Pulling up actual data really adds a lot of value to your channel. Thank you for this.

How is it that a free 9 minute youtube video could have saved me thousands of dollars, days of labor, and headache with my local installer if I did 2 inches instead of 6 in my office build knowing this information. Hats off to you sir. Is there a way to donate to your channel? You will have literally saved me probably $15k or more on my current project I'm about to start. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and knowledge in these videos!

This is a great video. Really appreciate you putting it together. I was worried about "only" putting 3 inches of cc foam in my new build house. No longer. Thanks for clearing it up for me.

Thank you! Finally someone explaining this in a simple way. You guys are amazing.

Thanks for great information. I'm building a new garage this year and was going to spray the walls and blow in the attic. After watching your videos I will spray the complete garage now. It just makes sense. I sprayed my house attic with 4 inches and expected to see the payoff in heat savings in 7 years. I was WRONG. Payoff happened in 4 years. I was worth every penny. Especially if you live in the far north of Ontario Canada. Love how it kept the rodents out also.

My personal beliefs is a mixture of closed cell with rock wool insulation laying over. Closed cell gives you structural integrity, air and moisture barrier properties and great insulation values. While the rock wool will give you great insulation values as well for what it is, but I am looking for the amazing sound qualities it offers. A 2x6 wall with approximately 2 inches across the entire house (closed cell) and then filled with 2x4 rock wool. While having 24 inch center stud walls.

Common sense derived on facts. Awesome job presenting info in all perspectives!

Great video.. me and my father often talk about diminishing returns.. this is great example of that.

I live in SW CO and our county has no code enforcement. I am taking advantage of this to keep my foam costs down. Our house is ICF construction, and I had 2" of 2lb closed cell sprayed on the underside of the shed style roof that extends over a three room bump out on the first level, making the attic of this section conditioned space. In the winter, it stayed "room temp" above the ceiling. This summer, I do see that it is getting warmer, but not enough to be a concern. (Room temp ~75F, attic ~80F, 95F outside in full sun for days, no A/C) Thermal imaging shows that most of this heat comes in through the trusses, not the foam between them. I am going to opt for 2.5" on the main roof, which is rafter style vaulted ceiling using TJI's. Thanks to the TJI's, I should have much less thermal bridging, and 2.5" of foam should keep pretty much all the heat out in the summer. I already know 2" is more than sufficient in the winter. With 2 to 2.5" of closed cell foam, my house is technically WAY under the R-value of most codes, and yet the performance of my conditioned envelope is likely better than I could have achieved with the use of fiber insulation of any kind, particularly considering my TJI rafter vaulted ceiling design, which would be a pain to vent and insulate properly. Very happy with spray foam, we really need codes to start allowing less of it to be used rather than demanding an r-value...

just had 3 inch closed sprayed on the bottom of the roof deck and 2 inch in the walls. the change is unbelievable. im sold on it when i get to renovating the rest of the outer walls i will def have it sprayed

I build custom homes in the Cleveland Ohio area. We use 2x6 walls with Huber Zip sheathing. We focus on getting as close to a ACH50 of 1.0 as possible. In the living spaces over the garage, which most of our buyers finish we use closed cell foam 2” then dense pack the remainder of the roof and floor. We use an unvented roof over the garage which reduces the thermal bridging issues with a knee wall. We use Zoned HVAC systems and on a 6500 sq ft home (counting 2000 ft of basement finished) we find a single 70,000/80,000 98% variable speed multi state furnace with an ERV and 26 Seer variable AC makes the hole incredibly comfortable and the heating and cooling bills extremely low. We use an R-10 on the exterior basement foundation walls and we spray 3” of closed cell in all the rim joists. In addition we aeroseal all the duct work and soray 2” closed cell foam on all exposed duct work in the attic areas then cover with R-60 which seems to settle to around R55 after a year. Our building inspectors require full fill cavities. Last year we did a full fill open cell foam on a customers home on request. Truthfully that home Has done very well and has been extremely comfortable also. The issue was waste. The over expansion and shaving of the foam seeds too wasteful. I’m considering building a double wall home, where we use 2x4 exterior and 2x4 interior wall to stop thermal bridging. I thought I’d try dense pack fiberglass on one home then the next use 3” closed cell and the balance of dense pack fiberglass.

I agree with everything you said! Only way to justifie more foam is if energy cost rise drastically then it may start to make sense but then most likely the foam will cost more too.

Really glad you put this information out. Thanks for taking your time to do this.

