Dec.28

December 28th update

The big news this week was the successful
installation of the foam insulation.

In a week shortened by the Christmas break, last week saw graceful arches constructed in the hallway and entrances to the living room and dining room.

The critical but time consuming process
of masking everything that we didn't
want "foamed" began. This process started
at the top, in the attic, and worked
downward just as the insulating process would.

Everything including plumbing, vacuum connections, electrical
boxes, stair rails, floors and light fixtures
had to be completely protected.

It was a process that continued even after the crew arrived. The ceiling of the porch was included in the foaming because the process adds tremendous structural strength which will help to protect that portion of the roof from high winds.

The foam is created by mixing two different
chemicals pumped to a spray gun through hoses.
The self contained trailer came
complete with equipment for cleaning the
blower nozzles which is a time consuming process.
It had coils of heated hoses long enough to
reach into the attic, compressed air and a power
drop which was attached to our main electric panel.

Spraying of the foam requires that the
person applying it be completely
protected. A respirator system provides him
clean, fresh air. The foam takes roughly
48 hours to cure, after which the considerable odor diminishes rapidly.

After application, but before the
foam cures, the excess has to be
scrapped off of areas where the
material will cause problems later.
It becomes more difficult to do later.

The process, at times, looks easy. It's far from it.
At times you have to be a contortionist, getting the proper thickness takes a lot of experience, and even seeing what you're doing is very difficult as your face mask gets coated with the mist. The entire room takes on a surreal fog which had to be removed from these pictures so you could see what was going on.

This is a completed room on the second floor. It is the equivalent of being inside a Styrofoam cooler. In winter it will keep heat in, in summer it will keep heat out. It has the added benefit of literally gluing all of the wooden framing and siding together.