The table below gives and idea of the relative cost of various kinds of
insulation.
Except as noted, these are costs for a DIY installation -- materials only.
Exceptions are for some types of insulation at are only available professionally
installed like some forms of closed cell foam. Most of the prices were
looked up in July, 2011. Some of the types of insulation were hard to find
any good price (or even R value) data on -- if you see any errors or missing
data you can fill in, please let me know.
If you have more or better data, please let me know.
| Type |
R per inch thickness |
Cents per sqft of R1 |
|
| Loose Fill |
|
|
|
| Loose fill Cellulose
(attic) |
3.1 |
1.2 |
Home Depot GreenFiber ($7.60 bag covers 21.7 sf at R30)
(1) |
| Dense pack Cellulose |
3.7 ? |
3 ? |
for density 3.5 lb/cf , 19 lb bag gives 5.44cf,
or 65.3sf at R3.7 for 3.1cents/sfR1 (2) |
| Damp Spray Cellulose |
3.7 ? |
1.8 |
For density 2 lb/cf, 19 bag gives 9.5cf or 114
sf at R3.7 for 1.8 cents/sfR1at $7.60/bag |
| Loose fill Fiberglass
(attic) |
2.2 |
1.5 |
Home Depot Owens Atticat $29.97, 65 sf at R30
(3) |
| Batts |
|
|
|
| Fiberglass batts |
3.0 |
2.1 |
Lowes -- average of several sizes (varied from
1.6 to 2.9 cents/sf@R1) |
| Cotton "bluejean"
insulation |
3.7 |
7 (?) |
Unable to find price -- value is from 2nd hand
estimate -- let me know if you have a good cost |
| Rock Wool - Roxul |
4.1 |
4.4 |
Lowes 8 pack 15 by 47 R23 at $40.33 |
| |
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|
| Rigid Foam Boards |
|
|
|
| Polystyrene EPS "beadboard" |
4 |
7.8 |
Home Depot 1.5 inch by 4 by 8, R5.9, $14.86 |
| Polystyrene XPS (pink&blue) |
5 |
10.4 |
Home Depot Owens 1 inch 4 by 8, R5, $16.70 |
| Polyisocyanurate |
6.5 |
7.4 |
Home Depot Dow Tuff-R 1 inch 4 by 8, R6.5,
$15.25 (4) |
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| Foams |
|
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|
| Polyurethane closed cell
|
6.5 |
10? |
eg Corebond -- professionally applied only --
cost based on "3 to 4 times fiberglass" |
| Polyurethane closed cell
DIY kits |
6.5 |
25 |
This is for the big kits that come as two large
bottles -- example... |
| Icyneene open cell |
3.6 |
5.3 (?) |
Based on this
online Icyneene calculator... (probably optimistic?) |
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| "Great Stuff" in cans |
6 |
12 |
Based on Scott's 27 cf trench filled with 48
16oz cans of Big Gap filler |
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| Construction
Materials |
|
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| Wood |
1.25 |
|
|
| plywood |
1.25 |
|
Half inch plywood is R0.63 |
| Rastra |
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| Strawbales |
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| Other |
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| Vacuum Panels |
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| Aero Gel |
|
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| Window dbl glz low e
(U=0.31) |
3.2 * |
|
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| Reflective layer (heat xfr
down) |
|
|
Reflective layers MUST face and air gap |
| Reflective Layer (heat xfr
up) |
|
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| Reflective Layer (heat xfr
side) |
|
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| Inside air film |
0.65 |
0? |
Varies with thickness of air film, but not a
lot. |
| Outside air film |
0.17 |
|
With wind |
| Airspaces in walls etc |
1 * |
|
About R1 for each space of thickness 0.5 inch to
4 inch |
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| Insulating Paint |
0 |
|
Insulating paint is a scam -- go to
GreenBuildingAdvisor.com and search. |
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1 - The cost calc is based on the GreenFiber table, which appears to assume
an R value of 3.5 per inch, which is higher than most places list for loose
cellulose -- so actual cost for a given R value may be higher -- this fudging of
R values is similar to what OC does for loose fill FG, but not quite as much.
2 - Dense pack cellulose is installed at high density to prevent settling and
to reduce air infiltration -- the 3.5 lb/cf is a bit beyond optimal density.
3- The cost calc is based on the Owens Corning table, which appears to assume
an R value of 3 per inch, which is higher than most places list for loose FG --
so actual cost for a given R value may be higher.
4 - This is puzzling that polyiso turns out less expensive than XPS
polystyrene -- I may just have hit a better than average price for the polyiso
on HD.
