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INTERIORS
ASBESTOS
ATTIC LEAKS, CONDENSATION & ATTIC MOLD
ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS
HEAT LOSS CALCULATIONS
HUMIDITY LEVEL TARGET
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INSULATION INSPECTIONS
Insulation Material Identification Guide
Asbestos Identification in Buildings
Asbestos Pipe Insulation
Asbestos-Free Insulation Materials
Balsam Wool Batt Insulation
Cotton Insulating Batts
Cellulose loose fill insulation
Fiberglass Insulation
Foam Board Insulation
Icynene Foam Spray Insulation
Icynene Spray Foam
R-values of Icynene® vs. Polyurethane Foam
Mold Resistance of Foam Insulation
Open-celled vs. Closed-cell Foam Insulation
Insects & Foam Insulation
Mineral Wool/Rock Wool Insulation
Mold in Fiberglass Insulation
Mold in Foam Insulation
Paper Duct Insulation
Perlite Insulation
Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation UFFI
Vermiculite Insulation
Insulation R-Values & Properties
LIST of Asbestos Containing Products
Mold Growth Resistance of Foam Insulation
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 How to Identify & Inspect Foam Board Building Insulation
MoldAPedia ©
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- Foam board insulation properties, R-values, fire hazards, inspection recommendations
- Photo guide to identification of different building insulation materials
- Properties of different building insulation products
- Types & photographs of building insulation that does not normally contain asbestos
Our site offers impartial, unbiased advice without conflicts of interest.
We will block advertisements which we discover or readers inform us are associated with bad business practices,
false-advertising, or junk science. Our contact info is at
inspect-ny.com/appointment.htm.
This page illustrates and describes properties of various types of foam board building insulation. We give advice to owners and inspectors regarding the R-values, fire safety, insect resistance, and mold resistance of foam building insulation products.
We provide photographs and descriptive text of asbestos insulation and other asbestos-containing products
to permit identification of definite, probable, or possible asbestos materials in buildings.
© Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.
Solid Foam Product Insulating Products - Rigid Polystyrene, Polyurethane, Polyisocyanurate Insulation Characteristics
Solid Foam Product Insulating Products - Rigid Polystyrene, Polyurethane, Polyisocyanurate Insulation products will not contain asbestos fibers and most of these products are rather mold resistant, possibly because of their chemistry or because closed-cell foam insulations simply do no take up and hold the moisture that is required for active mold growth on or in building insulations or surfaces.
See Mold in Foam Insulation and also Mold Resistance of Foam Insulation for details about mold growth on or in foam building insulation products. |
What are the Insulation R-Values of Foam Insulation Boards?
- Expanded, extruded, and cut bead polystyrene insulation products have an R-value of about 4.0 per inch of thickness. Typical exterior foam board building insulation sheets have an R-value of 2.64 per inch.
- Expanded polyurethane building insulation products have an R-value of about 5.0 per inch of thickness.
- Expanded polyurethane insulation expanded using the refrigerant gas has an R-value of about 6.25 per inch.
- Polyisocyanurate insulation products have an R-value of about 7.04 per inch.
See Insulation R-Values & Properties for R-value and other properties of nearly all historic insulating materials as well as contemporary building insulation products. [ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook.]
To compare insulating material R-values see our Table of Properties of Insulating Materials
Also see Mold Growth Resistance of Foam Insulation, and see INSULATION INSPECTIONS for details about foam and other building insulation types; see FIBERGLASS HAZARDS for a discussion of mold problems in fiberglass insulation; see Mold On Foam Insulation for a discussion of when and why we find mold growth on foam insulating materials like foam board and air handler foam insulating board.
Fire Safety and Foam Insulation Board
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 Foam insulation board should not be left exposed in building interiors. While many modern foam insulating products do not themselves readily support combustion (that is they don't catch fire and burn alone) they may give off thick acrid or toxic black smoke in a fire, making it difficult to safely exit the burning building.
In the photograph at left, if this wall is in occupied building space it should have been covered with fire rated drywall to meet local building code specifications for fire safety.
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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.
IDENTIFICATION of ASBESTOS in BUILDINGS
Asbestos Risk Assessment
INSULATION INSPECTIONS
Insulation Material Identification Guide
Asbestos-Free Insulation Materials
Asbestos Pipe Insulation
Balsam Wool Batt Insulation
Cotton Insulating Batts
Cellulose loose fill insulation
Fiberglass Insulation
Foam Board Insulation
Icynene Foam Spray Insulation
Insects & Foam Insulation
Mineral Wool/Rock Wool Insulation
Mold in Fiberglass Insulation
Mold in Foam Insulation
Paper Duct Insulation
Perlite Insulation
Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation UFFI
Vermiculite Insulation
HEAT LOSS CALCULATIONS
Insulation R-Values & Properties
LIST of Asbestos Containing Products
Mold Growth Resistance of Foam Insulation
Technical Reviewers & References
Particular thanks are due to experts and also consumers who read these articles and suggest corrections, changes, and additions to
the material. Content suggestions, technical corrections and content critique are invited for any of the content at our website.
- Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia TM Website
- 3/07: thanks to Gary Randolph, Ounce of Prevention Home Inspection, LLC Buffalo, NY, for attentive reading and editing suggestions. Mr. Randolph can be reached in Buffalo, NY, at (716) 636-3865
or email: gary@ouncehome.com
- 06/07: thanks for photographs of transite asbestos heating ducts, courtesy of Thomas Hauswirth, Managing Member of Beacon Fine Home Inspections, LLC and (in 2007) Vice President, Connecticut Association of Home Inspectors
Ph. 860-526-3355 Fax 860-526-2942 beaconinspections@sbcglobal.net
- Technical reviewers are invited to comment or ask questions - contact us
More expert information on Asbestos Identification, Recognition, & Testing |
IDENTIFICATION of ASBESTOS in BUILDINGS
INSULATION INSPECTIONS
How to Calculate Heat Loss in a Building
Table of Properties of Insulating Materials
IDENTIFICATION of ASBESTOS in BUILDINGS
More Information
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Home Inspection
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Contact Us |
More Information on Asbestos Contamination, Other Airborne Fiber Hazards, & Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs
- Asbestos: How to find and recognize asbestos in Buildings - visual inspection methods, list of common asbestos-containing materials
- Asbestos HVAC Ducts and Flues field identification photos and guide
- Fiberglass: Indoor Air Quality Investigations: Health Concerns About Airborne Fiberglass: Fiberglass in Indoor Air from HVAC ducts, and Building Insulation
- Enviro-Scare: Electric Power Lines, Electromagnetic Fields, Cancer Risk, & "Enviro-Scare" - The Normal Curve Cycle of Public Fear of Environmental Issues
- Dust from the World Trade Center collapse following the 9/11/01 attack: the lower floors of this building contained spray-on fire-proofing asbestos materials.
- Asbestos Information Links: Asbestos Detection, Testing, Recognition, Hazards, Field Photos, and Information Sources, including
health-related links such as legal services and information about mesothelioma and other cancers.
- Asbestos Identification and Testing References
- Asbestos Identification, Walter C.McCrone, McCrone Research Institute, Chicago, IL.1987 ISBN 0-904962-11-3. Dr. McCrone literally "wrote the book" on asbestos identification procedures which formed
the basis for current work by asbestos identification laboratories.
- Stanton, .F., et al., National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 506: 143-151
- Pott, F., Staub-Reinhalf Luft 38, 486-490 (1978) cited by McCrone
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The Mold Information Center: What to Do About Mold in Buildings, When and How to Inspect for Mold, Clean Up Mold, or Avoid Mold Problems
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