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InsulStar® Plus Spray Adhesive Foam Insulation

InsulStar® Plus is a spray adhesive foam insulation that is applied to the underside of your roof sheathing and joists by specially trained technicians.

This patented and proven technology has many benefits over blown-in and batt fiber insulation products. But more importantly, InsulStar® Plus will give your roof two to three times the wind uplift resistance of plywood or OSB roof sheathing nailed to rafters or trusses per the most stringent building code requirements. InsulStar® Plus adhesive foam insulation can:

• save lives during a major hurricane by preventing wind uplift of the roof structure.
• cut your home energy use by a minimum of 25 percent, even if you already have blown-in or fiberglass batt attic insulation.
• reduce your homeowners insurance premiums by as much as 40 to 60 percent.

Lower homeowners insurance cost

As of September 2008, InsulStar® Plus was the only adhesive foam insulation product approved by the State of Florida for roof deck to truss adhesion and as a secondary water barrier (Product Approval No. 9975). This product approval qualifies homes with InsulStar® Plus applied to the underside of the roof decking for substantial hurricane loss mitigation discounts on homeowners insurance coverage. These discounts are mandated by Florida law (Florida Statute 627.711). Premium reductions of 50 percent after installation of InsulStar® Plus are not unusual.

Better roof protection

Research conducted at the University of Florida, Clemson University and the University of Western Ontario has shown that closed-cell spray foam insulation applied to the underside of roof decking bonds the sheathing to the framing and significantly increases wind uplift resistance.

The increased wind uplift resistance added by closed-cell spray foam insulation during tests was, on average, about the same as that obtainable by doubling the number of nails required by Florida coastal building codes.

Note: InsulStar® Plus is formulated with a special adhesive to increase its bonding ability, compared to the conventional closed cell foam insulations studied by researchers.

However, roof installers may not always drive the number of roof nails required by building codes, or they may not space the nails consistently, in accordance with code requirements, or some nails may miss the underlying roof framing. Roof construction defects like these can be extremely difficult to detect. InsulStar® Plus can dramatically improve the structural integrity of substandard roof construction.

Lower energy costs

There are three big reasons why InsulStar® Plus provides superior energy cost savings over blown-in and batt fiber insulation products:

Cooler attic. Because spray foam insulation is applied to the underside of the roof decking, heat transmission is blocked at the roof surface. Blown-in and batt fiber insulation products rest on the ceiling deck, allowing the attic to heat up. It is not unusual for an attic with InsulStar® Plus to be 40 to 50 degrees cooler than an attic with blown-in or batt fiber insulation on a hot summer day.

A hot attic can have a major impact on home energy use when the air conditioning ducts and air handler are located in the attic space, and a hot attic will continue to radiate heat into a home's living spaces long after sunset.

Real-world versus published R-values. R-value is a measure of a material's resistance to heat transmission. Unfortunately, blown-in and batt fiber insulation products sag and settle after installation, so much so that in tests by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, fiber insulation products in actual use often performed at as little as half their advertised R-values. InsulStar® Plus expands upon application and cures into a rigid barrier, so it will retain its design heat transfer resistance indefinitely.

Air infiltration. Air movement within your attic causes convective heat transfer. Convection can account for 80 percent of the heat transfer through an attic space, so stopping convection can substantially reduce energy costs. Blown-in and batt fiber insulations only slow convection: As temperatures increase during the summer or fall during the winter, convection currents increase and fiber products lose most of their effectiveness. However, InsulStar® Plus is a closed cell material with no air gaps for convection air currents to flow through.

In addition to its closed cell structure, InsulStar® Plus expands when spray-applied as a foam. This allows the insulation to fill every crack, hole or other gap in your roof structure, further blocking potential air current pathways. Research shows that as little as a quarter-inch of a foam insulation like InsulStar® Plus will stop almost all convective heat transfer through a building surface.

Better moisture control

Stopping convection also improves moisture control. Moisture within a building structure is transmitted by convection. This moisture can condense and form dew within the air pockets of a fiber insulation. Over time, this process destroys the insulation and reduces its effectiveness. Given enough time, a fiber insulation will begin to rot and mold can form.
InsulStar® Plus is a closed cell material, so it substantially eliminates air currents and accompanying problems such as moisture and mold. Incidentally, InsulStar® Plus is formulated with an anti-microbial ingredient to inhibit the growth of molds within the product.

Other benefits

InsulStar® Plus high performance spray foam insulation will protect your family and your home during severe weather, save you money on your energy bills and make your home healthier and more comfortable.

Other InsulStar® Plus adhesive foam insulation benefits include:

• Improves indoor air quality by keeping out dust and pollutants.
• Reduces your carbon footprint by cutting your energy consumption.
  Promotes more consistent temperatures from room to room and reduces indoor drafts.
• Airtight insulated roof barrier reduces sound transmission and makes your home quieter.
• Will deliver its original performance for as long as you own your home because it will not settle, shrink, compress or sag like blown-in or fiberglass batt insulation.
• Spray foam insulation technology has a 35-year track record of proven performance.
• Contains up to 20 percent renewable agricultural products from sugar cane, sugar beets and corn.
• If you need to use your attic space for storage or for any other reason, InsulStar® Plus will not irritate your skin like fiberglass insulation.
• Odorless and non-toxic
• Contains no ozone-depleting chemicals

Take the next step.

InsulStar® Plus is the most energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, closed-cell spray-in-place polyurethane insulation system available. It uses renewable agricultural resources and is completely non-toxic. You can save a minimum of 25 percent on your energy costs compared to other common insulation products. It stops air leakage into and out of your home, reduces noise and blocks dust, pollen and other airborne pollutants for a more comfortable environment.

But most important, InsulStar® Plus can save your home and protect your family during severe weather. And its proven roof-strengthening characteristics will earn you a substantial state-mandated reduction in your homeowners insurance premiums. Our experience suggests that savings on homeowners insurance alone can pay for InsulStar® Plus wind uplift protection in as little as three years.