Joe Stockdale Receives ICAA Key Man Award For His Work in Spray Foam Stewardship

ORLANDO, FL – September 22, 2011 – The ICAA Trade Show and Conference was held last week at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in Orlando, Florida. Several hundred attendees ranging from insulation suppliers, contractors, trade associations, and government officials were on hand to attend the three-day event.

During the opening event’s several great presentations were made that focused on the many benefits and issues surrounding spray foam insulation, more energy efficient building practices, and overall safety among all the insulation trades and market segments.

Of particular note was the ICAA’s 2010 Key Man Award, which was presented to Bayer MaterialScience’s Joe Stockdale for his significant efforts with the group‘s spray foam stewardship and safety programs. Joe’s work resulted in several new guidance documents by ICAA used for SPF application, worker, and jobsite safety.

Steve Easley, building science professional and building show TV star, delivered the keynote address. His presentation focused on attic retrofits using a variety of proven techniques and insulating materials. Easley discussed many techniques for attic insulation and improved building sciences have proven to deliver drastic energy reduction and utility savings.

Nearly every retrofit option included the use of spray foam insulation either in the “old-school” traditional vented attics, or the newly popular and proven unvented attic, made entirely possible by spray foam and code advancements. One such method to help reduce energy costs in a traditional vented attic was to “foam the cap” and completely remove old batt and loose fill insulation on the floor and replace it with spray foam for improved r-value and air sealing benefits.

The most energy efficient system these days is the completely sealed “unvented attic” assembly. Easley discussed this method as well, where are spray foam is used to insulate and completely seal the gable walls, underside of the roof, soffit areas and any other area where and moisture can enter or escape.

Easley was adamant about the need for ventilation in a home, and used the term “Build it Tight – Ventilate Right.” He cited the need to eliminate accidental ventilation that relies solely on the driving forces of outside weather and replace with mechanical, filtered and conditioned systems for the utmost control and savings.

Rick Duncan, Technical Director of the SPFA, also presented a paper on the use of spray foam insulation in unvented attics. Rick highlighted many of the new building code changes that are positive to this building science and when and how to apply proper thermal and ignition barriers.

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