Thanks for the great information!!! Just had a guy tell me I needed 6 inches on the roof of my steel building! With this information I will go with 3 inches! And go with a different company! Wish you guys where in Arizona!

I disagree with the numbers converted to percentage, because it's based off of 0% efficiency being a loss of 558btu/hr. So when you compare that to how much do you save using 3 inches and more vs 2 inches it don't sound like much as a percentage. But when you do the math on BTU's for an actual structure square footage you end up with some big differences. I did some quick math here, 40x72x14 4:12 has about 6624sqft before windows and doors. 2 inches requires 21,358 BTU/hr, 3 inches 15,951 BTU/hr, 4 inches 12,977 BTU/hr, 5 inches 10,273 BTU/hr. So 3 inches is 33% more efficient than 2 inches, 4 inches is 65% more efficient than 2 inches, and 5 inches is 108% more efficient than 2 inches. This should be what the numbers are compared to. And the efficiency comparison in the video doesn't do these real numbers any justice.

Great video...Top shelf information. Thanks.

I finally found what I have been looking for. Thanks!

Thank you for being honest and saving money

Good info. When I'm ready to build in 5 or so years i plan on 2x6 framing, or bigger, 2in closed cell and then rockwool, and exterior insulation for thermal break. Going for a passive house rating in northern MI.

The latest energy codes (IECC) just implemented in the USA require a substantial R-value requiring a full 2x6 cavity of closed cell foam for residential construction if you want to avoid paying for continuous exterior insulation as well. Most will probably go with the full cavity of spray foam because of cost. Most will not realize the benefit of preventing thermal bridging with continuous exterior insulation and reducing the amount of cavity wall R-value.

I did 7 & 8" of closed cell on the roof deck. Percentages are deceiving. So in my case 3000sq./ft That's about 3700BTU's of heat per hour which is about 10M BTU's per season. This enabled me to downsize the overall heating system nearly paying for the upgrade Plus the savings every year.

Watched more, love the detail on heat loss and spray foam efficiency!! Good job

I have 24 foot high ceilings in my shop and the walls are built 90" on center 6x6 beams. The added bonus i could see with having thicker spray foam walls is better shear force when its windy.

Another great video -- Thanks for your knowledge share!

I see you respond to soo many comments. I am in Zone 3 (atlanta ga) and some installers are saying do 3 inches and some are saying 4 inches of closed cell on a new build. The 2 that are saying do 4 inches are saying it will encapsulate the roof truss and reduce thermal bridging. Just not sure which to do.

Very good explanation. Accuracy matters!

There’s some proper application, multi pass, staying off the studs!! Good job boys!!

Great content...as always. Thank you Mike!

Your videos make me want to start a spray foam business. Thank you for the amazing content!!

Wow, thanks, very educational and informing, thanks, stay blessed

Gosh I just love your videos. Well done! Clear delivery of info!

Love your videos. I've learned a lot. The information will definitely be helpful when building my soon to be next home. Thank you from the lower 48.

Not to mention the air seal with spray foam not achieved with fiberglass or rockwool insulation and some people will argue that a plastic sheet will achieve that, which it will not.

Yes 😂 we have to spray 7" of sprayfoam for ceilings/roofs in Virginia. I tell people you have a yeti cooler by the time we are done. Our estimates are in the 40k range because of the requirements of "R-value"

Thank you !!

Man if I could get a true and even R value of closed cell spray foam that also added total vapor control and draft control that would make up for soooo much. Even with my 1976 2x4 frame home.

Great video. Question: My rafters are 2 x 10. If I spray 3" then what happens with the remaining 6.5" of cavity space? Wouldn't condensation be an issue between the drywall and the closed cell foam? If I place batt insulation in the remaining cavity wouldn't that also be susceptible to condensation?

So nice! You do excellent work -- QUESTION -- We love the look of concrete, especially in the cottage we are planning, an exposed concrete wall in the basement. Can we spray on the exterior (below grade), with enough insulation to keep the interior surface of the concrete at room temperture during winter (3 inches??)? We want to see the interior concrete but we don't want a huge cold surface during winter. Temperture can hit -25 C during the worst of winter.

Chris Grider: How are you venting that attic space?? I didn't see any baffles before spraying, how does excess moisture escape? How do you know if you have a roof leak? Would this cause the roof sheeting to rot?

