DIY spray foam

[Nivekdodge]

Been searching all evening for someone that’s used one of the two part kits to do a smaller garage. 20x24 roof and 8’ front wall. I think I could manage with $1500 in foam. I’m convinced I want foam but estimate is $2500. I’m an auto painter by trade so some of this crosses over. Ie I have the suit and respirator etc. anyone done this.I][/I]

 

[jjrbus]

When I looked into it a long time ago for a bus conversion. Taking into consideration all the things that can go wrong and the mess they can create I opted to pay to have it done.

I am big on DIY and encourage people to do things themselves. But there I would stand with a $1000 worth of product that I do not know how it should behave and some cheap application tools. Not for me, unless I had watched the process a few times.

 

[Kaizen]

So walls and ceiling are about 1000 sq ft. That’s three kits if I remember at about 300 each for about 900 bucks. BUT that is only one inch thick. For 2x4 wall that would be 2700. Cheaper to hire a guy with a rig and big tanks as material is cheaper


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[joe_padavano]

I did my own spray foam in my 28x32x10 metal building. It took four of the 600 sq foot kits. I bought them off of ebay. You definitely want the Tyvek suit with a hood and a respirator. When I was up on scaffolding spraying the underside of the roof, the fumes started to get to me, even with a cartridge respirator (my full beard makes sealing iffy). FYI, cover ANY hair that you have, including arms and face. Do NOT ask my how I know this... Lacquer thinner does remove the foam if you do it before it hardens. Expect a mess on the floor, so cover it if you care about the floor. I used a floor scraper to clean up my concrete and that was pretty easy.

 

[danski0224]

Been searching all evening for someone that’s used one of the two part kits to do a smaller garage. 20x24 roof and 8’ front wall. I think I could manage with $1500 in foam. I’m convinced I want foam but estimate is $2500. I’m an auto painter by trade so some of this crosses over. Ie I have the suit and respirator etc. anyone done this.

Unless you can maintain the temperature of the foam chemicals within the specified range, I wouldn't do it. You will probably have $1,500 in garbage that won't cure or won't come out of the can.

I tried a much smaller area, and it was mostly a failure.

There is a small rig available for contractors that seal the mudsill with foam to stop air leakage, It uses the 50 pound tanks and it has a heater. It will be cheaper to hire it out.

The professionals have a rig with a heater that is tied into the breaker box. There are heat trace cables in the two supply hoses up to the gun, plus drum heaters.

 

[PCustoms]

So walls and ceiling are about 1000 sq ft. That’s three kits if I remember at about 300 each for about 900 bucks. BUT that is only one inch thick. For 2x4 wall that would be 2700. Cheaper to hire a guy with a rig and big tanks as material is cheaper

OP, as Kaizen points out double check your math. The kits are listed in bdft, which is 12"x12"x1". You'll most likely want more then 1", I was told min 1.5" for air sealing. 2 years ago I did extensive research into tigerfoam, foam it green and the dow frothpacks.

In the end I paid a crew, as their installed cost was the same as my raw materials cost. 1300sqft house, 4" on rim joists, minimum 1.5" under floor and on ceiling (then added blown in). The came in around 8am, taped off the entire basement while a second crew did baffles in the attic. Once the prep was done they ran 2 trucks and had everything sprayed by 2pm. Then the crew started cleanup in the basement (basically scrape over spray and then roll the plastic up) while the other guys switch to the blower truck and bulked up the attic. By 4pm it was all over.

No mess, no fuss for me, and as I said installed was same as my material cost. Hell I would have spent a couple hundred in plastic and tape for what they did.

Only benifit I saw to the kits was I could have done the project in pieces, rather then going all in (which required me to finish A LOT of renovation ahead), but in the end I would have spent a lot more $.

 

[Voi]

I have done a few of the Froth Packs when I absolutely had to get a small area insulated before drywall. I've also had pros come and spray closed cell.

Factoring in more waste and the difficulty of getting consistent thickness from the cheaper tips there is no way I came anywhere near what I paid for professionally sprayed closed cell. Pro was way cheaper.

I knew this going in but getting the guy out for a quick spray wasn't a possibility and I really needed to get a mechanical room done before summer.

I hope to never do it again.

 

[nh_yota]

Hire it out. Spray foam insulation is one of those things with high risk and little reward if you do it yourself.

 

[Nivekdodge]

Hmm. OK, thanks for all the responses.

 

[Hop2it]

I used 2 600sq ft kits from foam it green along with reclaimed polyiso foam sheets in my pole barn.i am very pleased with the results.years ago I gutted my house and increased the wall thickness to use 6” fiberglass insulation I wish spray foam was available I would not have increased the wall thickness,I would have sprayed 1” foam and 3 1/2” fiberglass.l would highly recommend it for your project
Doug

 

[Perrorojo]

I've done it and wouldn't do it again. You need to clean out everything from the building you don't want ruined. It is a pain to get it on evenly especially around rafters and purlins. I only tried it myself because I couldn't get anyone to do it locally with equipment in the shop. I couldn't take out all the machinery so we did t ourselves. It's better than nothing but not good enough.

