About 70% of homes in Cardston were built before 1991, one of the higher shares in the province. In practice that means residential spray foam insulation here is retrofit work on houses built to standards that no longer exist, by methods nobody uses now, and modified repeatedly since. Almost nothing about it resembles filling a cavity in a new subdivision.
What an old house is made of, and why it matters
The older part of this stock was framed in dimensional lumber on shallow depths, sheathed in boards rather than panels, with no sheathing membrane behind the cladding, no vapour control and no air barrier of any kind. Walls are often 2x4 at best. Interior surfaces are plaster on lath. Foundations range from stone and rubble through early unreinforced concrete. None of these surfaces are flat, square or a standard width, and that single fact rules out most insulation products and explains why a sprayed, adhered material is the usual answer in this town.
The question is where the air goes, not how deep the insulation is
Insulation slows the conduction of heat. It does nothing about air moving through a gap, and old houses have a great many gaps, in a connected pattern. Cold air enters low, at the sill, the rim joist, the cellar hatch and the stone wall, and warm air leaves high, at the top plates of the walls, the chimney chase, the stair bulkhead and the junctions with later additions. The two halves of that pattern drive each other, which is why a house can have a deep attic and still feel draughty at ankle level. Sealing the top and bottom of the envelope changes more here than adding depth anywhere.
Additions make the envelope complicated
Nearly every house in this stock has been extended, enclosed or built on top of. Each change created a junction: a former exterior wall now inside the house, a roof plane that stops against another roof plane, a floor over a crawl next to a floor over a cellar. Those junctions are where the envelope is discontinuous, and they are invisible from a walk through the finished rooms. Finding them is most of what a site visit is for.
The order that gets results without moving out
Rim joist and sill first, because it is the coldest accessible surface and the most leak-prone. Attic junctions, plate lines and knee walls next. The step wall between the old and new sections wherever one exists. Walls last, because walls mean opening or drilling finishes and that is the disruptive part. Done in that order a family stays in the house and feels the difference before the largest part of the work begins.
Open cell and closed cell do different jobs
Closed cell at roughly R-6 to R-7 an inch and a vapour barrier at about two inches is the choice where depth is limited, where the surface is masonry or below grade, and wherever moisture has to be controlled. Open cell at about R-3.5 to R-3.8 an inch is lighter and better acoustically, which makes it reasonable for interior partitions and deeper cavities in dry locations. Either one is only as good as the continuity of the layer, which on this stock is the whole argument.
Who does the work
For residential spray foam insulation Cardston, we quote and manage the whole job and our own installers do the work. The free quote comes from the people who will be on site.
Residential Spray Foam Insulation Cardston: Common Questions
Our house is nearly a century old. Is foam appropriate? It is often the only thing that fits, because the framing and foundations are irregular. What changes with age is the sequence and the moisture thinking, not the suitability.
Where should we start? The rim joist and sill, then the junctions in the attic. Those are the least disruptive interventions and the ones with the clearest result for the smallest scope.
Should we seal an old house completely? It should be sealed deliberately and then ventilated deliberately. An old house leaks in an uncontrolled way, and replacing that with control is the objective rather than making it airtight and leaving it.
How much does residential spray foam insulation cost in Cardston? Priced per board foot over the sprayed area, so the number follows area and depth. On this stock, how much finish has to be opened or removed first is what actually separates two quotes.
How do I choose a residential spray foam contractor in Cardston? Ask how many separate building stages they think your house has, and where they would seal first. A contractor who has walked the cellar and the attic can answer; one quoting from the front door cannot.
Size the assembly with the R-value calculator, then get a free Cardston quote. More on Residential Spray Foam Insulation Alberta province-wide.