Blower door basics

[Mark Parlee]

Dick
Was there any reason you didn't go with a dense packed cellulose?

[Ted S.]

Hey Dick, are you sure that foam isn't fire safing? If it is, I probably wouldn't dig it out, it should be ASTM E 84 also, typically that's red in color.

[Dick Seibert]

Dick
Was there any reason you didn't go with a dense packed cellulose?

Mark:

It's not used around here because of formaldehyde, there are contractors who use what's called cellulose and it's cotton batting, other green types used recycled denim. This home has all cathedral ceilings and 4" minimum ventilation over the batts, the soffits have $6,000 worth of fire-dampened vents surrounding the home along with several thousand dollars worth of fire-dampened foundation vents. 2501.jpg There is no sheathing on the exterior walls and all fiberglass is held a minimum of 2" away from the WRB so walls can breathe. There is plywood sheathing on a few interior walls to stiffen the structure since steel structures flex in earthquakes, there is also plywood sheathing 2487.jpg on foundation walls behind stone. BTW, that's Grace's new Perm-A-Barrier, designed for sealing up walls anticipating that someday the codes will allow wall sealing, but as of now there can be no insulation or finish applied on the interior of those walls,

[Dick Seibert]

Hey Dick, are you sure that foam isn't fire safing? If it is, I probably wouldn't dig it out, it should be ASTM E 84 also, typically that's red in color.

No, it's there common foam, my owner has a good sense of smell, I've tried to eliminate all chemicals as much as practical, Lavrans came to visit and I asked him to get involved in how I was going to seal doors, cabinets, and walnut floors, among other things he recommended a German product called Osmo, it's "pushed" into the wood with a stiff bristle brush rather than painted on, I ordered a bunch of samples and Friday had a painter there making samples, the owner drove up to see the samples, he got out of his car and exclaimed: "I smell paint!", he was 200 feet away from the painter who was on a back terrace. I guess we'll see if the small goes away from the samples.

[gioberg11]

No, it's there common foam, my owner has a good sense of smell, I've tried to eliminate all chemicals as much as practical, Lavrans came to visit and I asked him to get involved in how I was going to seal doors, cabinets, and walnut floors, among other things he recommended a German product called Osmo, it's "pushed" into the wood with a stiff bristle brush rather than painted on, I ordered a bunch of samples and Friday had a painter there making samples, the owner drove up to see the samples, he got out of his car and exclaimed: "I smell paint!", he was 200 feet away from the painter who was on a back terrace. I guess we'll see if the small goes away from the samples.

Curious if the smell went away?
If that foam was for fireblocking and you ripped out, what did you replace with?

Brian

[Dick Seibert]

Brian:

Foam was for air-sealing and not fireblocking, I can't smell it after the sheetrock went up but the owner could. He's going up Sunday I'll ask him if he can still smell it. He is allowing no paint on the job, I had to seal doors so he chose a product from Germany recommended by Lavrans on a visit here. He could smell that when he got out of his car as the painter was applying the sealer, at this point I wonder if he can differentiate the difference in the smells of the insulation and the sealer.

[gioberg11]

Dick,

In the second pic, I thought that went into the basement;thus, the firestop necessity.

Brian

[Dick Seibert]

In the second pic, I thought that went into the basement;thus, the firestop necessity.

Brian:

Yes and I gave some thought to your point prior to answering, the fact is that in R occupancies the AHJs have never enforced fire-stopping when it comes to electrical and plumbing penetrations, but I see your point and think that technically you are correct, any air movement between floors should be fire-stopped, even to the extent of holes through fire-blocking at 10' intervals.

I've always thought I'd love to drill holes in both my bottom and top plates to achieve continuous air circulation between the basement/crawl, walls, and attic, that would be the ultimate breathing assembly to keep walls dry without having to breathe-in and/or out, but have realized that this would cause a fire-stopping problem. The guys attempting rain screens are running into the same thing, they have to be fire-stopped especially in fire zones, wild fires could be sucked up through the rain screens making homes death traps.

[Ted S.]

They're big on firestoping here, there's a designated inspection for it. But heck, if a homeowner wants to dig out his own firestoping then why not.

[Dutchman]

They're big on firestoping here, there's a designated inspection for it. But heck, if a homeowner wants to dig out his own firestoping then why not.

I worked for a plumber in NJ for a while and I had to install some sort of fire stopping stuff (I think it was foam...long time ago) in all penetrations to appease the inspector. The minute the inspector left, I was instructed to remove it from the heat line penetrations so they didn't squeak.

[ThingOfBeauty]

I was instructed to remove it from the heat line penetrations so they didn't squeak.

A client called us with a squeaky PVC furnace vent. It ran about 27 feet from the furnace up through the house, as it changed size it made noise at the top plate penetration.
I fixed it by spraying it with white lithium grease from the attic side.
You can use that tip for free, Dutch!

[Dutchman]

That's a good one Doug.