Valuable Insulating Lesson Learned...

[PAToyota]

Ok, first off, it is 70 degrees here today - totally unreal!

So I figured I'd catch up on some stuff around the house. I had meant to do some insulating before cold weather hit but didn't get around to it last fall. So this seems like the perfect day to catch up.

I had bought some Great Stuff last spring, figuring I'd do the work over the summer. Spring turned into summer turned into fall - we all know how that goes.

Back to the story. Take things apart and drill a couple holes to squirt the insulation in. Start squirting, but things don't quite sound as usual. Pull the nozzle out and spray some in a cardboard box. It is really thick and syrupy. So I look at the can and it mentions using by the expiration date on the bottom of the can - which was the middle of October... Great! So I watch the stuff in the box for awhile and it expands a bit, but not nearly what it should.

Ok, so I figure rather than just tossing the can I'll squirt it into the wall (I'm sealing up the old window weight cavitities after replacing the windows) and it will be better than nothing and I'll have to just go get new stuff.

One more look at the box and it is still just sitting there with minimal expansion. So I empty the can into the cavity. You can see where this is headed, right?

I clean things up and do a couple things before putting the window back in. I go past the box several times in the process. Last time I go past the box, something looks different - so I stop, go back, and look again. The box is overflowing...

Run to the window to see how that is going... The picture below is after I've wiped the mess up three times. Apparently there is a delayed reaction when Great Stuff is past its expiration date...

 

[BoCRon]

****!!!
Great stuff isn't always so great, I always end up making a mess with it .
Annette

 

[PAToyota]

My mistake was in assuming that it wasn't going to expand - you know what they say about "assume"....

 

[PAToyota]

Ok, not my day...

While waiting for the Great Stuff to stop oozing out, I figured I'd catch up on some other things. Went to touch up some paint with a spray can. Shook it for awhile, pulled the cap off, went to spray, and the nozzle snapped off and spewed paint everywhere! Fortunately I was out in the driveway and didn't take any of it in the face or anything, but I think I'm staying away from anything in an aerosol can for the rest of the weekend!

Note, not blood - just red paint in the picture below!

 

[Junkman]

I saw the picture before I saw the post, and thought that you cut your hand trying to remove the "Great Stuff". I have a few old cans in the house, and will throw them out. I was told that now they make two types. Standard expanding and a low expansion type. I need to get some to put around some of the drain pipes in the garage ceiling. One trap in particular has cold air flowing past it and it freezes every year. The way that the weather has been this year, we might just get by without any winter at all. I am starting to like this global warming idea.

 

[PAToyota]

Well, made it through the rest of the day without incident...

Fortunately, the foam only stuck to the frame where it is behind the jamb of the replacement window. So the whole mess is hidden.

This was the low expanding foam! But since it was delayed, I put a whole can in there...

I guess you could still use the old stuff, just be prepared that it takes awhile to expand and don't overdo it!

 

[kbs2244]

Well, I am older Great Stuff and it takes me longer to expand also.
I can relate.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

Well, I am older Great Stuff and it takes me longer to expand also.
I can relate.

LOL

TMI!!!!


Phil

 

[Kent in KC]

I've heard that the expanding foam stuff can actually cause a plastic window to bind. Guys around here use glass around windows.

 

[D-Cal]

Only if you use the wrong kind.

 

[PAToyota]

I've heard that the expanding foam stuff can actually cause a plastic window to bind. Guys around here use glass around windows.

I had the fiberglass in there - just was not doing the job. You could still feel the wall was colder there than surrounding and there were drafts. With the foam it is sealed tight now. The windows are Marvin wood replacement windows, by the way. Only the track is vinyl. It is in good shape now - no binding, no drafts, and as warm as the rest of the wall. I think I'm going to wait until spring and buy some fresh foam before I make another attempt, though...

 

[z28toz06]

Where did you have it stored? It sounds like it may have frozen on you. either that or it got heated somehow?

 

[Willy Victor]

PA did you invert the can. I've got two cans on the shelf now that are past their expiration date now. Probably no good, it's like caulk, once you open the tube you pretty much have to use the whole tube.


Willy

 

[PAToyota]

Was inside, so no weird temperature swings. First I "tapped" the can - I always use the full can as you really can't "save" it for the next job. Used it just like I've used it many times before as far as inverting the can and all. This was the blue "low expansion" can.

 

[CmbtApl]

Actually you can save and re-use a partial can. The problem is the plastic spout/tube is full of foam. I take the spout off and hung it up so the foam in the spout can drip out (i.e. put it over some newspaper). After several days, the foam dries in the tube. The threaded parts (on the spout and the can) can be cleaned with a small pick. The foam doesn't stick to the spout very well and if you loosen the bond with the wall (I use a long 12 ga. wire) you can use a compressor air gun to blow the dry foam out. I stumbled onto this as I broke the spout on a can and retrieved the old one from the trash. It actually works pretty well but it is somewhat tedious until you get the hang of it. It works better if the foam is completely set so the longer you wait the better.

 

[Lu47Dan]

Was using Great Stuff to seal penetrations around sleeves , floor drains , and other plumbing fixtures , we had set in the steel decking for the second floor of a building . I tapped the can and bent over to seal the first gap and the whole can emptied . Foam all over the place in my hair , on my welding jacket and work gloves and on my safety glasses . Defective can Dan