 

[Jon_E]

I put 2" recycled polyiso foam sheets in the stud bays in my garage and then sprayed with DIY kit foam. Worked out just fine, I've got $1200 invested in mine but only because I had a contractor friend give me a couple of partially used kits that he couldn't finish, and I was able to use. I also did not use any coveralls, just a mask, but didn't have any problems with the product getting where it shouldn't be.

 

[ace10]

To the OP... if somebody who shoots foam insulation for a living came to you and said that they wanted to respray the hood of their car with rattle cans.

What would you say?

Not being snarky. Just trying to put this in perspective.

 

[joe_padavano]

To the OP... if somebody who shoots foam insulation for a living came to you and said that they wanted to respray the hood of their car with rattle cans.

What would you say?

Not being snarky. Just trying to put this in perspective.

So by that same logic, I shouldn't work on my own vehicles because I don't do that for a living and I don't have all the approved factory tools...

I shouldn't do my on wiring because I'm not a licensed electrician (and yes here in VA it is legal for the homeowner to wire their own home)...

I shouldn't do my own plumbing because I'm not a licensed plumber and don't expose my **** crack...

 

[ace10]

So by that same logic, I shouldn't work on my own vehicles because I don't do that for a living and I don't have all the approved factory tools...

I shouldn't do my on wiring because I'm not a licensed electrician (and yes here in VA it is legal for the homeowner to wire their own home)...

I shouldn't do my own plumbing because I'm not a licensed plumber and don't expose my **** crack...

Actually, you're not using the "same logic." You're simply offering a series of straw men.

So it's not the same thing. Not by any reasonable measure.

The OP states that he is a paint man. And then seeks advice about using those skills to spray foam.

I simply reversed the situation and suggested that the OP consider what they would tell the insulation shooter about doing a job that is seemingly-similar but with INFERIOR tools and product.


Maybe try a breathing exercise? In through the nose. Out through the mouth.
Jeeze.

 

[jjrbus]

Actually at one time all cars including expensive luxury cars were painted with a brush!

 

[joe_padavano]

I simply reversed the situation and suggested that the OP consider what they would tell the insulation shooter about doing a job that is seemingly-similar but with INFERIOR tools and product.


Maybe try a breathing exercise? In through the nose. Out through the mouth.
Jeeze.

If you had actually applied spray foam from a DIY kit, you'd understand that there are some similarities to painting with a spray gun. Things like consistency of coating thickness and direction of application and overlap. But I'm sure you don't want to hear that, so I'm going back to my shop that I spray insulated myself. I've got to prep one of my project cars for painting.

 

[ace10]

If you had actually applied spray foam from a DIY kit, you'd understand that there are some similarities to painting with a spray gun. Things like consistency of coating thickness and direction of application and overlap. But I'm sure you don't want to hear that, so I'm going back to my shop that I spray insulated myself. I've got to prep one of my project cars for painting.

Good grief.

First you try to put me in my place because I suggested something very simple for the OP to think about as it relates to his/her situation. For some reason my reply got for your undies in a bunch.

Now you want to diminish me by taking an assumption about my experience.

I honestly could give zero craps about your shop or what you do in it.

For future reference, if you try to put me down again for offering a suggestion to someone who is seeking input, I won't be this polite in my response.



/Threadjack off. Everyone else, please continue with the thread. My apologies.

 

[machsnell]

Another thing to consider is the flammability of the DIY materials. I looked at doing it myself because a pro was 8k. The materials were too expensive for such a large area.

As to the flammability which was a big concern of mine as lighting the spray foam out of cans (even the orange fire blocker) the foam ignites and burns quickly.

The contractor I had do my garage used icynene. I tried lighting some of the cut pieces on fire and they extinguish themselves. It will burn but not on it's own as a source.

I dont know about the DIY kitsch but worth a consideration on many fronts.

I even looked on ebay at rigs and there was a guy in the midwest that rents you his pro spray rig daily and you just have to buy the barrels from him. It was a potential savings of 2k but at the end of the day 2k wasnt worth all the taping covering knowledge clean up of cut offs to warrant the headache.

Good one for the pros imo.

I will say I love my spray foam since its 65 in here right now with no heat for 2 days. However It was 77 in here the other night because I ran the pellet stove for a full day tho.

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[joe_padavano]

Another thing to consider is the flammability of the DIY materials.

You can buy flame retardant DIY spray foam. This is what I used. Keep in mind that this is NOT the stuff in the aerosol cans you get from the big box stores. This is the same two-part epoxy foam mix you get from a commercial applier.

