Spray foam vs Fiberglass

The decision between spray foam and fiber glass was an easy one theoretically but a hard one financially. In old homes when you have open exterior walls, spray foam is a no brainer. It’s far superior and really the only way you will meet current R values when you have 4” exterior walls. In our case, we only have the kitchen walls and master bed/bath/closet walls exposed. Even still, spray foam was a thousand dollars more than fiberglass or 30% more. And because of the water lines running through the basement crawl space, we had to spray foam that as well, which added another $1250. Excuse me while I breath into a bag...

Despite the cost difference, this was the best choice. We are (hopefully) never going to gut these rooms again and it’s the only way to get good insulation in these walls. We are also paying so much to run a new heating and cooling system, we didn’t want to regret not spending the extra money here. The plan is to put new blown in insulation in the front part of the house next fall when we have (hopefully) replenished the coffers.

On to blueboard, plaster, and still more wallpaper removal!