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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 2009 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. See POLYSTYRENE FOAM INSULATION for details.
• Icynene foam, applied as a spray in insulation retrofits: see Icynene Foam Spray Insulation for details.
• Expanded polyurethane building insulation products have an R-value of about 5.0 per inch of thickness. See URETHANE FOAM Deterioration, Outgassing for a discussion of foam board outgassing and R-value deterioration.
• Expanded polyurethane insulation expanded using the refrigerant gas has an R-value of about 6.25 per inch. See URETHANE FOAM Deterioration, Outgassing for a discussion of foam board outgassing and R-value deterioration.
• Polyisocyanurate insulation products have an R-value of about 7.04 per inch. See Icynene Foam Spray Insulation for details.
• Polystyrene insulating board - see POLYSTYRENE FOAM INSULATION for details

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 INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT 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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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.

ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN BUILDINGS
Asbestos Risk Assessment
INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT
Insulation Material Identification Guide
Asbestos-Free Insulation Materials
  Balsam Wool Batt Insulation
  Cotton Insulating Batts
  Cellulose loose fill insulation
  Concrete insulation, light-weight
  Fiberglass Insulation
  Foam Board Insulation
  Homasote & Other Insulating Board
  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
  POLYISOCYANURATE FOAM INSULATION
  POLYSTYRENE FOAM INSULATION
  RADIANT BARRIERS
  RIGID FOAM USE INDOORS
  Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation UFFI
  URETHANE FOAM Deterioration, Outgassing
  Vermiculite Insulation
HEAT LOSS CALCULATIONS
INSULATION LOCATION for BASEMENTS
INSULATION LOCATION for CAPES, CRAWLSPACES
INSULATION for GREENHOUSE or SOLARIUM
INSULATION MATERIAL IDENTIFICATION GUIDE
INSULATION R-Values & Properties
ASBESTOS: Photo Guide to Materials / Products
Mold Growth Resistance of Foam Insulation

• 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

More Information on 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

Use this simple, economical mold test kit by following our instructions on how to collect and mail mold samples to our lab

Environmental Inspection, Testing, & Diagnosis On-Site IAQ, Gas, Air Testing, Mold Investigation, Sick Building Diagnosis, Lab Services, & Remediation Plan Preparation - indoor air quality testing, problem source determination, supporting lab work, written remediation plan addressing removal of environmental and other hazards and prevention of their recurrence.

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