pmalavolti
Well-known member
i got my rebate from menards. they carry the DOW froth pak. are these any good. has anybody had good/bad experiences with them.
diy spray foam
- Thread starter pmalavolti
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theoldwizard1
Well-known member
No experience, but a full head to toe Tyvek suit and a full face shield are absolutely required. If that stuff gets on you, it is not coming off !
OP
pmalavolti
Well-known member
yes. my menards has those items right next to the froth paks.
rustyjames
Well-known member
I've used them and they worked good but there is a bit of a learning curve to using them. The two main things to you need to be aware of is that it really expands a lot so you have to get the feel of that when applying, and not stopping once you start because they clog easy.
joe_padavano
Well-known member
Good advice. The problem I had was the time it took to stop and reposition the ladder when spraying the ceiling. You only have about 30 seconds before the foam starts to harden in the mixing nozzle. The kits I bought came with about a half dozen nozzles in each kit, so that helped. Also, as you get towards the end of the tanks, one will always finish before the other. DON'T keep spraying, as the resulting foam won't expand or harden. Do not ask me how I know this...
Finally, little drops of foam get everywhere. Be sure to wear a hat or hood, goggles, and a cartridge respirator. Get everything out of the building. I didn't mess with covering the floor and was able to pop all the hardened foam off the concrete with a long-handled floor scraper.
Diesel Dan
Well-known member
I was thinking of using that kind of product when I re-side our house. Upgrade the electrical from the outside and foam the walls without touching the inside.
ixlr8
Well-known member
I did this with the north wall on my house and it seemed to work well, wife is happy with the elimination of drafts in the kitchen, but I did have a few issues.
Both canisters need to be kept within the spec temp range, I think it was 75-85dF, they will cool with use. The place I bought my Dow Pac's from had made up an insulated box that would hold the canisters that had a ceramic heater blowing into the box to keep the canisters up to temp, that they loaned to me. I was spraying at 45dF which near the lower limit of application. I also had issues with the foam shrinking, cracking and pulling away from the studs. After talking with application engineers at DOW, they sent me an application paper which stipulated that you should not spray over foam that you just sprayed for at least 20 minutes. This took some careful planning and preparation to maintain this time window and not clog up too many nozzles. This info was not in the product brochure I got with the Pac's but is suppose to be critical. I was warned by the Dow Pac vendor that it is difficult to fully seat the nozzles onto the gun and I found that to be true. So when you change nozzles, ensure that you have it fully seated on the gun. After you first start to spray, the gun/nozzle becomes slippery and it is hard to get nozzles seated properly.. and you don't have much time before things start to cure. If it is not seated properly, it will still spray, but it won't be mixed properly. If you really mess up the connection, it will spray back at you... DAMHIK!
Plump
Well-known member
Photos? I would love to do this to my kitchen floor as it is over a dirt crawl space and gets very cold. Would love to continue to hear about applications!
brokenknee
Well-known member
How cost effective is this as compared to hiring someone to do it? I have also looked at the froth packs at Menards but did not see a coverage rating on the box.
Autorotica
Well-known member
Most of the DIY kits are MORE expensive than having a professional contractor come in and shoot foam for you. Round numbers are $1 per inch-per square foot last I had foam work done. The DIY packs were at least that much...
Chris
Chris
ixlr8
Well-known member
If I remember correctly, the frothpac 200 is rated to cover 200 sq ft at a depth of 1", the frothpac 600 is rated to cover 600 sq ft at a depth of 1". How cost effective it is depends on your goal, where you live and what your local contractors charge for spray foam. I have found a large range of pricing for the spray foam contractors in my area. Also, how much you are doing matters. All the contractors in my area charge a 'setup' fee for them to arrive at your property and setup their truck. That is a $300-$700 dollar fee before they shoot any foam. The price of foam in my area varies from $0.95 to $1.45 per square ft at 1". So if you are doing a small area... the DIY kits can be cheaper, if you are doing a large area, the professional is going to be cheaper.
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Diesel Dan
Well-known member
In the past I had some closed cell foam sprayed by a company. All places I have called had a minimum for them to come out, so if it is a small area then a DIY kit might be the way to go.
I did this with the north wall on my house and it seemed to work well, wife is happy with the elimination of drafts in the kitchen, but I did have a few issues.
Both canisters need to be kept within the spec temp range, I think it was 75-85dF, they will cool with use. The place I bought my Dow Pac's from had made up an insulated box that would hold the canisters that had a ceramic heater blowing into the box to keep the canisters up to temp, that they loaned to me. I was spraying at 45dF which near the lower limit of application. I also had issues with the foam shrinking, cracking and pulling away from the studs. After talking with application engineers at DOW, they sent me an application paper which stipulated that you should not spray over foam that you just sprayed for at least 20 minutes. This took some careful planning and preparation to maintain this time window and not clog up too many nozzles. This info was not in the product brochure I got with the Pac's but is suppose to be critical. I was warned by the Dow Pac vendor that it is difficult to fully seat the nozzles onto the gun and I found that to be true. So when you change nozzles, ensure that you have it fully seated on the gun. After you first start to spray, the gun/nozzle becomes slippery and it is hard to get nozzles seated properly.. and you don't have much time before things start to cure. If it is not seated properly, it will still spray, but it won't be mixed properly. If you really mess up the connection, it will spray back at you... DAMHIK!
This can't be overstated...follow the instructions to a "T"! If not done properly, you'll end up with an inferior product.