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Picked spray foam over batts for my attic last fall
Old house in Strathcona, drafty as heck. I was stuck between spending $1800 on spray foam or $600 on fiberglass batts. Went with the foam because my neighbor said his batts sagged after two winters. I can feel the difference in the upstairs bedrooms now, way more even temp. Anyone else swap insulation methods midway through a reno?
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morganhayes20d ago
...and see that's the thing with old houses right, you never know what you're gonna find until you start tearing stuff open. I redid my place in Oliver last year, figured I'd just swap out some rotted trim and ended up finding a 1950s newspaper stuffed in the wall cavity. Whole section on the oilers folding like a cheap suit that season. Spent like an hour reading it instead of working. The insulation was basically sawdust mixed with horsehair at that point anyway. Spray foam wouldve been overkill for what I was dealing with, but your neighbor's batt story seals it. That sagging crap is real.
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willow_robinson21d ago
The batt sagging after two winters" is exactly why I'd never go back to fiberglass. I did my whole basement with spray foam two years ago and it's still holding tight with zero settling. The way people talk about batts being "good enough" drives me crazy, especially in older homes like ours with weird gaps and uneven framing. Spray foam fills all those little air leaks that batts just leave open. Sure, it costs more upfront, but I've seen my heating bills drop by about 30% since I switched, so it pays for itself over time. If you're already in a reno and the walls are open, it's the smartest money you can spend.
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