In this video, Ryan (insulation manager at Beyond Group) and Adam (insulation sales manager at Beyond Insulation) answer common homeowner questions about spray foam insulation. They explain that spray foam is safe when installed correctly, emphasizing the need to verify installer experience, use PPE during application, and ventilate the home for 24 hours after installation. They compare spray foam to traditional fiberglass with a vapor barrier, highlighting superior airtightness, higher R‑values (up to R‑20 vs R‑14 in 2×4 walls), and better placement of the building envelope, while noting higher material cost (2‑3×). They identify the most valuable locations for spray foam: rim joists, attics, basement walls, and exposed floors/cantilevers. They differentiate half‑pound open‑cell foam from 2‑pound closed‑cell foam, describing density, R‑value per inch (R‑6.1 for closed‑cell), vapor‑retardant properties, expansion ratio, and typical use cases. They address concerns about roof‑shingle damage (minimal impact in cooler climates) and discuss potential effects on home resale, noting that energy efficiency gains can be a selling point despite mixed impact. Throughout, they stress proper installation, cost considerations, and performance benefits.
Questions this video answers
Yes, absolutely, spray foam is safe when installed properly; verify installer experience and ventilate the house for 24 hours after installation.
During application, some foam material atomizes and becomes breathable, so PPE protects installers from inhaling particles.
Spray foam provides greater airtightness, higher R‑value (up to R‑20 vs R‑14 in 2×4 walls), and moves the building envelope outward, though it is more expensive.
Key areas include rim joists, attics, basement walls, and exposed floors/cantilevers.
Yes, professionally installed spray foam costs about 2‑3 times more than batt and poly.
Chapters
Today we just wanted to answer some of our most frequently asked questions to help streamline our estimation process.
Hey, I'm Adam, the insulation sales manager at Beyond Insulation.
Hi everyone, my name is Ryan. I'm the insulation manager here at Beyond Group. Is spray foam safe to have in my home? Yes, absolutely, spray foam is safe to have in your home. It's important to recognize that with, as with any material that's used in construction, if it's not installed properly, it can be hazardous. So you just really want to make sure that you're fact-checking the company that you're using, whether you're checking the reviews on Google or maybe you have a referral from a friend. Just make sure they're experienced in what they're doing at your home. So if spray foam is safe, then why do our installers wear so much PPE? So the reason that our installers have to wear so much PPE is that during the process of installing spray foam, some of the materials do atomize and become breathable, so we have to protect our installers from that. Now for you as a homeowner, we have to ventilate the house for 24 hours after the install is complete. That makes sure that the particles that were in the air are now outside the house and of no danger to you.
Is spray foam better than traditional fiberglass with a vapor barrier? There's a few, a few key advantages with spray foam over fiberglass. One is your house is a lot more airtight, so this means that there are a lot less unaccounted-for air exchanges, and your furnace, air conditioner, and heat pump are working a lot less to maintain that ideal temperature inside. Another advantage is that spray foam has a much higher R-value than fiberglass, and so this means in, in an older home that's built out of 2x4s, we can get up to an R-20 in that wall versus just an R-14. There's a huge advantage there. And the third big advantage is your building envelope now changes. Instead of that balance of hot and cold being right behind your drywall. We've now changed your envelope so that the spray foam is stuck to the outside of your house, and there's 3 inches of foam there so that there's no thermal transfer through that insulation to your drywall. On the fiberglass side of things, it is, it is more budget-friendly to install fiberglass than it is spray foam insulation.
What areas of my home are most important to spray foam? So there are a few select areas that are most important to use spray foam on. So there are areas like rim joists that there just is no other way to do it properly Because it is a tight, confined space, spray foam is going to get in there and be sealed a lot better than a traditional batt and poly. Now in attics, you know, it's no surprise that heat does rise, so in order to retain as much of that heat in your home as possible, having a really well-sealed attic is very, very important. So having spray foam up there will be the best bang for your buck. You'll see the biggest return on that investment. After that, we find a lot of value in insulating basement walls. You know, I'm sure we've all been into that dark, dingy, smelly basement that is created from water intrusion through the walls. Using spray foam insulation can turn the basement into a nice, comfortable living space, and that's where I say you're going to feel the effects of the foam the most. One other area that's really important is exposed floors. This could be cantilevers that overhang outside, or it can be even a living space above a garage.
Is spray foam more expensive than batt and poly? Yes, when professionally installed, spray foam is 2 to 3 times more than professionally installed batt and poly.
So what's the difference between half-pound open-cell foam and 2-pound closed-cell foam? The major difference between these 2 products is going to be the density. The 2-pound foam is 2 pounds per cubic foot. It has closed cells, so it traps gases inside of it, giving it a superior R-value per inch. So it has an R-value of R-6.1, is an excellent vapor retardant, and an excellent air barrier. Open-cell foam has open cells, and what that means is the inside of the product contains more air. And what this results in is a lower R-value, although it's still higher than fiberglass. It is lower than a 2-pound foam, but open-cell foam has a really high expansion ratio, so it works really well on those tight spaces you don't have great access to. One thing we see quite a lot is open-cell foams that are done in garage ceilings with living space above, and this is pretty common to happen at the build stage. It just unfortunately leaves the floors quite cold above, even when the product is installed properly. It's something we see across Calgary all the time, and having that open-cell foam replaced with a closed-cell foam can make a world of a difference for the comfortable— how comfortable the space above is. If I install spray foam to the underside of my roof, will this damage my shingles? The easy answer to this is no. We have a very long track record of doing this application, and never once have we had a complaint of it shortening the life on the shingles. There has been some studies that have shown there could be about a 5% decrease in the life of your shingles. Works out to about 1 year over the life of a roof. But it's important to recognize that this is primarily in much warmer climates than us here in Calgary. So, you know, if you're in Arizona, it will affect your roof a little bit more than it will here in Canada. We just don't get quite warm enough for there to be enough load on the roof to damage the shingles. Will the install of spray foam affect the resale of my home? The answer to this could be yes or no. No, not a lot, but you know, with the way that the world's going today, people are much more sensitive to climate change and helping the environment and having an efficient home. And there's one thing that can't be denied is that when your house is spray foamed, it is significantly more efficient than homes without it. And, you know, being more efficient means your furnace and your air conditioner is running less, and that means your energy bills are less, and that means your carbon footprint is smaller as well.
Can I drill holes in my wall and just fill it with spray foam? Unfortunately, no. With 2-pound closed-cell foam, we need to see the whole cavity, know we got the job done properly. We can only lift it Or do 2 inches at a time to have proper cell formation. And third, we use similar products to actually lift driveways, lift grain silos, and sometimes even whole houses. Just think of that pressure— your drywall doesn't stand a chance. Can I cut through foam if I forgot to run a wire or something? Yes, you can. We just have to be careful with what we're doing. We need to leave an inch of intact foam behind that hole or behind your wire to maintain your vapor barrier and our warranty. Afterwards, you can make up the R-value by yourself with just a can of foam from Home Depot or another hardware store. If you break that vapor barrier or cut too deep, call us back to maintain your warranty. Is my warranty transferable? No, the warranty is not transferable. We do make exceptions for builders handing off a project to a new homeowner or for renovators, homeowners renovating a house with the intention of flipping the property to someone new. We hope you found this video helpful. I know there's more questions that, that you probably have, either site-specific or general questions. We're happy to take your call or visit your site to answer those.
