LESLIE: Gary in North Carolina has an insulation question. How can we help you?
GARY: Yes, I’m thinking about insulating my attic.
TOM: OK.
GARY: And I’ve had two different products demonstrated to me.
TOM: Alright.
GARY: One is called eShield, which is a reflective thing that’s hung up on the rafters.
TOM: Yeah, it’s a radiant barrier.
GARY: Right.
TOM: OK.
GARY: And the other one is called Icynene; an expanding foam.
TOM: Yes. Yes.
LESLIE: Gotcha.
GARY: And so what I’m wondering, which one of those would be most cost-effective for me and advantages or disadvantages of either one.
TOM: Well, the eShield is a radiant barrier and isonene is an insulation product; so they’re really two separate products.
The main advantage of Icynene, in addition to being a very good insulation, is it also will seal the attic space from the rest of the house and prevent any drafts from getting through. Now, that means that hot air from the attic is not going to get down into the rest of the house; or cold air in the chillier winter season. So isonene has a number of benefits. In addition to being an insulation, it also completely seals the cavity between living space and unconditioned attic space.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. And the expansion part is pretty cool. (Gary chuckle)
TOM: Yeah. Plus it’s really cool when it goes in. Yeah. We’ve actually seen that demonstrated. We’ve seen it sprayed on and have worked with the isonene folks for a while. So we’re a fan of that.
I think the radiant barriers are good as well; as a supplement to, say, a fiberglass insulation or something of that nature. But if you’re building from scratch, I like isonene; I think it’s good stuff.
GARY: Well, this is going to be a retrofit.
TOM: OK. And they can spray it in there? They can get – they have access to get in there?
GARY: Yep, they have access to it. It’s a walkup …
TOM: Well, I think it’s a good product. I would recommend the Icynene, Gary.
GARY: OK. That’s what I wanted to find out. I really appreciate it. Thank you.
TOM: You’re welcome. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
Had a metal roof sheets put on! It was put on directly onto rafters,no OSB rubber or purlins! Then had roof top air drawers at peak. So we are wondering about applying foam directly to the bottom of metal,down to the walls to prevent any condensation. We have a 2 ‘ overhang onsouth and a 4’ on north. And is this a dig project. We finished the inside of the house and did pecs pumbling with on demand water heater.