Regarding ASTM C-236 and building codes. My problem with the test specifically, and insulation codes generally, is that they don’t take into account things like thermal bridging, or thermal mass. If you take traditional framing with 2” of closed cell sprayed into stud bays you still get a lot of heat loss because the 3” of exposed R-1 stud is acting like a highway bringing in cold. Flash and batt remains popular because it protects the 3” of exposed stud. The best answer seems to be putting your insulation on the exterior.

Good information

Great information

I have watched many of your videos. Spray Foam is where it's at! Great information. But - how does one put it into practical use? I am building a small, 1000 sq, modified cape in southern MA. Code requires (ZONE 5) an R 30 wall value. How do I convince a building inspector that I only need 2 inches of closed cell? Ceiling are an R60!!!! I'm not sure what a cathedral ceiling requires but that's what we're constructing..

Good honest information. I might add that you also have to take into account Dew Point to prevent condensation from forming on the interior. Min: 2" exterior walls (except basement walls) and Min: 3" on roof decks. Anything less you risk of severe condensation buildup inside the building envelope particularly when its really cold outside. Not a good situation when covered by drywall. Great videos btw.

very helpful!

Very useful info thanks

If you have closed cell foam installed on your attic roof and later get new shingles installed, what can be done with all the new nails? Sometimes the nails they use are way too long. This could extend through the foam or decrease the insulation value. What can/should be done with new shingles if you have solid foam? If you have already answered this I apologize for the same question. I haven't gone through all of the comments yet. Very informative videos. Thanks. This is really important for the 2nd floor ceiling, (no real attic just the space from the 2x6, 2x8, 2x10 or whatever is used for your roof) . How can you fix this without removing the drywall? Thanks.

Even the eskimos are building igloos with 3” blocks of pressed snow

Do 2 inches and then go over the studs with Aluminum Double Bubble. Then tape everything off. The ADB reflects 98% of heat back into the room or out of the house in the summer. This thing of building 1 foot walls and stuffing them with whatever is craziness. Why not do ICF then. Much More Cost effective and a much warmer house. and Storm and Tornado proof.

This was very helpful. I have a 12×20 cabin with 2×6 walls. I have a wood stove for heat and winter cooking. Completely off grid (no electricity). I have been hesitant about spraying, just because I really didn't know how much, really how little I needed to be efficient with my wood burning. I believe, according to your explanation, that I really only need the 2" level of spray. I'm using plank walls, so there is a going to be an air gap between the spray and interior wall. Should I still put a vapor barrier behind the wall boards, or is that overkill?

This is great information. Would the same percentages in your chart be the same for a ceiling?

Hello, great video as you explain thoroughly, I have a question have you ever sprayed closed cell in an area and then sprayed open cell on top of closed cell as that would fill full 2x6 wall but it may be an experiment to make a video on.

Do you have comparable efficiency charts to compare “reduction in heat loss” compared to fiberglass and other common insulation types?

I love the BTU retention charts. Do you have the equivalent charts for any other types of insulation? I'd be curious to see how they compare head to head in this test, seeing how the r-value test is tilted so heavily in their favor.

One major issue... you can spray 2" in a roof and realize efficiency, but that leaves a huge surface area of exposed rafter on the interior that takes in all that heat, and sends it directly to the roof causing a ton of ice. My spray guy swears all you need is 2". I agree if youre spraying a continuous surface. But you need to be careful of pushing 2" when there is a situation of excessive thermal bridging

thank you for all the info. great videos. question. i am adding a shed roof 4 season room to the side of my house. It will be built off the ground on cement piers. since the floor deck will only be 1 foot from ground, to seal the bottom of the floor, i plan to install cdx treated plywood between the floor joists . The 4/12 shed roof will sit on the current home shingled roof . Since it will be a cathedral roof. concern is proper ventalation. i was planning on useing fiberglass bats, but after watching your videos thinking i should use closed cell in the entire room.

Is there a threat of condensation on the drywall back if a cavity is not filled

Question, for the additional inches above 2 inches, don’t you need to stop and allow the first 2 inches to cure to prevent offgassing going on for all eternity by applying it to thickly? Thus you now have an additional labor cost as well as an additional material cost.

My question is what thickness of 2 lb closed cell spray foam gives you a vapor barrier on inside walls? I want to flash and batt with rock wool. How much CC foam will I need to put on the rim joists to ensure that water vapor that moves through the rock wool will not condense on the inside surface of the foam in winter time? Obviously the foam has to be thick enough to lower the dewpoint at the inside surface so vapor does not condense.

