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white styrofoam vs pink styrofoam as a thermal barrier
white styrofoam vs pink styrofoam as a thermal barrier
I am wanting to use a thin layer of styrofoam outside of the sheathing
of my house
as a thermal barrier... what i see out there (here in canada) is the
standard pink (extruded) stuff
and the white 'duro-foam' covered in a green vapor barrier which is
quite a bit cheaper.
I can tell that the durofoam is more likely to break, but assuming
that i can install it in one piece,
is there any difference in the lifespan/performance of these products?
(mold? rot? disintegration?)
the r-values are very close.
also would i still need to use housewrap outside of the styrofoam?
I am wanting to use a thin layer of styrofoam outside of the sheathing
of my house
as a thermal barrier... what i see out there (here in canada) is the
standard pink (extruded) stuff
and the white 'duro-foam' covered in a green vapor barrier which is
quite a bit cheaper.
I can tell that the durofoam is more likely to break, but assuming
that i can install it in one piece,
is there any difference in the lifespan/performance of these products?
(mold? rot? disintegration?)
the r-values are very close.
also would i still need to use housewrap outside of the styrofoam?
Re: white styrofoam vs pink styrofoam as a thermal barrier
On May 2, 7:07 am, Avasa <avas...@gmail . com > wrote:
> I am wanting to use a thin layer of styrofoam outside of the sheathing
> of my house
> as a thermal barrier... what i see out there (here in canada) is the
> standard pink (extruded) stuff
> and the white 'duro-foam' covered in a green vapor barrier which is
> quite a bit cheaper.
> I can tell that the durofoam is more likely to break, but assuming
> that i can install it in one piece,
> is there any difference in the lifespan/performance of these products?
> (mold? rot? disintegration?)
> the r-values are very close.
>
> also would i still need to use housewrap outside of the styrofoam?
Polyisocuanurate usualy a foil covered boad is R7.2, the blue and pink
R 5, some white boards are R4 or so, You could have moisture locked in
and get mold, the foamboard is a vapor barrier, it should be on the
inside, it depends on how your house was made.
On May 2, 7:07 am, Avasa <avas...@gmail . com > wrote:
> I am wanting to use a thin layer of styrofoam outside of the sheathing
> of my house
> as a thermal barrier... what i see out there (here in canada) is the
> standard pink (extruded) stuff
> and the white 'duro-foam' covered in a green vapor barrier which is
> quite a bit cheaper.
> I can tell that the durofoam is more likely to break, but assuming
> that i can install it in one piece,
> is there any difference in the lifespan/performance of these products?
> (mold? rot? disintegration?)
> the r-values are very close.
>
> also would i still need to use housewrap outside of the styrofoam?
Polyisocuanurate usualy a foil covered boad is R7.2, the blue and pink
R 5, some white boards are R4 or so, You could have moisture locked in
and get mold, the foamboard is a vapor barrier, it should be on the
inside, it depends on how your house was made.
Re: white styrofoam vs pink styrofoam as a thermal barrier
On May 2, 9:19 am, ransley <Mark Rans...@yahoo . com > wrote:
> On May 2, 7:07 am, Avasa <avas...@gmail . com > wrote:
>
> > I am wanting to use a thin layer of styrofoam outside of the sheathing
> > of my house
> > as a thermal barrier... what i see out there (here in canada) is the
> > standard pink (extruded) stuff
> > and the white 'duro-foam' covered in a green vapor barrier which is
> > quite a bit cheaper.
> > I can tell that the durofoam is more likely to break, but assuming
> > that i can install it in one piece,
> > is there any difference in the lifespan/performance of these products?
> > (mold? rot? disintegration?)
> > the r-values are very close.
>
> > also would i still need to use housewrap outside of the styrofoam?
>
> Polyisocuanurate usualy a foil covered boad is R7.2, the blue and pink
> R 5, some white boards are R4 or so, You could have moisture locked in
> and get mold, the foamboard is a vapor barrier, it should be on the
> inside, it depends on how your house was made.
the house is not yet built (excavating wednesday), so i still have the
luxury of choice...
anyhow, isn't osb sheathing a vapor barrier as well? is there any way
to up the r-value beyond the
r-22 of roxul and a reflective vapor barrier inside? something to
break the thermal bridge that the timberframe creates with the osb? i
need to figure this out so i can know the thickness of the walls and
order the windows...
On May 2, 9:19 am, ransley <Mark Rans...@yahoo . com > wrote:
> On May 2, 7:07 am, Avasa <avas...@gmail . com > wrote:
>
> > I am wanting to use a thin layer of styrofoam outside of the sheathing
> > of my house
> > as a thermal barrier... what i see out there (here in canada) is the
> > standard pink (extruded) stuff
> > and the white 'duro-foam' covered in a green vapor barrier which is
> > quite a bit cheaper.
