# R Tech Foam Insulation



## House Designer (Oct 4, 2019)

2" of R-tech will add R-7.7 to your window assembly, which is substantial. I would use a nice straight 2x4 as a straightedge and cut the foam straight and square using a skil saw (hand circular saw).
The foam will not work properly if there are any gaps at all between the foam and the window frame. I suggest using sponge tape (weatherstrip foam tape) along all edges of the foam insert to assure complete sealing against air infiltration. That also makes it easy to remove the foam panels in the summer.


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## House Designer (Oct 4, 2019)

Well, after further thought, my original idea to cut the foam with a Skil saw is messy and dusty, and may be impractical to get the precise fit you are seeking. Here's another, maybe better suggestion:
I was fitting 2" thick foam panels between studs to insulate a steam shower several years ago. I used a brand new razor knife (the disposable kind with snap off blades) to score the foam panels several times until I cut all the way through them. Use a long 6' metal level as a straightedge to guide the knife. Cut the panels purposely 1/4" short all the way around. When installing the panels, stuff 1/2" thick folded foam rubber sheet into the gap using a plastic drywall knife to shove it in. The folded foam rubber will seal up the gaps and prevent air leaks.


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## Zipperje (Sep 15, 2020)

BOSCH T313AW3 3-Piece 6 In. Knife Edge Special for Soft Materials T-Shank Jig Saw Blades - Jig Saw Blades - Amazon.com 

These blades in a jigsaw work great for cutting foam. They can wander so go slow and use a straightedge.


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## dtech (Jul 18, 2020)

House Designer said:


> Well, after further thought, my original idea to cut the foam with a Skil saw is messy and dusty, and may be impractical to get the precise fit you are seeking. Here's another, maybe better suggestion:
> I was fitting 2" thick foam panels between studs to insulate a steam shower several years ago. I used a brand new razor knife (the disposable kind with snap off blades) to score the foam panels several times until I cut all the way through them. Use a long 6' metal level as a straightedge to guide the knife. Cut the panels purposely 1/4" short all the way around. When installing the panels, stuff 1/2" thick folded foam rubber sheet into the gap using a plastic drywall knife to shove it in. The folded foam rubber will seal up the gaps and prevent air leaks.


Great info , much appreciated. Once done with installing this foam I will next turn my attention to the biggest energy loss, that of the large expanse of glass above, I'm thinking of insulating and covering the 4 triangular windows at the corners, and doing the same for the upper 3rd of the windows at the peak, hoping this gets my heating bills more reasonable without making it look unattractive, open to any additional comments/suggestions regards this plan,

thanks


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

i would make some framed panels to go up there. though, those would be kind of tough(heavy/awkward) to install/remove. then storage, shed. and the scaffold to deal with them.


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## dtech (Jul 18, 2020)

Fix'n it said:


> i would make some framed panels to go up there. though, those would be kind of tough(heavy/awkward) to install/remove. then storage, shed. and the scaffold to deal with them.


thanks - but for the upper windows I'm considering insulating and blocking them permanently, would hire a contractor to make sure the result looks ok. I have a great view of the San Juan mtn range but it's mostly through the lower double glass doors, the upper glass provides light but at what I suspect to be a large energy loss which I am determined to reduce.


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

i think you would damage resale by eliminating those windows. 

panels for all but the 2 middle(upper) wouldn't be terrible to deal with. same for the 2 end lowers, and the 2 door. the 2 moving doors = get insulated replacements and swap them spring & fall. so, you would end up with only 2 smaller windows, in the doors.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Fix'n it said:


> i think you would damage resale by eliminating those windows.
> 
> panels for all but the 2 middle(upper) wouldn't be terrible to deal with. same for the 2 end lowers, and the 2 door. the 2 moving doors = get insulated replacements and swap them spring & fall. so, you would end up with only 2 smaller windows, in the doors.


So he would be setting up scaffolding 2 times a year?


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

Nealtw said:


> So he would be setting up scaffolding 2 times a year?


oh the problems of living in paradise


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## House Designer (Oct 4, 2019)

dtech said:


> thanks - but for the upper windows I'm considering insulating and blocking them permanently, would hire a contractor to make sure the result looks ok. I have a great view of the San Juan mtn range but it's mostly through the lower double glass doors, the upper glass provides light but at what I suspect to be a large energy loss which I am determined to reduce.


