Spray Foam Insulation in Beech Grove, IN

Spray foam insulation in Beech Grove mostly means older homes. Wikipedia says the city was incorporated in late 1906, and the Big Four railroad's Beech Grove Shops were completed in 1908, which started its growth. The population went from 568 in 1910 to 3,552 in 1930, 5,612 in 1950 and 10,973 in 1960, then has stayed near 14,000 to 15,000 since 1970. The last annexation came in 1969, just before Unigov, so the city's boundaries and much of its housing stock have been fixed for more than fifty years.

Two kinds of older houses

Homes from the 1910s through the 1930s, built for shop workers and their families, often have balloon framing, plaster walls and basements or crawl spaces under part of the house. The 1950s homes from the second growth wave are usually ranches and small two-stories with crawl spaces or partial basements. Both tend to have thin attic insulation and open rim joists.

Basement and crawl space combinations

Many older Beech Grove homes have a basement under part of the house and a crawl space under an addition or porch enclosure. The rim joist runs continuously through both. Sealing the whole rim line with closed-cell foam and closing up the crawl space usually does more for comfort than any single upstairs fix.

Low spots and creeks

Wikipedia lists Beech Grove's elevation ranging from 766 feet where Beech Creek crosses South 9th Avenue to 845 feet near the Amtrak property, with Beech Creek, McFarland Creek, Pullman Creek and Victory Run all draining to Lick Creek. Homes on the lower ground are more likely to have damp basements or crawl spaces. We check for water before recommending insulation below grade.

Stable, settled housing

The 2010 census counted 6,479 housing units, almost the same as the 6,506 counted in 2000. With so little new construction, most improvements here come from fixing up existing homes, and insulation is one of the most practical upgrades for a house that has been standing for 70 to 110 years.

Porches and additions

Many Beech Grove homes have had a porch enclosed or a room added on, often over a crawl space or slab with little insulation. Those rooms are usually the coldest in the house. We look at what is under and above them and seal the joint where the addition meets the original house, which is a common air leak.

Balloon framing

In balloon-framed houses, the wall studs run from the sill to the roof with nothing to stop air rising inside the walls. Foam at the top plates in the attic and at the sill in the basement blocks that flow at both ends.

Attic upgrades

The Department of Energy recommends adding R-49 to an attic in Climate Zone 5 that has 3 to 4 inches of insulation. Marion County is in Zone 5A, per OpenEI. In many Beech Grove attics that means sealing the floor and blowing in a deep new layer. Get a free estimate