> > I can tell that the durofoam is more likely to break, but assuming
> > that i can install it in one piece,
> > is there any difference in the lifespan/performance of these products?
> > (mold? rot? disintegration?)
> > the r-values are very close.
>
> > also would i still need to use housewrap outside of the styrofoam?
>
> Polyisocuanurate usualy a foil covered boad is R7.2, the blue and pink
> R 5, some white boards are R4 or so, You could have moisture locked in
> and get mold, the foamboard is a vapor barrier, it should be on the
> inside, it depends on how your house was made.
the house is not yet built (excavating wednesday), so i still have the
luxury of choice...
anyhow, isn't osb sheathing a vapor barrier as well? is there any way
to up the r-value beyond the
r-22 of roxul and a reflective vapor barrier inside? something to
break the thermal bridge that the timberframe creates with the osb? i
need to figure this out so i can know the thickness of the walls and
order the windows...
Re: white styrofoam vs pink styrofoam as a thermal barrier
"Avasa" <avasava@gmail . com > wrote in message
news:a714b9ca-1a9e-4bfb-8548-ce56754a56fe@i76g2000hsf.googlegroups . com ...
> On May 2, 9:19 am, ransley <Mark_Rans...@yahoo . com > wrote:
>> On May 2, 7:07 am, Avasa <avas...@gmail . com > wrote:
>>
>> > I am wanting to use a thin layer of styrofoam outside of the sheathing
>> > of my house
>> > as a thermal barrier... what i see out there (here in canada) is the
>> > standard pink (extruded) stuff
>> > and the white 'duro-foam' covered in a green vapor barrier which is
>> > quite a bit cheaper.
>> > I can tell that the durofoam is more likely to break, but assuming
>> > that i can install it in one piece,
>> > is there any difference in the lifespan/performance of these products?
>> > (mold? rot? disintegration?)
>> > the r-values are very close.
>>
>> > also would i still need to use housewrap outside of the styrofoam?
>>
>> Polyisocuanurate usualy a foil covered boad is R7.2, the blue and pink
>> R 5, some white boards are R4 or so, You could have moisture locked in
>> and get mold, the foamboard is a vapor barrier, it should be on the
>> inside, it depends on how your house was made.
>
> the house is not yet built (excavating wednesday), so i still have the
> luxury of choice...
> anyhow, isn't osb sheathing a vapor barrier as well? is there any way
> to up the r-value beyond the
> r-22 of roxul and a reflective vapor barrier inside? something to
> break the thermal bridge that the timberframe creates with the osb? i
> need to figure this out so i can know the thickness of the walls and
> order the windows...
Depends what you're using for the external wall covering.
I live in a warm area in central TX. My use of the foil covered poly stuff
was on a detached garage. I did not use any sheathing on the walls per one
framing method for Hardie lap siding using integral wind bracing. I did put
housewrap over the framing before applying the poly foil covered stuff.
Foil taped all the joints. Applied felt paper over all that, then the
siding I mentioned. All the siding was nailed by hand as the poly stuff is
compressible. A nail gun would be iffy and show waves on the exterior wall
had I used that. The inside has fiberglass batts between the studs. Garage
is cozy temperature-wise almost all the time.
--
Dave
Parkinson's disease, not easy to define.
Much less cure.
"Avasa" <avasava@gmail . com > wrote in message
news:a714b9ca-1a9e-4bfb-8548-ce56754a56fe@i76g2000hsf.googlegroups . com ...
> On May 2, 9:19 am, ransley <Mark_Rans...@yahoo . com > wrote:
>> On May 2, 7:07 am, Avasa <avas...@gmail . com > wrote:
>>
>> > I am wanting to use a thin layer of styrofoam outside of the sheathing
>> > of my house
>> > as a thermal barrier... what i see out there (here in canada) is the
>> > standard pink (extruded) stuff
>> > and the white 'duro-foam' covered in a green vapor barrier which is
>> > quite a bit cheaper.
>> > I can tell that the durofoam is more likely to break, but assuming
>> > that i can install it in one piece,
>> > is there any difference in the lifespan/performance of these products?
>> > (mold? rot? disintegration?)
>> > the r-values are very close.
>>
>> > also would i still need to use housewrap outside of the styrofoam?
>>
>> Polyisocuanurate usualy a foil covered boad is R7.2, the blue and pink
>> R 5, some white boards are R4 or so, You could have moisture locked in
>> and get mold, the foamboard is a vapor barrier, it should be on the
>> inside, it depends on how your house was made.
>
> the house is not yet built (excavating wednesday), so i still have the
> luxury of choice...
