Foam Fails
Reason Foam Fails #2: Unacceptable Fire Hazard
Is it really too much to ask that our thermal insulation not be a fire accelerant? After all, thermal insulation can (and should) continuously and completely envelop the buildings we...
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Reason Foam Fails #7: Unhealthy Off-Gassing & Dust
Unhealthy Off-Gassing & Dust Spray foam produces two forms of toxins: continuous off-gassing and chemical dust. As a two-component chemical system, spray foam is made by mixing Parts A and...
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Reason Foam Fails #5: Excessive Shrinkage
Fine Homebuilding, Feb/March 2012 With the growing use of foam plastic insulation in building construction, first in commercial roofing and then too often metastasizing over the entire building enclosure,...
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Asbestos: A Living Lesson In Our Fight With Toxic Spray Foam
In our quest to make a less toxic world, 475 often focuses on how, today, too often professionals are insisting on filling buildings with toxic, bioaccumulative, plastic spray foam insulations....
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Reason Foam Fails #8: Hypersensitive On-Site Manufacturing
The construction industry has been making more and more building parts in the factory - through panelization, modular construction, and complex component fabrication. Factories are great at providing predictable environments...
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Reason Foam Fails #6: Inflexible and Prone to Cracking
Poor installation quality control results in cracked, crumbling foam that has little insulation value. This foam was estimated to be less than 10 years-old at the time of retrofit. It’s...
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Foam Board Fire in New York City
Foam Board Fire in New York City On December 14th a NYU Langone Medical Center roof caught fire. As reported on dnainfo by Ben Fractenberg and Aidan Gardiner: Workers were...
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Is Foam Evil? A New Paradigm of Foam - Less is Best
"Is Foam Evil?" was the initial title of a panel discussion 475 participated in at NESEA's Building Energy 15 Conference - before it was renamed "Tiny Bubbles" (see Green Building...
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Reason Foam Fails #4 - Counterproductive Vapor Retarder
Counterproductive Vapor Retarder As insulation levels increase, building enclosures get colder and are more resistant to drying out - staying wetter longer, and posing greater risks for mold and...
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Reason Foam Fails #3 - Degrading Thermal Insulation Values
Degrading Thermal Insulation Values Polyisocyanurate (polyiso), XPS, and spray closed-cell foams substantially degrade over time as the insulating blowing agent gases diffuse out and plain air diffuses in. How...
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Reason Foam Fails #1: Dangerous Toxic Ingredients
Dangerous Toxic Ingredients The chemical companies selling polyurethane foam as green and sustainable, demonstrate chutzpah second only to that of the tobacco and coal industries. Admittedly, if you believe...
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Foam Fails
Introduction to 475's Foam Fails Series If we are to address our concerns of health, climate change, safety, energy efficiency, resiliencey, and reliability, then we ask you to seriously consider...
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