happy to work with you to find the right solution for your home, whether it’s spray foam or something different like batt insulation or blown-in insulation.

Whether you live in Lee’s Summit, Blue Springs, Overland Park or any other area in the vicinity, we encourage you to contact us today at 816-929-8255 to arrange a free insulation evaluation. Using our extensive knowledge and experience, we’ll recommend the right service or services for your home, whether or not that includes our professional Lee’s Summit spray foam insulation service.