How is spray foam thickness measured? Is it like 2 inches equals inch and a half as in you would measure lumber or should it be 2 inches equals 2 inches?

I'm in Laredo, TX, high heat, humidity, I'm considering switching from my current build plan of open cell to closed cell. Would you think that's a better option? Spraying the attic space under a metal roof and the walls. Interior walls would be open cell just for noise. Thanks and I appreciate all of the information you've shared with us.

I thought it was against the law to use freon and spray it into the atmosphere as it ruins the ozone layer ...........please advise .......

My caveman answer is, "As much as the cavities can hold."

Very helpful video. Do you have a link to the source for the chart? That would be very helpful.

Hello, love your content. Quick question…what causes ridge rot? A local high end builder at my church says to put in a ridge vent and space down between rafters and then seal it all off with spray foam. This allows moisture to be pushed up to the ridge and out without affecting the air barrier. Thoughts?

Bravo! Just finished a deep dive of your vids. We will be using ccSPF in our home. Insulator quoted 3" for code R-21 on the Rims, Walls, and Roof. Question about the roof foam; can we put rockwool in the bays after the foam (Flash and batt I think it's called) to get a better result?

Would it make a difference if you put an air space between the first two inches and a second two inches of spray foam

Thank you so much for all that data... data-data ..data-ta data.....Sprayfoam man to the Rvalue rescue!!! (Sorry it's late and I've been watching spray foam videos for a couple hours. I've been building for quite some time, and expanding in some ways like ICF variations - and I'm looking into spray foam. The current remodel i'm thinking of using it on is a home built in the 1950s. I'm thinking of vaulting the existing ceilings, the roof is a low pitch, it's in So Cal so it doesn't need a steep one for snow and ice. The rafters are 2x4s, which have no depth - so this will work great, I am still not sure of at 2 - 2.5" thick what will the "R-value" be? Any tips are welcome. 😁👍 That being said, what will the weight be like, say in a standard 16" o/c chamber wide 10'x10' area? I'm not sure how to calculate that or present it to an engineer, unless they are familiar with doing roofs with the spray foam. Would the 2x4's need to be beefed up / sistered on - with a 2x6? 🤔🤔 - totally open to thoughts / ideas? And great video. Seriously thanks for the specs and another person giving info on KZfaq spoke of you and how you are one of the 'Obi-Wans' of spray foam.... Keep it up, the Grasshoppers are listening. 😁😂😆.... (I warned its late....)

Watching this video again why at 6:50 is there piece of poly there like if you were insulating with fibreglass and having a continuous vapour barrier?

For spray thickness..what about a wine cellar? Would it be worth those few extra percentages to fill the entire cavity of 2x4 and 2x6 wall? Should closed cell be used for a wine cellar?

Thanks for this video....should help us optimize the investment in thermal protection. One question still....what is the minimum waiting time between layers? The company I'm considering to contract for such a job, is using close cell PU foam from Huntsman (DALTOTHERM® TSA30-00), and in the technical specification sheet, it says that for more than 12cm foam, there should be a 12 hours waiting time between the layers, but it doesn't specify what should be the waiting time for less than 12cm. I was considering to apply 15cm of foam, but still in one day. Many thanks in advance.

This is VERY helpful. If I'm in northern Wisconsin and want to insulate my attic floor how many inches of closed cell foam + insulation would you recommend? Or would you go with 2 inches of closed cell and call it a day?

What’s a better option doing 3 inch spray foam or doing 2” with 1 1/2 batts im trying to get good r value but also help with acoustics as I live on busy street. Same question goes for ceiling in basement should I do batts, open cell foam, or both basement ceiling is strictly for acoustics, and what do you suggest in attic ceiling because I hear blow in drops down to r4 in -25. Great video btw

I live in Florida and looking for the code for closed cell spray foam

As someone looking to build and hoping to use spray foam, this was very helpful and informative. Thank you! Are there any good ways to weed out bad companies when looking for a contractor? I watched your video on what is a bad spray job, but I'd like to know if they're worthwhile beforehand, and want to make sure they're not scamming me with someone else's work. Any tips to detect a scammer? Certain questions that should get a certain answer, sort of thing? Obviously, there is no perfect way to tell short of going to an active job site to see them in action, but that's not always possible.

What about roof leaks if you have spray foam on attic ceiling?

How do we get those that are doing plan reviews to get away from R-Values and to thermal efficiency?

