Bonus room spray foam insulation in Calgary addresses the single most common comfort complaint in this city's newer housing. The room above the garage is too cold in winter, too warm in summer, and nothing done inside the room ever seems to change it.
The floor is the problem, not the room
A bonus room sits over an unconditioned garage. Its floor is an exposed assembly with outside temperature underneath it, and at the perimeter the joist ends are open to the outdoors where the garage wall meets the house. Warm air leaves the room downward and cold air replaces it. Because the cause is under the floor, everything done inside the room -- more heat, closing vents elsewhere, a bigger register -- treats a symptom.
Why the builder's insulation did not solve it
In most Calgary builds that floor cavity was filled with batts, which slow heat but do not stop air. Where the joist ends are open at the perimeter, air moves into the cavity around the batts and carries away much of what they were holding. The insulation is present and being bypassed, which is why an inspection that finds insulation in the floor is not evidence that the assembly is working.
It is treated from the garage, not the bedroom
The practical part people are relieved to hear is that this work happens from underneath. The garage ceiling is opened or sprayed from below, the perimeter band is sealed, and the room upstairs is not taken apart. That keeps the job contained and means the room is usable the same week rather than being out of commission.
The wall the room shares with outside air
A bonus room often has more exterior wall than any other room in the house, because it sits above the garage footprint with outside air on two or three sides as well as underneath. Where the floor is being treated it is worth looking at those walls at the same time, since access and setup are already paid for. On most Calgary plans those walls are the reason the room is also unbearable in July, so treating them at the same time deals with both ends of the year in one visit.
Bonus Room Spray Foam Insulation Calgary: Common Questions
Why is the room cold when the rest of the Calgary house is fine? Because its floor sits over an unheated garage with the joist ends open at the perimeter. No other room in the house has that assembly underneath it.
Do we have to take the room apart? No. The work is done from the garage side, so the room stays usable.
Will insulating the garage walls fix it? Not on its own. The floor between the garage and the room is the assembly that matters, and that is what gets treated.
How much does bonus room spray foam insulation cost in Calgary? The floor is the problem rather than the room, and it is treated from the garage. That keeps the number down and the disruption low. Insulating the garage walls does not fix it, which is why the builder's insulation did not solve it either.
How do I choose a bonus room spray foam contractor in Calgary? Ask whether they intend to insulate the garage walls. If that is the plan, it will not work - the surface that matters is the ceiling of the garage, which is the floor of your room.
Size the assembly with the R-value calculator, then get a free Calgary quote. More on Bonus Room Spray Foam Insulation Alberta.
After the foam: the interior finish
Once the foam is in and trimmed, the assembly needs its interior finish, and on an occupied space that finish is also the code-required thermal barrier over the foam. We work alongside drywall finishing in Calgary, an independent drywall contractor, so the two stages are not left to collide on site.