Masonry Magazine January 2003 Page. 37
Insulation Face-Off
As with any heavy competition, certain "facts" get carried over generation to generation. The pour-in guys tell you foam melts; the foam guys say, "No, it doesn't!" Huckabee points at pour-in and says, "It is common knowledge that loose fill, over time, will settle in the wall. We have done numerous applications 5-15 years after a building was insulated with loose fill material and we had to insulate the walls 1-4 courses from the top where the loose fill had settled over time."
Of course, Moeller disputes this, saying, "Today's pour-in insulation won't settle. That's a big point. It settles less than one-quarter of one percent, and that was tested under extreme conditions. Once it's in there it's not going to move around or change very much."
Huckabee returns to the cost factor, adds the "hassle factor," and says, "Some mason contractors would tell you, even if it costs them more money, they would use foam-in-place insulation because the headaches and the hassles of having to pour that insulation into the top of the wall."
So we called up a mason contractor, Ed Davenport of Davenport Masonry, Holt, Mich., and asked him, "Which would you choose, foam or pour-in?" Being a nice guy, Davenport hedged his bet, saying. "It would depend on the job." Come on, Ed, what would you prefer?
"Well, if the foam is done correctly, I think it is better," Davenport admits. "We find the problem with holes in the wall allowing loose fill to run out; that's not going to happen with foam. And pour-in material is not very pleasant to work with, requiring masks and such to protect the workers from inhaling the dust. And when you factor in the labor costs, hassles and material costs, foam is usually less expensive than pour-in. So, I have to say, foam wins-when it is done correctly."
CMU WITH DRY BLOCKS IN RUNNING
BOND PATTERN
LADDER TYPE HORIZONTAL JOINT REINFORCEMENT VII CROSS WIRES
160.C.
ZMIS LOOSE FILL INSULATION
PLACE IN LIFTS
CMU (SOLD)
EXPANSION JOINT MATERIAL
CONCRETE SLAB
RIGIO INSULATION
SUBBASE
FULL MORTAR BED
NOTE: FINISHED CONCRETE SLAB
SHALL BE ABOVE GRADE
LADDER-TYPE HORIZONTAL JOINT REINFORCEMENT
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CIRCLE 163 ON READER SERVICE CARD
January 2003
Masonry 33