> anyhow, isn't osb sheathing a vapor barrier as well? is there any way
> to up the r-value beyond the
> r-22 of roxul and a reflective vapor barrier inside? something to
> break the thermal bridge that the timberframe creates with the osb? i
> need to figure this out so i can know the thickness of the walls and
> order the windows...
Depends what you're using for the external wall covering.
I live in a warm area in central TX. My use of the foil covered poly stuff
was on a detached garage. I did not use any sheathing on the walls per one
framing method for Hardie lap siding using integral wind bracing. I did put
housewrap over the framing before applying the poly foil covered stuff.
Foil taped all the joints. Applied felt paper over all that, then the
siding I mentioned. All the siding was nailed by hand as the poly stuff is
compressible. A nail gun would be iffy and show waves on the exterior wall
had I used that. The inside has fiberglass batts between the studs. Garage
is cozy temperature-wise almost all the time.
--
Dave
Parkinson's disease, not easy to define.
Much less cure.
Re: white styrofoam vs pink styrofoam as a thermal barrier
On May 3, 9:21 am, Avasa <avas...@gmail . com > wrote:
> On May 2, 9:19 am, ransley <Mark Rans...@yahoo . com > wrote:
>
>
>
> > On May 2, 7:07 am, Avasa <avas...@gmail . com > wrote:
>
> > > I am wanting to use a thin layer of styrofoam outside of the sheathing
> > > of my house
> > > as a thermal barrier... what i see out there (here in canada) is the
> > > standard pink (extruded) stuff
> > > and the white 'duro-foam' covered in a green vapor barrier which is
> > > quite a bit cheaper.
> > > I can tell that the durofoam is more likely to break, but assuming
> > > that i can install it in one piece,
> > > is there any difference in the lifespan/performance of these products?
> > > (mold? rot? disintegration?)
> > > the r-values are very close.
>
> > > also would i still need to use housewrap outside of the styrofoam?
>
> > Polyisocuanurate usualy a foil covered boad is R7.2, the blue and pink
> > R 5, some white boards are R4 or so, You could have moisture locked in
> > and get mold, the foamboard is a vapor barrier, it should be on the
> > inside, it depends on how your house was made.
>
> the house is not yet built (excavating wednesday), so i still have the
> luxury of choice...
> anyhow, isn't osb sheathing a vapor barrier as well? is there any way
> to up the r-value beyond the
> r-22 of roxul and a reflective vapor barrier inside? something to
> break the thermal bridge that the timberframe creates with the osb? i
> need to figure this out so i can know the thickness of the walls and
> order the windows...
It's not true that you should only put foam on the inside. In fact, I
think it is safer on the outside. That is because it will raise the
temperature of the back of the stud cavity above the dew point, so if
any moisture does leak into your stud cavities, condensation will not
occur. If the foam is on the inside, the opposite happens--the stud
cavity is cooler and any moisture that gets in will condense. I
didn't just make this up. Exterior foam is widely used in my climate
(Northern MN). The trick is to figure out how much foam is required.
Google "building science" and you will get hours of reading on the
subject.
As to the different types of foam, the pink extruded polystyrene and
white expanded polystyrene will both last (they are both the same
material, but manufactured in a different way). Expanded polystyrene
has a higher perm rating (water vapor will go through it to a greater
extent than other foams).
If I was building a new house, I would use exterior foam and blown in
dense pack cellulose in the walls.
On May 3, 9:21 am, Avasa <avas...@gmail . com > wrote:
> On May 2, 9:19 am, ransley <Mark Rans...@yahoo . com > wrote:
>
>
>
> > On May 2, 7:07 am, Avasa <avas...@gmail . com > wrote:
>
> > > I am wanting to use a thin layer of styrofoam outside of the sheathing
> > > of my house
> > > as a thermal barrier... what i see out there (here in canada) is the
> > > standard pink (extruded) stuff
> > > and the white 'duro-foam' covered in a green vapor barrier which is
> > > quite a bit cheaper.
> > > I can tell that the durofoam is more likely to break, but assuming
> > > that i can install it in one piece,
> > > is there any difference in the lifespan/performance of these products?
> > > (mold? rot? disintegration?)
> > > the r-values are very close.
>
> > > also would i still need to use housewrap outside of the styrofoam?
>
> > Polyisocuanurate usualy a foil covered boad is R7.2, the blue and pink
> > R 5, some white boards are R4 or so, You could have moisture locked in
> > and get mold, the foamboard is a vapor barrier, it should be on the
> > inside, it depends on how your house was made.
>
> the house is not yet built (excavating wednesday), so i still have the
> luxury of choice...
