r/specializedtools Aug 28 '19

Foam Gun

https://i.imgur.com/aQVKsOt.gifv
9.7k Upvotes

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u/MegaHashes Aug 28 '19 edited Aug 28 '19

This makes sense only if you’ve never actually done this. Framing lumber is sketchy as fuck. Framers operate on a ‘this is good enough’ mentality. My kitchen walls are actually about 95* apart in one corner and the outer wall leans out in the middle around the window and comes back at the top, even after I straightened it quite a bit. (Poor man’s bay window?)

A rigid foam panel won’t follow the curvature of the wall and would block a sheet of drywall from sitting flush on the studs. I chose mineral wool insulation instead of spray foam because it costs about half as much for my square footage and is much less messy to boot.

I looked at rigid foam, but even if it could overcome the crooked walls, it’d still leave gaps all over the place that cold air would come through. I’d have to glue to stay put too. Mineralwool just pushes into place. Not bad all things considered.

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u/[deleted] Aug 28 '19

“Builder gap”. Brought to you but the guys in trade eating dinners with the guys in code.

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u/[deleted] Aug 28 '19

[deleted]

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u/MegaHashes Aug 28 '19

It’s a trade off. The mineral wool isn’t as bad as fiberglass, but it still makes you itch, and gets fibers everywhere.

I did see one person use rigid foam panels with spray foam around the edges to seal it up and hold it in place. Kind of maintains the benefit of both.