Nice video, I was planning to install an r20 on my basement walls, but now I feel comfortable with r12. I have an attached garage with 2 bedrooms on top of that, my contractor told me that he can spray 5" over the garage drywall, but it would be better to tear down and spray on the garage ceiling, does it make sense? Right now I have an r20 pink insulation, I will have to install new drywall on top of the spray foam.

How much sound deadening Do you achieve the thicker you go? Any published calculations?

This video is great! One question: Can a person spray foam the roof on an attic that is vented and unconditioned. Would that 2” inch or so of foam act as (or replace) a “Radiant Barrier”? (The radiant barrier being that think aluminum foil looking stuff).

Shouldn't it be cubic feet not square feet?

Thanks Mr @SprayJones! Why do some areas like mine (Nova Scotia) ask for r24 value in the walls (5 inches of foam) when an r13 of foam will do? Should a homeowner build to code?

I am planning to insulate my basement walls with spray foam, but I have huge stairs in of the walls, making it hard to insulate the area and rim joints, will that influence my air seal and insulation performance? I can only insulate on 3/1-2 walls.

Awesome video thx

Question: Any Idea if double walled 2x4 construction, with a minimal foam thickness (say 1inch in the inside wall and 1” on the outer wall) separated buy an air gap of ( 2.5” between layers) would deliver better insulation results than a single layer of 2” thickness?

Your assumptions of adequate R-values is somewhat wrong by not including degradation of spray foam over time. As the blowing agents dissipate via evaporation, air replaces these gasses and the R-value drops to around 5 per inch. The highest R-value of spray foam is immediately after curing (day 1). Then it drops from 3 months to years, depending on many factors of the foam thickness and surrounding environment. I tend to go thicker to cover the insulation decrease factor. Very cold conditions also effect spray foam, where R-values drop but not for the entire thickness, just the exterior side where temperatures rise further on the interior side. An example from the chart says 3" of closed cell = R-19. That's 6.33 per inch. At R-5 per inch, that's R-15, so you need 3.8" for long term R-19. That's what testing shows.

Do you have a video comparing the BTU loss charts with spray foam & other types of insulation?

Question how do we deal with local building codes?

Thank you for showing the chart of Insulation values per 1" of PUFoam. I had not seen that before. I have long thought that the maximum benefit was that first 1" and all additional depth benefits was fractional by comparison. All property Insulation has to be applied with a modicum of common sense.. Having 2' of insulation on all walls but having a window wide open makes that all pointless.. When I first became aware of spray foam Insulation (25 yrs +..) the tendency was to inject enclosed voids rather than open spraying.. I always preferred the cleaner appearance and full bonding benefits of injection.. It seems that open spraying is mainly for the benefit of the installers..? Is that fair..?

What would these numbers look like 20% drift

How well does this keep the sun’s heat from penetrating a cathedral ceiling? My spray foam contractor recommended 3.5”.

Does the application of closed cell spray foam ever melt wires? What temperature does the foam normally reach when it’s first applied and curing? My builder is putting spray foam in our remodeled house and I’m concerned it will melt cables, but I heard that’s pretty unlikely

What about allergic reactions if the contractor doesn't mix it correctly. I know today there is no formaldehyde in the new stuff I have watched 60 minutes where people in Georgia had to remove there entire roofs because the foam making them all sick. Is the stuff that's at the home depot in 2 cylinders safe I think its from tiger ?

Hello there, what kind of product do you use and what are the temperatures that your guys normally use?

After you spray 1" of closed cell foam , how much does it expand ?

Do they have that same test for open cell versus closed cell?

Make a video on cost in 2021 after COVID

My architect cost me a lot of money making me go r 60 in ceiling..

Hey mike Great video… i just had my home sprayed from the exterior and the contractor that did the work sprayed closed cell 2lb 3 inches thick.. it looked like they were doing it in 2 passes. However I do have a question. In areas where they sprayed too much they had to shave off areas and the foam on the inside is a different colour and not purple it also has little bubbles almost like thousands of little air pocket bubbles… comparable to a chocolate aero bar but smaller pockets… it feels dense but not as super dense as the foam shell on the outside is this normal?

2 INCHES IS NOT ENOUGH JUST FOUND THAT OUT WITH THE LAST BIG SNOW WE HAD AFTER THE ROOF WAS COVERED WITH 6 INCHES THEN WE NOTICE HOW MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE IT WAS SO THE 2 INCHES DID NOT DO THE JOB AM CALLING TO HAVE MORE ADDED PROBABLY 2 MORE INCHES.