LESLIE: Heading over to Illinois where Ron has got some stuff going on at his money pit. Tell us what’s happening.
RON: Thinking about building and I’m looking at exterior walls. And my question is: should I consider 2×6 or 2×4? And I’m getting different opinions and so I’m kind of wanting to see what you guys think.
TOM: So, the reason that you would go with a 2×6 is so you can have more insulation, right?
RON: Well, supposedly, yes.
TOM: But you could also have more insulation if you used spray foam versus fiberglass because spray foam has a much higher R-value than fiberglass. So you could use a 2×4 wall with spray foam in those walls instead and have a much better insulation package when you’re all done and probably spend less on the lumber.
RON: What would you think about the 2×4 with the 1-inch Styrofoam sheeting on the outside, with fiberglass inside, then your drywall?
TOM: Yeah, well, you can do that. I mean all the insulation you add is going to help but there’s just nothing better than spray foam when it comes to both insulating and air-sealing.
RON: What about the cost on something like that?
TOM: It’s a little more than fiberglass but the thing is it’s a much more efficient system. It’s going to save you more money over the long run. Because it goes on really, really thin when they spray it and then it expands. It has a 100-to-1 expansion ratio, so it swells up and it basically seals all of the gaps.
Go to MoneyPit.com and go to – under Listen & Watch, there’s a section on Books & Guides. And there’s a free download there that we wrote some time ago on all the different ways to insulate a wall. And there’s a lot of information on spray foam in that, including some pictures of my own house when we applied spray foam to a very old house. And just thrilled with it. Just very, very happy with it as a result.
LESLIE: Yeah, you’ve been saving a ton of money.
TOM: Yeah, absolutely.
RON: Excellent, excellent. I’ll do that. Thank you very much.
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