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Clarence Martin
10-24-2015, 10:41 PM
Had the Basement insulated with that pink spray foam stuff. Insulation contractor came out with a few people and they did the job in just under 3 hours. They sprayed where the basement walls meet the floor joists and around the windows and door leading to the stairs that head on up to the steel bilco door. Was told not to go in the basement for at least 24 hrs.

Will, it rained pretty good tonight, and I wanted to see how wet and humid the basement was. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Basement is almost BONE DRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sure, there is a little water coming in the basement, either from a few pine holes in the basement wall on the East side that does not have gutters , or from the old Bilco door on the same side , but it is a heck of a lot better than it was before.

Question.

Is that spray foam they use supposed to be waterproof or water resistant? Never thought it was.

Neil Gaskin
10-24-2015, 11:12 PM
Depends.

Do do you know if it was open or close cell?


close cell should hold moisture back

Clarence Martin
10-24-2015, 11:51 PM
Depends.

Do do you know if it was open or close cell?


close cell should hold moisture back


I believe it was closed cell.

George Werner
10-25-2015, 1:59 AM
Just curious, did you know where the water was coming in before having the insulation sprayed? Not criticizing, just find it odd that you would pay to spray the insulation if there was uncorrected water issues.

Gerry Grzadzinski
10-25-2015, 7:11 AM
If you had water coming in around wood, and the insulation stopped the water, that could be a very bad thing. The wood would probably still get wet, and the insulation would keep it from drying, leading to rotted wood.

Bill Orbine
10-25-2015, 9:03 AM
What does this insulation do for mold resistance?

Jason Roehl
10-25-2015, 1:05 PM
What does this insulation do for mold resistance?

It's about moisture control. For any given humidity level, there is a corresponding dew point temperature--the temperature at which the moisture in the air will condense on a surface. One of the functions of insulation in conjunction with air/moisture barriers is to keep the moisture-laden air away from that temperature. There is always a temperature gradient across insulation, so as long as the dew point temperature is in the insulation, the moisture will not condense. For example, in my part of the country, on a typical summer day, the exterior temperature may be 90ºF, the dew point 70ºF, and the interior temperature 68º in a house due to A/C (not mine--we don't run our A/C that hard). If there were no insulation, that air would condense on any interior walls that are at 70ºF or less.

Jim Becker
10-26-2015, 8:10 PM
Closed cell spray foam is a moisture barrier and can even hold back a small level of water infiltration in a basement or crawlspace wall application like you have and I have. The crawl space under our addition stays pretty much bone-dry, too. And cosy from a temperature perspective year-round. The rest of the structure is also insulated with closed cell spray foam. Not only does it provide high-high-R-value and the moisture barrier I mentioned, it also adds structural rigidity...which is nice since the wall structure was able to be done with 2x4 rather than 2x6 due to the high insulation value available in only 3+" of space.