toml_1's Profile

NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME!
I recently returned from the Solar Decathlon that is held every 2 years in DC. Foam insulation was a very big deal this year. Some of the homes had as much as 10" of foam in their roofs. I just want to make it clear that I am a believer. I like the idea of foam. I drank the Kool-Aid when they said it is not all about R value. Sealing cracks and holes is very important.
However 'Foam it Green' was a big ($2,600 for a small basement work room) mistake. When this is done professionally they bring a truck and have high pressure equipment to keep the foam flowing.
What you are dealing with here is an over grown aerosol can. My first kit went on great. Actually got a little more coverage than i expected. The second kit and third kit the stuff came out in globs and clumps. I ended up with a fraction of the coverage and it was a MESS. Nearly impossible to control. Luckily the 4th kit went on ok. Not as well as the 1st, though.
When you order these kits they send you "EVERYTHING YOU WILL NEED. NO RUNNING TO THE HARDWARE STORE!" I think that is direct quote form one of their videos. They send a few nozzles and a few fan tips. They also sent me a bag of extras of both. I went through everyone of them. I also had to keep a palm of vaseline in my other hand. They say it helps to keep the nozzle from clogging. It does a little. I must have gone through 30 nozzles and all the tips they sent.
The one thing that they do excel at is blaming the customer. The guy on the phone (if you waste your time to call) and reads down the list of reasons that you made mistakes.
spray too thick
spray too thin
wall too warm
wall too cold
did not shake
did not read instructions
These things were actually all said to me in the course of a single conversation. There were others. It was as if he was reading down a "Blame the Customer" list. I am not sure he ever listened to me.
Re: sending you everything ... no mask. This is sold as a dyi project. They even show a young, inexperienced, female applying the foam. The tech support guy there told me that most of their customers are contractors and have their own T100 masks so they do not include them in the kit. You will pay $35 or so. They probably could have bought them in bulk and at least offered them as an option for less. if you are doing ceilings, you will need at least another couple pair of protective eye ware. They suggest applying vaseline the your goggles. Just try seeing out of those. But they do send booties. What a joke. He also said that I needed a laser thermometer. That was not included. He was, like, 'what, you don't have a laser thermometer?' Really. I do have my booties, though. Yea!
Finally, they miscalculated how much foam I would need. When I spoke to the nice lady one the phone I told her the measurements of the room including the measurements of the ceiling, over which there is to be a deck of sorts. She dutifully subtracted the area of windows and doors. She did not take in to account that while the R value of a wall should be R-14, a roof in my zone (North Carolina) should be more like R-35. I should have had enough left over, but, sadly, did not.
The 'aerosol can' technology is just not up to the job. It does not come out even. Every one of my 'blue' cans still has a lot of component in it. Especially from kits #2 and #3. I have absolutely no doubt that the guy at tech support has yet another reason on his sheet why this is my fault.
But this is what you need to hear. If the components don't come out evenly (and why would they? they are just aerosol cans after all) this is never going to work right. It was not obvious to me at the time that this was what was going wrong, although I am fairly certain now that was my main problem. I only realized it when I was moving the cans to begin the evacuation / disposal procedure (huge project in itself), that none of the blue cans were empty. And the blue cans from kits #2 and #3 had significantly more than the others. And, yes, Foam it Green people, I did shake all the cans equally. A lot, in fact. And I watched all the videos at least once.
Don't buy this product. At least compare professional prices. They are attempting a goofy solution for a serious project. This stuff is just not ready for prime time.