I agree with Fix'n It, those upper windows are a real selling feature of the home. If you are determined to insulate them, I would do it such that it can be reversed someday. i.e. Fitted foam panels, painted with latex to match your wall paint.


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## dtech (Jul 18, 2020)

Fix'n it said:


> i think you would damage resale by eliminating those windows.
> 
> panels for all but the 2 middle(upper) wouldn't be terrible to deal with. same for the 2 end lowers, and the 2 door. the 2 moving doors = get insulated replacements and swap them spring & fall. so, you would end up with only 2 smaller windows, in the doors.


All of the comments are welcome, as far as the double doors I was thinking of adding thermal curtains to insulate them at nighttime, but the idea of insulated replacement is a new one - would this entail removing the doors each winter and replacing with insulated/non glass doors ? that sounds complicated/costly.

As far as damaging resale somewhat less of a concern unless blocking those windows doesn't come out well as far as matching the existing room, but there are numerous homes where I reside (Pagosa Springs, CO) that have far more north facing glass and apparently the heating costs aren't much of a concern, but some of these people are far wealthier than I . Appreciate that no one has mentioned - "why did you buy this home" , that's a moot point now and I'm just trying to make some prudent decisions on how to make it more energy efficient, I realized heating 20' vaulted ceilings would be expensive but my Nov energy bill was a bit more than expected.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

House Designer said:


> I agree with Fix'n It, those upper windows are a real selling feature of the home. If you are determined to insulate them, I would do it such that it can be reversed someday. i.e. Fitted foam panels, painted with latex to match your wall paint.


If they are 2x6 walls, just cover the windows with 1" white foam board and fill in the space with 2x4 studs insulate and finish. So in the future they could be removed.


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## dtech (Jul 18, 2020)

House Designer said:


> I agree with Fix'n It, those upper windows are a real selling feature of the home. If you are determined to insulate them, I would do it such that it can be reversed someday. i.e. Fitted foam panels, painted with latex to match your wall paint.


have you seen that done to a home and look reasonably good ?


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## House Designer (Oct 4, 2019)

Never seen it, but if done properly, you wouldn't notice it. Paint both sides of the foam, since you will see it from outside also.
Are you sure that the windows are the primary energy culprit?
Why don't you offer up your furnace situation: type of furnace, energy efficient rating, cost of electricity per kW if you are heating electrically, amount of insulation in walls and ceiling. Monthly cost to heat. Temperature setting on thermostat.


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## dtech (Jul 18, 2020)

dtech said:


> have you seen that done to a home and look reasonably good ?





House Designer said:


> I agree with Fix'n It, those upper windows are a real selling feature of the home. If you are determined to insulate them, I would do it such that it can be reversed someday. i.e. Fitted foam panels, painted with latex to match your wall paint.


yeah they helped sell me on the house - in June when I bought it, lol, now come colder weather it's a different story. Tough finding decent property given the current market conditions, figured I could buy the house and do some things to it to make it more energy efficient, it has a Lennox 92% efficient furnace but there is a lot of higher up space to heat.


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## dtech (Jul 18, 2020)

House Designer said:


> Never seen it, but if done properly, you wouldn't notice it. Paint both sides of the foam, since you will see it from outside also.
> Are you sure that the windows are the primary energy culprit?
> Why don't you offer up your furnace situation: type of furnace, energy efficient rating, cost of electricity per kW if you are heating electrically, amount of insulation in walls and ceiling. Monthly cost to heat. Temperature setting on thermostat.


there is 6" of foam - the preferred type, can't recall the name of it but it's rigid, furnace is gas high efficieny (92%) Lennox, keeping the house at 65 degrees resulted in a $180 nov heating bill and it was much above average temps in Nov, thermostat is turned down to 59 degrees at night. I moved from a smaller house where my combined gas/electric bill was under $1,500 annually, but that house had southern exposure. Knew energy bills would be higher but want to keep them as reasonable as possible. thanks


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## House Designer (Oct 4, 2019)

dtech said:


> yeah they helped sell me on the house - in June when I bought it, lol, now come colder weather it's a different story. Tough finding decent property given the current market conditions, figured I could buy the house and do some things to it to make it more energy efficient, it has a Lennox 92% efficient furnace but there is a lot of higher up space to heat.


