Ceiling spray foam insulation in Cardston is work on an older ceiling than most of Alberta has. With roughly 70% of local homes built before 1991, and a substantial share of those much older again, the ceiling in question is frequently plaster on wood lath rather than a sheet of drywall, and that changes both what is possible and what is sensible.
A plaster ceiling is not a drywall ceiling
Plaster on lath is thicker, heavier and more brittle, and it is keyed into gaps between the lath boards rather than screwed to framing. It does not tolerate being cut and patched the way drywall does, and it will not take a point load. That is the main reason ceiling work on this stock is done from above wherever the roof space allows. It is also why pressure matters: foam expands as it cures, and an assembly sprayed against the back of old lath has to be specified so the expansion does not push on the keys holding the plaster up.
The ceiling plane has joints in it that nobody drew
In a house that has been added to, the ceiling of the oldest section and the ceiling of the addition are separate planes at different levels, and between them sits the top of a wall that used to be outside. Interior partition walls built in the original construction often have their top plates open to the roof space as well. Each of those is a continuous slot rather than a hole, and together they are why the ceiling of an old house leaks air even where the insulation above it is deep. A sprayed layer across the plate lines closes them; nothing laid on top does.
Where the ceiling is also the roof
Not every ceiling here has an accessible space above it. Enclosed porches, rear additions with a shallow pitch, and finished upper storeys all have ceilings fixed directly to the rafters with only the rafter depth available. Closed cell at about R-6 to R-7 an inch is the only practical way to get a meaningful number into a shallow rafter, and because it also becomes a vapour barrier at roughly two inches it resolves the moisture control in the same pass. What it does not resolve by itself is ventilation, so how the assembly dries has to be decided before anything is sprayed.
Light fixtures, chimneys and the bathroom fan
Every penetration through an old ceiling has usually been made by a different trade in a different decade, and sealed by none of them. Surface mounted fixtures leave a hole for the wiring, recessed cans added later are open cylinders, a bathroom fan is often venting into the roof space rather than outside, and a masonry chimney passes through with a gap around it for clearance. Sealing the ceiling plane means handling each of those properly, and in the case of the fan it means fixing the duct, because an insulated ceiling with a fan blowing moist air into the attic above it is worse than what was there.
What a sealed ceiling actually changes
Rooms stop feeling draughty at the edges, upstairs temperatures even out, and the heating system stops cycling to replace air that has gone up through the plate lines. On a house of this age that change is usually more noticeable than an equivalent spend on depth, because the depth is partly there already and the sealing has never been done.
The crew on your job
We take care of ceiling spray foam insulation Cardston end to end -- the assessment, the quote, the scheduling and the spraying. Our crews do the work.
Ceiling Spray Foam Insulation Cardston: Common Questions
Is spraying against an old plaster ceiling safe for the plaster? It has to be specified for it, which is a question of lift thickness and of whether the work is done from above or below. We will say which approach your ceiling can take.
Our bathroom fan vents into the attic. Does that matter? It matters a great deal. That duct has to be taken outside before the ceiling is sealed, or the moisture it carries will collect in the roof space.
Why does our ceiling feel cold at the walls? Because the top plates of the walls are frequently open into the roof space on houses of this era, so air moves up at the perimeter regardless of the insulation above.
How much does ceiling spray foam insulation cost in Cardston? Priced per board foot over the sprayed area, so the number follows area and depth. Whether the work can be done from the attic or needs the finish opened is the larger variable here.
How do I choose a ceiling spray foam contractor in Cardston? Ask whether your ceiling is plaster or drywall and what difference that makes to their method. If the answer is none, they have not worked on this stock.
Size the assembly with the R-value calculator, then get a free Cardston quote. More on Ceiling Spray Foam Insulation Alberta province-wide.