David, sorry if you felt that I was trying to act superior. i wasn't . I just don't feel that you stances are correct. Wood burning stoves are a viable option on a small scale. I believe in DIY efforts for many things. I think that there are many options for insulation. You keep going on and on about your stove when this thread is about insulation, and the fact remains that performance wise, rigid board insulation does not compare with spray foam. You pay it back over time. Sure it would be great if you could do this DIY, but somethings are better left to those who have invested in the equipment and training to do it for you.

I do want to say that your statement that you "have practically no carbon footprint" is laughable. You even admit that you use a car for work. You burn wood. You breath. Also don't go ranting against governments and cities that have little to nothing to do with me. I have only been to Vegas once and thought it was garish. I won't be going back. Plus, much of the power for Las Vegas comes from the Hoover Dam Hydroelectic plant (supposedly green power)

Hiya.

Sorry i did not mean that you are to blame for Vegas etc - it just annoys me that we are all trying our best to reduce carbon emissions, recycle etc when it all seems a bit pointless when very large developing countries don't care about carbon emissions. But we keep buying stuff from China and outsource our jobs to India without any concessions in return.

I am glad to hear that most of Vegas is powered by the Hoover Dam, so thanks for that. I have often wondered why here in the UK we cannot develop energy from the waves which surround us on all sides! Probably because the people in power are major shareholders of the gas and electricity companies here. They hike the prices every winter and reduce them a bit in the summer. I am on to them!

I meant it about our carbon footprint. We have no children so our footprint dies with us - not suggesting people should not have children of course but I think life is all about choices. The larger your family the greater effort you should make to ensure a cleaner, safer planet for your offspring.

Despite having no offspring ourselves we worry about the future of the planet for our extended families so we do all we can especially with recycling - a great passion of mine.

As a general builder I have to use the estate car/station wagon for work but this is better than running a van which I hire only when I must. And the car is also used to pick up all my workers and take them to the sites - it's a bit of a squash with all the tools but I will not have 3/4 cars turning up to site. We don't take on work outside of our area which will increase our travel.

As a builder I recycle everything which would usually end up in land-fill. Someone's cast-offs is another person's treasure is our firm belief. Through recycling we managed to renovate a pensioner's home so it could be let to provide income for her care-home fees - we stopped the council selling her home to pay for these costs. For less than £1000 we fitted a pre-loved kitchen including oven, hob, cooker hood and sink unit and a pre-loved bathroom suite using all the stuff we accumulate from clients who are better off and can afford to replace perfectly good kitchen and bathroom suite. Now she gets to live in comfort with the care she needs but can still let her children inherit her house. We live in the heart of a seaside resort so never use the car for personal travel - everything is on our doorstep.

I have gone off piste again but I sense that you share my views over being wasteful and over-indulgent. But with DEFRA approved woodburning stoves now reducing the Co2 emissions to almost zero I feel people should see thiese stoves, combined with electric underfloor heating as the way to escape the clutches of the greedy gas suppliers- most of UK is imported.

But all this extra heat will escape if a house is not properly insulated. I wish this spray foam was not beyond the means of most people with a modest budget - in the UK.

Getting back to my dream home - can I pick your brains about this spray foam insulation.

This spray foam is applied by men with specialist equipment including masks and goggles but when it sets solid it presents no danger if I have read this correctly? Does it contain any substance which is not safe once it has been disturbed, ie. through drilling out for new cabling for extra electrical socket and should you get round this by wearing mask and goggles?

Does this product contain foirmaldehyde or any other poisonous gases used as a binding agent which are harmless in the solid form but can present a health risk in the event of a fire where these gases would be released.

I only ask because MDF kitchen units, despite containing formaldehyde , are accepted by building control and yet whilst they do not "burn" in a fire they release this formaldeyhde gases through fumes which could kill a herd of elephants. My neighbour's dishwasher set fire to the housing unit and worktoip but the furmes it produced were unreal - i thought the whole kitchen burned down as we were all coughing in the street from them fumes. Turns out if was only one unit and a bit of worktop (we recycled the rest of the kitchen when we did the re-fit) but the MDF fumes were unbelievable !

This shows me you cannot just trust a product because in it's undisturbed form it is harmless like MDF. I am really intrigued about this spray foam and whether I should use this in my next - and last - home especially if it is an old house without slater's felt under trhe roof tiles. This spray foam is an excellent way of keeping the traditional tiles of a house in place without worrying about slippage so it is definitely worth a go with period houses.

You have got me going now and provided there is a supplier/installer in Europe I will definitely consider this as an alternative to new roof for old properties witrhout slater's felt which needs new roof.

So if you can put my mind at rest over the safety of drilling intro this product afterwards tio take electric switches, without any harm, and if you can lead me to a European Supplier/Installer that will not want £15,00 for a 9m2x6m2 house.

I guess I am asking you to educate me. I am about two houses away from selling up and having enough to self build the home of my dreams. I want to build a house from straw bales and am looking for the best insulation to put on my wish list. Is this spray foam my dream insulation? I don't know much about it because the bloke did the only one I ever asked for an estimate seemed a bit thick to be honest and could not put my fears at rest.

Now I have got an expert on hand I hope you will be able to answer my points/anxieties and I would be especialy interested in any international firm which could give these Uk firms a run for their money as I think their charges are obscene - just milking it cos it is stil a new product in the Uk.

I am not your enemy - just wanting to help out people who are obviously looking for advice on a DIY ioption which might not be the best ever option but is all they can afford.

Am now going to hang on your every word about the safety of your product and whether it can be applied in a straw bale house. The missis is set on our final house being made of straw bales so I better get clued up on everything as soon as I can so I can impresss her with my new knowledge. This might be a good time to shout HELP.


1) what happens if you spray insulation the walls and then later want to put in extra wiring for
electic cables or other services. Is this product safet to drill into or does it contain any agents
which are safe in their solid form but must not be distrubred

2 ) Are there any poisonous gases such as formaldehyde used in the manufacture of this product which are harmless in their solid form but which could pose a threat if disturbed in any way.


3) Is this spray foam suitable for houses built from straw bails?

4) what are the fireproof qualities and can this be compromised by any drilling for extra cables etc

I think that covers everything that my Missis asked about - you will be doing me a big favour if you can answer these/her questions and stop me looking like a fool because the cost put me off and so I know nothing about this product. She is set on a straw bale house with low carbon emissions and the best source of fuel. I am still looking into the fuel but if you could put our minds at rest over this spray insulation I will gain some brownie points with the missis.

I am sorry that my earlier comments upset you but our experience of spray insulation is obviously less favourable than elsewhere in the world and you have got me thinking now that we ar getting ripped off in the Uk. I am all for buying locally except where I think we are being ripped off. Can you give me any more information - we are not above importing from USA if that's what it takes to get the quality I am after.

I hang on your every word on this as it is beyond me and I need the right advice to pass on to my clients.

DT, I think the biggest gap that you are fighting here is that in North America, spray foam is already a viable option. The same may not be true in the UK. You are also talking about retrofits (at least that is what I am getting) and spray foam is really most advantageous when you have open stud bays.

It sounds like you are pretty advanced when it comes to DIY sustainable efforts and I applaud your fervor.

I think Spray foam is the answer to your question. I had a chance before to ask one of the consultants of Roofing Contractor Hartford CT and they also gave the same solution, the Spray foam.

Rigid foam above the roof deck is a real performance enhancer, in that it provides a thermal break over the structural members and raises the average temp of the roof deck for lower condensation & rot risk.


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