How Much Does Spray Foam Insulation Cost?

How Much Does Spray Foam Insulation Cost in North Carolina and South Carolina?

If you have been keeping up with our Energy Saving Home Improvements blog then you already have a lot of information to make an informative decision on whether or not spray foam insulation is a product for your home.  The only other factor now is how much does spray foam insulation cost?  What we intend to do in this blog post, is educate a potential spray foam insulation buyer, on how an estimate is calculated for installing spray foam insulation in a home or business.  Although prices will be generalized, as cost of material vary from month to month.  The main factor for this variable is the fluctuation of gas prices, and the overall weight of raw materials to make spray foam insulation.  Each barrel weighs 500 lbs, and it takes 2-500 lb. barrels to do the average home in North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia.  Spray Foam Insulation is a fuel dependent industry, as spray foam insulation equipment is generally run off a diesel generator, and requires the use of fuel to make and install quality spray foam insulation.  Even with the fluctuation of gas prices, we can give you a general idea of what spray foam insulation will cost, on average, to install in a home or business in North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia. 

 

How Homes and Businesses are measured for Spray Foam Insulation Estimates

 

Raw Materials for Spray Foam as said above are sold in 50 gallon barrels, with a Part A and a Part B, each part costing the same amount.  When chemical manufacturers sell to spray foam insulation installers, they give a board foot amount of coverage, that one set of 2 barrels will do.  Most homeowners do not know how board feet is calculated, nor what the coverage area 1 board foot would equal in their home, so we want to first explain how board feet is calculated, and then converted to a square foot measurement:

1. Measure the width (W) and thickness (T) of the the area in inches.
2. Measure the length (L) of the area in inches and divide it by 12.
3. Solve the following equation to calculate board feet: (W x T) x (L ÷ 12) = board feet.
4. Divide the number of board feet by the thickness of the board. This will give you the square footage of the area going to be sprayed.

This is how spray foam insulation contractors determine how much raw material is going to be needed to cover the square footage that is going to be sprayed with spray foam.  Once they have calculated the raw materials needed to spray foam the area requested to be estimated by the homeowner, they can give the homeowner a price of material needed to cover that area.  As stated before, prices of raw material change frequently due to the variable cost associated with producing and transporting the raw material.  This is important to homeowners because this is the cost that is going to be eligible for tax credits. 

Now that we have the square footage price of materials, we will then add in the labor cost associated with installing the spray foam insulation.  Though figured as a fixed cost for most insulation contractors, labor rates vary from contractor to contractor.  This is really the most important factor homeowners need to concerned with, as it is normally the deciding factor on which contractor the homeowner is going to hire.  Normally an experienced spray foam insulation contractor is going to cost a homeowner less money to install spray foam insulation, given they understand the building envelope better.  An experienced spray foam insulation has also seen more homes & buildings, and will be able to find the best building envelope for the homeowner that is going to maximize energy efficiency of the home.

Once you have material cost, and labor cost, the only factor left to calculate is profit & overhead which most contractors include in the same line item on a estimate.  Here again, a more experienced contractor is going to be more affordable because they generally have proved to insurance companies that they are a safe & worthy contractor, and also have lower operating cost because there equipment is probably already paid for, thus reducing cost to homeowners.  Profit rates vary from contractor to contractor, however there gonna be in line with competition in most markets.  Homeowners need to understand that a company needs to make a profit or else they wouldn't be in business, so don't panic if you see this line on an estimate.  Contractors including this line is actually a good sign, because they are being up front and honest with homeowners, indicating that they're giving the homeowner a fair price and also going to deliver a quality install. 



Retro-Solutions Construction Company Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 706-951-0158 http://www.scroofingcontractors.com
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