About 59 percent of Camrose homes were built before 1991, and the older core of the city is older still. Wall spray foam insulation in Camrose is predominantly retrofit work, which means the conversation starts with access rather than with R-values, because access is what decides whether the job is possible at all.
Access decides everything
Spray foam bonds to the substrate, so the stud cavity must be open. A finished wall cannot be sprayed regardless of what anyone promises. In a city where most of the housing is decades old, that means wall work is tied to renovations, re-sides and walls already opened for other reasons. Understanding that first saves a great deal of wasted quoting.
Nominal against effective R
A batt marked R-14 gives R-14 through the batt and considerably less through the studs, because wood conducts heat far better than insulation. In an older house with air leakage added, the whole assembly performs well under its label. Foam fills the cavity completely and seals the leakage paths at the same time, which is why the improvement is larger than the R-value comparison alone suggests.
The three approaches
Full-cavity open cell fills the bay and air seals it. Flash-and-batt puts closed cell against the sheathing for its air and vapour control and finishes with batt, often the best value in a central Alberta winter. Exterior continuous insulation goes outside the studs and is the only method that interrupts thermal bridging, since nothing conducts straight through the framing.
Where an older Camrose wall loses heat
At the top and bottom plates, around window and door openings, at electrical and plumbing penetrations, and at the junction with the floor system. Decades of settlement and seasonal movement open those up. A wall can be completely full of insulation and still lose a great deal of air at its edges, which is why sealing and insulating together is the point.
If nothing is being opened
Then the sensible spending is elsewhere. Attics, rim joists and crawl spaces are accessible right now, generally leak more than the walls, and cost less to fix. We would rather send you there first and do the walls when a renovation makes it sensible.
Filling a cavity is not the same as sealing it
A cavity packed with insulation can still have air moving through and around it, and that movement carries away much of what the insulation was supposed to hold. Foam expands to fill the space and seals as it goes, which is why the improvement is usually larger than a comparison of insulating values alone would suggest.
Wall Spray Foam Insulation Camrose: Common Questions
Is it worth doing the walls in a house this age? When a wall is open, yes, and particularly with exterior insulation during a re-side. Without an opening, it is not the right first job.
Can you spray behind the drywall? No. The cavity has to be open, because the foam bonds to what it is sprayed onto.
What gives the biggest improvement for the money? In most older houses here, the attic and the rim joist, before the walls.
Estimate your job, then get a free Camrose quote. See closed cell spray foam and spray foam insulation in Camrose.