Closed-cell foam insulation in Twin Falls ID - a tight, dry seal in less space

Installed closed-cell spray foam usually runs about $3 to $5 a square foot across the US, which is a national figure for the market and not our price. It runs roughly double open-cell, so the real question is whether the air sealing and moisture control are worth it in your spot. For a Twin Falls figure, I'll come out, measure and price your house.

Staff at the Consumer Product Safety Commission advise leaving the home during the install and for at least 24 hours after, so plan a place to stay for at least that long before the job starts, kids and pets included. They also suggest going over safety steps with your contractor and asking what time of year suits spray foam here, and we cover both with you at the estimate.

Closed-cell stops air in a much thinner layer, counting as an air barrier at a finished thickness of 1.5 inches or more, where open-cell needs 5.5 inches to do the same. It's also rigid and hard to crush, slows heat at about R-6 per inch on the R-value scale insulation is rated by, and at typical thickness keeps moisture vapor out. That's why one layer handles heat, air and damp on rim joists, crawl space walls and tight rooflines.

If someone at home has asthma, respiratory allergies, skin conditions or a past sensitivity to isocyanates, the chemicals used to make the foam, federal safety staff advise reading the product information carefully before choosing spray foam. If needed, those households can look at other insulation instead. I'd rather tell you that at the estimate than talk you into foam you shouldn't have.

You might, because the City of Twin Falls requires permits for most alterations, and its permit list names work like new roofs, trusses and windows without mentioning foam insulation. The city asks anyone who's unsure to call the Building Safety Department at (208) 735-7238 before construction starts. The city places Twin Falls in climate zone 5B and works from the national residential and energy codes with Idaho's changes, so those are the rules a foam job here sits within. We talk permits through at the estimate, and here or in Jerome, Kimberly and the other cities around us, we check with that city's building office before we start when we're not sure.

Use the search on the Idaho Contractors Board website to check a contractor's registration before you sign anything. The state's contractor rules cover anyone on a job over $2,000 in materials and labor unless they're exempt, and on a home repair or alteration contract over that amount, a general contractor owes you a disclosure statement first. We're fully licensed and insured, and you're welcome to look us up.