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Spray foam on stone foundations Post New Topic | Post Reply
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Edward Brassington
Posted: Jan 21, 2010 09:58 PM
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Spray foam on stone foundations
I am located in Ontario, Canada, recently I have come across some opposition to installing closed cell spray foam to the interior side of stone or rubble foundation walls. This is coming from residential home inspectors and a few homeowners.The concerns being raised are that moisture will enter the stone foundation from the exterior, become trapped behind the foam and cause the mortar to decay or crumble. Also, they claim that this trapped moisture may migrate vertically in the wall and cause moisture damage or paint failure to the walls above the foundation. My thoughts are that most moisture in a basement is caused by condensation on the inside of the basement, properly applied spray foam certainly helps to dry out a basement and prevent condensation forming. Perhaps this issue has been raised because spray foam was applied to walls that were already crumbling rather than causing crumbling of the walls after the fact. Do you know of any research that has been done to determine potential "damage" to stone foundations after closed cell spray foam has been applied. |
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mason
Posted: Jan 22, 2010 02:30 PM
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I am not aware of any research specifically on stone foundations. But, the main way to address potential water absorption in foundation walls from the exterior is to: 1. Damp or waterproof the exterior walls 2. Provide a drainage tile system at the base of the foundation. If these have been performed the sprayfoam will not cause a problem. (presuming the foam is installed in the correct areas and and the space's ventilation is addressed suitable to the system and conditions.) If they have not, then the crawl space or basement walls and floor have a strong potential for water saturation. There are a few good articles on the topic that I will be happy to share. contact me at masonknowles@aol.com |
