Insulating Houses, the Dummy Approach

Spray foam insulation

Sometimes our research staffers read the first sentence or two of a freelance post and know right away that the writer was way out of his or her comfort zone. Perhaps the rest of the post is a reasonably good copy-reword-paste job, but the stage has been set by a glaring early error made by the yutz in question. That's what we have today: an SFGate HomeGuides post penned by first-time DotD nominee (but long-time eHowian) Fred Howe, something called "How to Achieve R-21 in a 2x4 Wall."

Howe, presumably unfamiliar with the question, opened by explaining – albeit clumsily – the concept of R-value:

"Insulation is rated in two ways, R-value and U-value. The R-value is a calculation which measures the flow of heat through an insulation product, or its resistance to heat. The U-value is a calculation which measures the amount of heat which escapes from insulation material."

Although no one asked Fred about U-values, he got that part wrong: U-value isn't "the amount of heat which escapes from insulation material" (he really said that!), it's resistance to heat transfer. While that's stupid enough, it isn't what originally gave our staffer pause: that was one of Fred's subsequent sentences:

"Fiberglass vats [sic] are the standard insulator for 2-inch by 4-inch wall framing..."

Even though Howe correctly called them "batts" later in the post, the die was cast. The remainder of the post is peppered with inaccuracies and misstatements as well, including,

• "One option is to use polyurethane rigid foam insulation; it is available with R-values ranging from R-18 to R-28 at a 3½-inch thickness." – Technically, the highest R-value for closed-cell foams is that of polyisocyanurate, which isn't the same thing as polyurethane.
• "Foam-in-place is sprayed as a liquid onto the channel between studs; the liquid polyurethane reacts dramatically with the air and rapidly expands outward..." – Besides the redundancy of "expands outward" it's not "liquid polyurethane [reacting] dramatically with the air," it's two chemicals reacting when they're combined.
• "Open cell foam is different from closed cell foam, because the cells in open cell foam are less densely packed, and they are filled with air instead of gas." – Ummm, Fred? Air is a gas...

As is so often the case, Howe closes with a statement that seems wise but is in reality moronic:

"If you choose to insulate with one of the foam-in-place options, hire a contractor. Unless you have actually worked in the trade, you will not understand the nuances of the application process..."

Sure, as if our Dumbass of the Day (Howe's a former prison guard with a sociology degree) understands "the nuances" well enough to speak of them knowledgeably. Nope, it's just one more case of a self-appointed freelancer who thinks he's so wise he can reword someone else's writing without introducing mistakes. Sorry, Fred...

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DDIY - INSULATION