Foam; OuR(-Value's) Best Friend

/

We had a very exciting week on the Hillside Site at the end of 2017. As some were receiving gifts and welcoming family into their homes, our crew offloaded the first large delivery of foam! It sounds like something to take lightly...not here! While in fact, they were not heavy at all, we greeted those rectangular foam blocks with joy and thought deeply about making a giant Jenga tower.   

So, what are we doing with all of this foam? If you can believe it, foam has been one of the most focused on details in the Hillside design office. Being mostly air, foam is a superb insulator. Heating and cooling are responsible for roughly 44% of all home energy usage, so having the best possible insulation can make a huge difference in energy savings. Over the years of Hillside design work, the options of insulation materials moved from creative things like recycled blue jeans and sheep wool to EPS foam for one reason. We are using the foam pieces as templates for our wall system. The walls are being constructed on a horizontal table. They will have everything in place, from the exterior siding to the windows and electrical conduits - very far away from typical stick-frame buildings. We are working with a foam company out of Pittsburg called Opco that will precut the foam variations to template each wall. The pieces will have a code to identify where they will fit in onsite. Below is an example of the gable section with cutouts that will be filled with rebar and concrete. 

The pieces delivered and shown below are foundation insulation for Cottage Court units being unloaded from the delivery truck. The foam serves as the form for the concrete, but unlike most forms, it stays in place after the concrete cures and lightly bonds with the EPS foam - further insulating the building envelope. 

Here are some fun facts about the foam: 

  • Wall foam pieces will be roughly 1ft thick. 

  • Foam density is 1.25 lbs per sq/ft.

  • The foam R-value is 4.2/inch, totaling approximately R-50. 

  • EPS = Expanded Polystyrene.

  • This foam was used in the new Whittier Bridge construction in the footings.