Exposed Foam Board Insulation

Foam insulation alternatives to solid foam board insulation.

Exposed foam board insulation.

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. Owens corning foamular 250 extruded polystyrene xps rigid foam insulation is a closed cell highly moisture resistant rigid foam board well suited to meet the needs for a wide variety of residential and commercial construction applications. The problem with that application has always been that the foam board needed to be covered with a thermal barrier or flame spread barrier like drywall in order to meet local fire codes. Extruded polystyrene foam xps also known as blue board or pink board comes in many different thicknesses and edge profiles.

Polyisocyanurate is another option coming in as the densest and more expensive option for foam board. Foam insulation board should not be left exposed in building interiors. Xps has an r value of 4 5 to 5 0 per inch of thickness. Those are all viable options but perhaps the most sought after option is to insulate with foam board on the inside of the foundation wall so you don t have to worry about the above grade exposure.

This insulation board is probably one of the most widely used foam board insulation products in the residential construction industry. Typically sold as sheet insulation in a standard size of 4 x 8 foam insulation panels can help reduce energy costs get a handle on moisture control and more. Foamular 250 product data sheet pdf v 1593673075000 1 45 mb. For a basement remodeling project consider insulating basement walls with foam board.

If warm moist house air. Compare click to add item r 3 expanded polystyrene foam board insulation 3 4 x 14 1 2 x 48 6 pk to the compare list. For new construction use rigid boards to insulate slabs and the outside of foundation walls. As far as i know most types of rigid foam insulation can t be left exposed but need to be covered with a layer of drywall for fire resistance.

As already noted a decent thickness of extruded foam insulation may create a pretty good air vapour barrier especially when covered with taped and painted drywall. Attach the tongue and groove insulation boards to the concrete wall with adhesive.