The insulation decision changed when the 2024 code came into force. The R-values went up and, more importantly, the emphasis moved toward airtightness and whole-building performance.
Spray foam suits that shift because it does the air sealing and the insulating in one operation, rather than relying on a separate membrane being installed perfectly.
Under the current SB-12 numbers for this zone, a new build with high efficiency heating is looking at around R-50 for a ceiling with an attic, R-31 for a ceiling without one, R-24 above grade walls and R-20 for basement walls.
Basement walls nearly doubled. That is the headline change and it is the one that most often sends a builder toward foam, because getting to R-20 with batts means a thicker wall and much more careful detailing. See our basement insulation page for what that number means for a foundation wall.
Beyond the R-values, the code now weighs measured air leakage far more heavily than it used to. An assembly can hit its nominal R-value and still fail a blower door test.
You do not always need a full cavity of foam. Flash and batt puts a controlled layer of closed cell against the sheathing to handle the air and vapour work, then fills the rest of the cavity with batt.
It is often the sensible middle ground on above grade walls: you get the sealing and the condensation control where it matters, without paying to fill the whole depth with foam.
Below grade and at rim joists we would still go full closed cell.
Rim joists, cantilevers, the floor over an unheated garage, brick ledges, and any wall assembly that has to hit a blower door target. Those are the places where nothing else does the job as reliably.
There is one more worth knowing. Closed cell bonded to the sheathing adds real racking strength, which counts for something in the most tornado-prone corner of the country.
We come in after rough-in and inspection and before drywall. That window is usually tight, so booking us at framing stage rather than the week before drywall is worth doing.
We will also tell you at quote stage what thermal barrier the code will want over the foam, so it is in the budget rather than a surprise.
Send the plans and the compliance package. We will tell you what the assembly needs and what it will cost before you are committed to it. See every service we offer on the Leamington Spray Foam Insulation home page.
We work on houses, garages, crawl spaces, new builds, greenhouse sites and farm buildings throughout the south of Essex County.
An attic is the cheapest comfort you can buy in most Leamington houses, and it is usually the first thing we look at. Warm indoor air rises, finds every gap in the ceiling, and takes moisture with it on the way out.
View Attic Insulation
Most calls about a cold garage in Leamington are really calls about something attached to it. The bedroom above it, or the kitchen wall it shares with the house.
View Garage Insulation
Closed cell spray foam applied straight onto the foundation wall does three jobs at once. It insulates, it seals the air, and at the right thickness it is its own vapour control layer.
View Basement Insulation
Crawl spaces cause more comfort complaints than anything else we deal with, and almost all of them come down to one design assumption that no longer holds.
View Crawl Space Insulation
Insulation does not last forever, and in a damp climate it often does not last as long as people expect. When the existing material is wet, mouldy, rodent damaged or flattened, it has to come out before anything new goes in.
View Insulation Removal
Commercial buildings have a different insulation problem to a house. They are large, often steel framed, and usually holding a temperature a long way from the outside air.
View Commercial and Cold Storage Insulation
We insulate the parts of a growing operation that should be insulated, and we are straight with growers about the parts that should not be.
View Greenhouse and Agricultural InsulationBook a look at it. What comes back is a single page naming the product, the installed thickness and the total.
Which space, roughly what size, and whether water has ever found its way in. Prefer to talk it through? Call (226) 286-5239.
