Home Insulation Can Be a Treat – or a Trick. Not Choosing Wisely Can Cause Scary Results

Here on the eve of Halloween, I thought I’d talk about something that certainly sends a chill up my spine. Just last week, I appeared on CBC’s Marketplace to talk about how to safeguard against problems caused by unscrupulous and careless sprayfoam insulation installers. To be clear, I wasn’t the one wearing a ghoul costume, I was on the show as a kind of superhero or Jedi knight: that is to say someone who could share how installation is installed properly.

I also spoke about – as I have done on this blog before – some of the exaggerated claims made about how “green” some “soy-based” sprayfoam insulations are.

As a longtime advocate of the beneficial properties of (properly installed) sprayfoam insulation, the theme of the show had me concerned. But when the CBC assured me that the investigative story would detail that these kinds of cases are actually rare, and would provide advice for consumers to use to protect themselves from improper installation by creepy contractors… well… how could I say no to that!

Now, on the eve of that night of the year when nothing is as it appears, I thought it would be appropriate to shed light on the truth of the matter: that sprayfoam installation is a great economical, ecological choice for home insulation. But this time, I thought I’d let some customers tell their tales.

“We are in the process of renovating our home, the upstairs has the pitched cottage roof and it is presenting challenges. At the London home show we asked several vendors for advise and decided that sprayfoam insulation was the way to go. The guys arrived, and within hours our home was sealed air tight. No more worries about mold or mice! I would highly recommend Insta-Insulation as a preferred company. Their sales staff and technicians are awesome!” ~ Debra, Chatham-Kent

“Recently, I called Insta-Insulation to sprayfoam my skylights from the attic side as the insulation I had put on was not done up to code. Watching Mike Holmes every morning, I learned that these people are trustworthy and know their job very well. At first I taught that the price was a bit too high for me, but after considering all the benefits and savings it was all worth it. They even cleaned up everything before they left.” ~ Max, Markham

“We wanted to install better insulation in our attic space so we got a few quotes from various contractors. The estimator from Insta-Insulation gave us straight-forward advice and did not try to oversell us on additional insulation that was not required. The quote was very fair. Installation was professionally done. They worked quickly and cleaned up afterwards. I’m extremely pleased with the result and would use them again in the future.” ~ Lorne from Hamilton

“Insta-Insulation was a pleasure to deal with from initial contact right through to the end of the job. They answered all my questions from the booking date until the crew arrived to do the job. All my possessions were covered, the work commenced and 2 hours later I was shown the product installed. I was amazed even though I had seen the work done on shows like Holmes on Homes. With no furnace on, the basement was already warmer than it previously was. My basement is a new world for me, free from cold and a new location for my home office. The product is amazing and I have gone from using 3 heat vents and a sweater to one vent and a T-shirt. I sincerely believe I got more than my money’s worth and wish I had used Insta a long time ago. Just a beautiful result.” Mike, Old Toronto

While it’s always a pleasure to hear from satisfied customers, I am not sharing these testimonials to show off. I want people to understand from firsthand accounts that sprayfoam insulation is a fantastic product that eliminates drafts, drastically reduces moisture in the envelope to prevent mould, cuts people’s energy costs as much a 50%, and increases the re-sale value of your home.

But, as is always the case in any business, there are contractors out there who mis-represent product benefits and performance, do not acquire the proper supports and training for their staff, and who will cut corners on product, process, and equipment.

Halloween isn’t the only time it can be difficult to separate friend from fiend. So, thanks to the CBC for bringing this issue to light.

The episode, which airs on Friday at 8:00 PM (8:30 PM in Newfoundland and Labrador) is called Rennovation Horror Story and it covers a family that got caught up in a nightmare with a shoddy, improper sprayfoam insulation job.

As always, an Insta-Insulation representative is available to answer any questions you may have about sprayfoam or other types of insulation.