I insisted on spray foam insulation against my builder's advice, turns out they were right all along

We were building our house outside Nashville and I pushed hard for closed cell spray foam because I thought it was the best, but the builder warned me about trapping moisture in the wall cavities. After 6 months the attic started sweating and the roof decking showed early rot signs, so we had to rip it all out and switch to open cell. Anyone else had a builder steer you away from something that seemed better on paper?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamesfox9d ago

Builder was looking out for you. That moisture issue is no joke in the south.

emery199d ago

People keep talking about moisture like it's the only thing that matters, but @jamesfox says the builder was looking out for you. I think the REAL angle nobody is talking about is how the builder probably saved you from a HUGE insurance headache down the road. A lot of policies down here won't even cover mold damage if they find out you didn't have proper ventilation from the start. That builder could've just slapped up the drywall and moved on, but they made sure your house was actually livable long term. Maybe they cost you some extra money now, but that's NOTHING compared to what a full remediation would run you later.