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Morgan Hougland Posted: Oct 03, 2007 04:33 PM	Old Deteriorating Spray Foam Insulation in Wall Cavities I'm an Architect in Seattle and I am in the process of renovating a 1905 house. After the plaster and lath was demoed from the walls we discovered that at some point the balloon frame stud cavities were filled with a spray foam insulation through holes drilled from the exterior. The insulation is a yellow color and is incredibly brittle and turns to microfine powder when touched. It seems to have failed as an insulation. The last known renovation to the house occured in the 50's or 60's. Does anyone know what this product was, or what it was made out of? I am concerned for the health of the contractors removing it and for the health of my clients that are still living in the house during construction. Thanks for your help.
mason Posted: Oct 03, 2007 04:49 PM	If it is polyurethane foam the dust is relatively inert. Old polyurethane foam does not degrade over time, so either it has been exposed to UV rays, or was a poor mix. Or it could be a completely different material than polyurethane foam. Hard to say without seeing it.
Morgan Hougland Posted: Oct 03, 2007 05:25 PM	Thanks Mason. Is there a way to post photos of what it looks like?
mason Posted: Oct 03, 2007 07:53 PM	You could send photos to my email masonknowles@aol.com But I am not sure the photos would help me with identification.
Gerry Wagoner Posted: Oct 04, 2007 09:39 PM	Could be the old urea formaldehyde foam. That's been off the market for over 30-years. oG
mason Posted: Oct 05, 2007 01:53 PM	Olger, I looked at the photos that were sent and it looks like a low density, open cell polyurethane foam that was sold in the 70s. It has the same color and texture of those systems. The urea formaldehyde foam was white. This is yellow and looks like our regular open cell foam. I installed a few projects with it in the mid 70s. It was a froth type foam and if you got it A rich, it would be very friable. I think that is what he has in the building. There should be no lingering health hazards with that foam.

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Morgan Hougland

Posted: Oct 03, 2007 04:33 PM

Old Deteriorating Spray Foam Insulation in Wall Cavities

I'm an Architect in Seattle and I am in the process of renovating a 1905 house. After the plaster and lath was demoed from the walls we discovered that at some point the balloon frame stud cavities were filled with a spray foam insulation through holes drilled from the exterior. The insulation is a yellow color and is incredibly brittle and turns to microfine powder when touched. It seems to have failed as an insulation. The last known renovation to the house occured in the 50's or 60's.

Does anyone know what this product was, or what it was made out of? I am concerned for the health of the contractors removing it and for the health of my clients that are still living in the house during construction. Thanks for your help.

mason

Posted: Oct 03, 2007 04:49 PM

If it is polyurethane foam the dust is relatively inert. Old polyurethane foam does not degrade over time, so either it has been exposed to UV rays, or was a poor mix. Or it could be a completely different material than polyurethane foam. Hard to say without seeing it.

Morgan Hougland

Posted: Oct 03, 2007 05:25 PM

Thanks Mason.

Is there a way to post photos of what it looks like?

mason

Posted: Oct 03, 2007 07:53 PM

You could send photos to my email masonknowles@aol.com But I am not sure the photos would help me with identification.

Gerry Wagoner

Posted: Oct 04, 2007 09:39 PM

Could be the old urea formaldehyde foam. That's been off the market for over 30-years.

oG

mason

Posted: Oct 05, 2007 01:53 PM

Olger,

I looked at the photos that were sent and it looks like a low density, open cell polyurethane foam that was sold in the 70s. It has the same color and texture of those systems. The urea formaldehyde foam was white. This is yellow and looks like our regular open cell foam. I installed a few projects with it in the mid 70s. It was a froth type foam and if you got it A rich, it would be very friable. I think that is what he has in the building. There should be no lingering health hazards with that foam.

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