About 83% of dwellings in Vegreville were built before 1991, the highest pre-1991 share of any community we cover, which makes wall work here the most interesting and the most cautious part of what we do. Wall spray foam insulation in Vegreville is not a product you order. It is a decision that follows from establishing what is actually inside the wall, and that is why we would rather open one and look than quote from the kerb.
Nobody knows what is in an old wall until it is opened
Pre-1991 covers a very wide range in this town. Towards the newer end you generally find batt in the cavities and some form of vapour barrier, though rarely a continuous one and almost never any deliberate air sealing. Further back you find thin or settled material, a vapour barrier that is partial or absent, framing dimensions that are not what a modern crew expects, and occasionally cavities with nothing in them at all. All of those need different answers, and the only way to know which one you have is to make an opening and look. Any quote for an old wall that did not involve opening it is a quote for an assumption.
The drying direction problem, which is the real caution
Here is why we are careful. An old wall with no effective vapour barrier has spent decades able to dry in both directions, inwards into the house and outwards through the cladding. That leakiness is what has kept it intact. Fill it with a vapour-impermeable layer in the middle and you change where the wall can dry to, and in some assemblies that moves a moisture problem rather than solving it. In a climate where the frost arrives and holds for months with no mid-winter drying period, a wall that gets it wrong has a long time to get it wrong in.
This is not a reason to avoid wall work. It is the reason the look comes before the number.
What the options actually are
Where a wall is being opened up anyway, for new cladding, new drywall or a renovation, it is a straightforward job and the best opportunity you will get, because the cavity is visible, the framing is accessible and the rim and the plates can be dealt with at the same time. Where the wall is staying closed, injecting into existing cavities is possible but it is a different proposition, with less control over coverage and no opportunity to see the condition of what is in there. We will tell you which category your house is in and what each one does and does not achieve.
Why walls come last in this town
On a pre-1991 house the rim joist, the attic penetrations and the basement generally return more per dollar than the walls do, and they carry far less assembly risk. Spending a limited budget on walls while the rim joist is bare and the ceiling plane is unsealed is the wrong order, and we would rather tell you that than take the larger job. When the walls do get done, having already sealed the top and bottom of the house means the wall work is finishing a continuous boundary rather than making an island in a leaky one.
Material, and the thickness that follows the function
Closed-cell at roughly R-6 to R-7 per inch is the choice where a cavity is shallow, where moisture control is part of the job, or where the framing is irregular, and at about two inches it becomes its own vapour barrier, which is precisely the property that has to be thought about rather than assumed in an old wall. Open-cell at about R-3.5 to R-3.8 per inch is vapour-open and is the right material for interior partitions and sound work. Neither is waterproofing, and neither fixes a wall that is wet from the outside.
Who you are dealing with
We are the contractor on wall spray foam insulation Vegreville, not a referral service. We quote the job, schedule it and stand behind it, and our own installers carry it out.
Wall Spray Foam Insulation Vegreville: Common Questions
Can you spray our walls without opening them? Injection into closed cavities is possible, but with less control over coverage and no sight of what is in there. We will say which approach suits your house.
Why are you cautious about old walls? Because an old wall with no vapour barrier has been drying in both directions, and changing that without understanding it can move a moisture problem rather than solve it.
Should we do the walls first? Usually not. The rim joist, the ceiling penetrations and the basement return more and risk less on a house of this age.
How much does wall spray foam insulation cost in Vegreville? It is priced per board foot over the sprayed cavity, so the number follows wall area and thickness, and on this stock the removal of old material and opening up enough to work are genuine lines. An open wall during a renovation is the cheapest version of this job.
How do I choose a wall spray foam contractor in Vegreville? Ask whether they intend to open the wall and look first. Anyone willing to seal a pre-1991 wall unseen has not worked on this stock.
Size the cavity with the R-value calculator, then get a free Vegreville quote. More on Wall Spray Foam Insulation Alberta province-wide.