I suggest people actually read the literature. This is the system I used. Note that it is Class A fire rated.

http://www.touch-n-foam.com/system-600.html

 

[ForceFed70]

My research into DIY showed that it was just as cheap to hire a local company to do the job. The only time it made sense is for small jobs, or specialty jobs where the local guys can't get their equipment into (Eg - cabin with no road leading to it). Sounds like nothing has changed in the last couple of years in this regard.

 

[86turbodsl]

I've done it. I also researched it extensively and looked into buying professional equipment even. My conclusion: A pro can do it for the same price you can.
I did it after that myself only because i had special circumstances where i didn't want a guy crawling around in my attic for hours.

 

[James-W]

I wouldn't bother trying to do it myself. I can do a lot of things myself in order to save a few bucks, but when it comes to spray foam I would leave that to the pros to do. I have watched it being done, and like most things, there is a knack to it.

 

[dcg9381]

Same conclusion:
For an installation of any significant size, you really can't beat a contractor cost versus the cost of materials on the DIY jobs...

 

[Denwood]

My research into DIY showed that it was just as cheap to hire a local company to do the job. The only time it made sense is for small jobs, or specialty jobs where the local guys can't get their equipment into (Eg - cabin with no road leading to it). Sounds like nothing has changed in the last couple of years in this regard.

Not to mention that the DIY solutions don't monitor and maintain chemical temps..which are pretty important when it comes to a correct reaction at the gun. For small jobs (like a few cubic feet) DIY is fine..otherwise, forget it.

I have used the small kits from HD..they only make sense for very small jobs. For the home attic, garage roof and business site, we used a local contractor which has temperature controlled tanks, a dedicated truck etc. I had to bust through the attic hatch (which they covered in foam) and I can say that their closed cell 2" quote was about dead on. The foam five years later was exactly as it should be. They also did some foam injection..also excellent results.

 

[Nivekdodge]

OK so I went with the contractor and had it foamed today. 3" ceiling 2" on the front wall. The difference is completely amazing. I'm now heating the 20x24 garage with the clamp on to the tank propane heater. It's 21 out and 50 some inside. I will never use fiberglass again.

 

[Denwood]

You won't notice it unless it's windy, but your structural racking strength just went up a ton too.

 

[purplezr2]

Had a 1000sqft done for $2700 at 3" thick. That's 90 cents a sqft. Can't even come close with a diy kits even on sale with rebates etc. For doing a fish house or a deer stand they are great. Whole garage I would pay a Pro. The guys that did mine were super clean, you couldn't even tell someone had done any work, and they left one bag of trash to dispose per the contract.

 

[Nivekdodge]

You won't notice it unless it's windy, but your structural racking strength just went up a ton too.

Actually, my idiot first contractor had left one stud without any nails from the sheathing. It's not going anywhere now.

I turned the heat off around 3 hrs ago. It's 22 out and it's 49 in the garage.

 

[dcg9381]

Had a 1000sqft done for $2700 at 3" thick. That's 90 cents a sqft. Can't even come close with a diy kits even on sale with rebates etc. For doing a fish house or a deer stand they are great. Whole garage I would pay a Pro. T

I'm not sure if you're actually giving us sqft covered or slab sqft.
I did a 60x40x16 building with a 2/12 roof for about $5500 - open cell, 3-4" coverage, open cell.

It looked to me like the bought in two drums of foam and sprayed till empty...

Cost included masking the floor, but there was nothing else in the building.

This is TX, so labor may vary.

 

[EricVonHa]

OP- since you are adept at painting cars, go for it!

I'm on the other end of the state towards Philadelphia and found a spray foam contractor out of Carlisle. It is more or less a dad and son business. However, they manufacture and sell the spray foam rig trailers.

They also rent the spray rigs. Key point.

You can buy 55 gallon drum sets of Lapolla open or closed cell foam direct from the manufacturer at a significant savings.

I had to spray foam contractors come out and estimate my building and was shocked at the pricing. This is what drove me to the DIY route.

I ordered the spray foam and hired the team out of Carlisle to do the job and saved thousands of dollars. I ended up paying them to spray it as well which was only like $1,000 over a three-day period.

 

[EricVonHa]

Forgot to mention that Lapolla was more than happy to deliver the chemical foam directly to my garage mahal. The rep was super awesome to work with and through our calculations we were right on the cusp of almost meeting 3 full sets of foam. We had two sets delivered initially and he promised that if we ran shy that he would be able to get the third set to us on the next day since the warehouse was so close. It worked out super awesome

 

[EricVonHa]

This will help a lot of in the future for the DIY spray foam. Class act all the way:

http://www.4cssprayequipmentrental.com

 

[EricVonHa]

OK so I went with the contractor and had it foamed today. 3" ceiling 2" on the front wall. The difference is completely amazing. I'm now heating the 20x24 garage with the clamp on to the tank propane heater. It's 21 out and 50 some inside. I will never use fiberglass again.

I was late to the game, sorry. Now realizing I need to read more rather than type so fast.

 

[Nivekdodge]

Im totally amazed at the difference