Spray Foam Insulation in Lansing, MI

Spray Foam Insulation goes on as a liquid and expands to fill the cavity, so it stops air movement as well as slowing heat loss. That matters in Lansing-area homes, where much of the heat lost in winter leaks out through gaps rather than through the insulation itself. Fiberglass batts slow heat but let air pass straight through; foam closes the path.

Closed cell vs open cell

Closed-cell foam is dense, about 2 pounds per cubic foot, and adds roughly R-6 to R-7 per inch. It blocks air and water vapor and adds stiffness to the wall or roof it bonds to. We use it on rim joists, basement and crawl space walls, pole barn steel, and anywhere condensation is a risk.

Open-cell foam is lighter, around half a pound per cubic foot, and gives about R-3.5 to R-4 per inch. It seals air and fills odd shapes well and costs less per inch, but it lets moisture vapor through. It suits roof decks in conditioned attics, interior walls for sound and cathedral ceilings where a vapor retarder is handled separately.

Who needs it

You are a good candidate if you have a rim joist you can see from the basement, a room over the garage that never warms up, a cathedral ceiling with no room for loose fill, a basement you are about to finish, or a metal building that drips in spring. If your main problem is a thin layer of old fill on an open attic floor, foam may not be the cheapest fix. We will tell you so.

How to tell

Cold floors over a garage or crawl space, drafts at baseboards, frost or rust on nails in the attic, ice dams along the eaves, and a furnace that runs constantly in January all point to air leaks. We find them with a walk-through and, where useful, a smoke pencil or infrared camera.