> anyhow, isn't osb sheathing a vapor barrier as well? is there any way
> to up the r-value beyond the
> r-22 of roxul and a reflective vapor barrier inside? something to
> break the thermal bridge that the timberframe creates with the osb? i
> need to figure this out so i can know the thickness of the walls and
> order the windows...
It's not true that you should only put foam on the inside. In fact, I
think it is safer on the outside. That is because it will raise the
temperature of the back of the stud cavity above the dew point, so if
any moisture does leak into your stud cavities, condensation will not
occur. If the foam is on the inside, the opposite happens--the stud
cavity is cooler and any moisture that gets in will condense. I
didn't just make this up. Exterior foam is widely used in my climate
(Northern MN). The trick is to figure out how much foam is required.
Google "building science" and you will get hours of reading on the
subject.
As to the different types of foam, the pink extruded polystyrene and
white expanded polystyrene will both last (they are both the same
material, but manufactured in a different way). Expanded polystyrene
has a higher perm rating (water vapor will go through it to a greater
extent than other foams).
If I was building a new house, I would use exterior foam and blown in
dense pack cellulose in the walls.
Re: white styrofoam vs pink styrofoam as a thermal barrier
On May 3, 9:21 am, Avasa <avas...@gmail . com > wrote:
> On May 2, 9:19 am, ransley <Mark Rans...@yahoo . com > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On May 2, 7:07 am, Avasa <avas...@gmail . com > wrote:
>
> > > I am wanting to use a thin layer of styrofoam outside of the sheathing=
> > > of my house
> > > as a thermal barrier... what i see out there (here in canada) is the
> > > standard pink (extruded) stuff
> > > and the white 'duro-foam' covered in a green vapor barrier which is
> > > quite a bit cheaper.
> > > I can tell that the durofoam is more likely to break, but assuming
> > > that i can install it in one piece,
> > > is there any difference in the lifespan/performance of these products
> > > (mold? rot? disintegration?)
> > > the r-values are very close.
>
> > > also would i still need to use housewrap outside of the styrofoam?
>
> > Polyisocuanurate usualy a foil covered boad is R7.2, the blue and pink
> > R 5, some white boards are R4 or so, You could have moisture locked in
> > and get mold, the foamboard is a vapor barrier, it should be on the
> > inside, it depends on how your house was made.
>
> the house is not yet built (excavating wednesday), so i still have the
> luxury of choice...
> anyhow, isn't osb sheathing a vapor barrier as well? is there any way
> to up the r-value beyond the
> r-22 of roxul and a reflective vapor barrier inside? something to
> break the thermal bridge that the timberframe creates with the osb? i
> need to figure this out so i can know the thickness of the walls and
> order the windows...- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
If its not built and you want the highest R value then look a SIPS
construction R 40 walls, and R80 ceiling, vs R19 on your idea, but the
Vapor barrier should be inside. Or have the open area foamed instead
of fiberglass batt. 2x6 walls will give you what you need with foamed
walls.
On May 3, 9:21 am, Avasa <avas...@gmail . com > wrote:
> On May 2, 9:19 am, ransley <Mark Rans...@yahoo . com > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On May 2, 7:07 am, Avasa <avas...@gmail . com > wrote:
>
> > > I am wanting to use a thin layer of styrofoam outside of the sheathing=
> > > of my house
> > > as a thermal barrier... what i see out there (here in canada) is the
> > > standard pink (extruded) stuff
> > > and the white 'duro-foam' covered in a green vapor barrier which is
> > > quite a bit cheaper.
> > > I can tell that the durofoam is more likely to break, but assuming
> > > that i can install it in one piece,
> > > is there any difference in the lifespan/performance of these products
> > > (mold? rot? disintegration?)
> > > the r-values are very close.
>
> > > also would i still need to use housewrap outside of the styrofoam?
>
> > Polyisocuanurate usualy a foil covered boad is R7.2, the blue and pink
> > R 5, some white boards are R4 or so, You could have moisture locked in
> > and get mold, the foamboard is a vapor barrier, it should be on the
> > inside, it depends on how your house was made.
>
> the house is not yet built (excavating wednesday), so i still have the
> luxury of choice...
> anyhow, isn't osb sheathing a vapor barrier as well? is there any way
> to up the r-value beyond the
> r-22 of roxul and a reflective vapor barrier inside? something to
> break the thermal bridge that the timberframe creates with the osb? i
> need to figure this out so i can know the thickness of the walls and
> order the windows...- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
If its not built and you want the highest R value then look a SIPS
construction R 40 walls, and R80 ceiling, vs R19 on your idea, but the
Vapor barrier should be inside. Or have the open area foamed instead
of fiberglass batt. 2x6 walls will give you what you need with foamed
walls.