A ceiling fan running in reverse would bring that trapped heat down to help equalize the temperature gradient in the home. $250 - 300 per month would not be unexpected as a max. monthly winter heat bill in your climate, would it?


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## dtech (Jul 18, 2020)

Nealtw said:


> If they are 2x6 walls, just cover the windows with 1" white foam board and fill in the space with 2x4 studs insulate and finish. So in the future they could be removed.


there is room in the window areas to that - both on the inside and the outside. assume best to do it on the inside ?


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

dtech said:


> there is room in the window areas to that - both on the inside and the outside. assume best to do it on the inside ?


We did one on the inside, they wanted a faux stone wall where the window was.


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## dtech (Jul 18, 2020)

House Designer said:


> A ceiling fan running in reverse would bring that trapped heat down to help equalize the temperature gradient in the home. $250 - 300 per month would not be unexpected as a max. monthly winter heat bill in your climate, would it?


yes - I am looking into installing a large blade ceiling fan, expect that cost may be somewhere in the neighborhood of $1k , the ceiling has recessed lighting, around 15 fixtures with incandescent 150w bulbs that I would replace with leds and by doing so hopefully not have to run a new electrical line. and you are correct regards the typical heating costs for my size home but I do want to reduce the thermal losses if it can be done cost effectively, in the summer AC isn't needed so that is a good thing.


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## geenowalker (Aug 19, 2013)

not cheap....but you will kill resale by removing/covering the windows.





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## dtech (Jul 18, 2020)

geenowalker said:


> not cheap....but you will kill resale by removing/covering the windows.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


thanks but the cost of doing that would be astronomical - tearing out the old widows which are double pane and reasonably thick but not low e , then installing the new glass, likely > $10k.


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## geenowalker (Aug 19, 2013)

dtech said:


> thanks but the cost of doing that would be astronomical - tearing out the old widows which are double pane and reasonably thick but not low e , then installing the new glass, likely > $10k.


I dont know. Did a quick calc on the website and a 36" x 36" triangle was listed as < $300. I wouldn't tear out the old old. I would install these on the inside in conjunction with the current windows. Full disclosure...I dont know anything about this more than a quick suggestion. Have zero knowledge of this company or their product (if you were wondering if I was selling you).


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

adding another pane over what is there = i see condensation building up = pita to clean. unless its vented, then you lose performance


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## House Designer (Oct 4, 2019)

I have a neighbor here in Ohio with a large 2-1/2 story 20-year old house (walkout basement + two floors.) It uses three heat pumps with resistance backup heat. He spends around $800 per month to heat that house during the coldest months. No natural gas is available in our neighborhood.
My house heats with a single 5-ton geothermal heat pump with three zones. New build 5 years ago, similar size house. House has 45 windows, some of them twin units. My max. electric bill for the coldest month ever has been $300. Thermostat is set to a constant 74 degrees.
My point is: It's not just the number and size of windows that affect my (or your) heating bill. It is also the R-45 attic insulation, 2x6 walls, 1" of spray-foam + insulation batts in the walls, external R-4 insulation board, and the efficiency of the chosen heating system that determines my cost to heat.
My other point is: You COULD be spending a whole lot more than $300 per month to heat, so count your blessings.


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## dtech (Jul 18, 2020)

Thanks to all who responded, yesterday I installed 2" foam board on the 4 lower windows - these measuring 66" x 45" , so thermal losses have been reduced there, as an fyi used a fishing filet knife to slice the foam board and it worked well. Next planned steps are to cover/insulate, perhaps only partially the triangular upper windows and also look into installing a large ceiling fan. This house admittedly wasn't an ideal buy for someone such as I who in the past enjoyed very low utility bills, but we do like the spacious feeling of the 25' vaulted ceilings and the awesome view of the mountains to the north , though already looking forward to the warmer spring/summer weather !


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