JDMCQ's Garage

Well I don't know what in the hell those people were thinking but I can see several problems caused by the application and construction. EPS needs to have a semi permeable vapor barrier and we actually caution people not to use anything like what they did there. I'm thinking that the reason the foam shrunk in that instance was because they used that plastic barrier. The moisture had nowhere else to go except back into the foam (EPS is expanded using steam) and the added moisture weakened the foam and caused rot. In a proper installation that would not happen. Therefore the shrinkage was due to improper installation and not a fault of the product itself. We have done extensive testing to show that EPS does not shrink (and we have real world test results and lab controlled test results) and does not lose its R value. Poly iso and XPS are both more likely to have poor performance over time and will lose r value. EPS also has more code recognition than XPS because of proven performance.

 

Stop that

No. Styrofoam is a brand of EPS. EPS is EPS. And EPS is my source of income currently so it is personal. I deal with misinformed people all the time. One bad experience because a contractor didn't know what in the hell he was doing, put the building together outside of our recommendations and suddenly the product is crap? No. Shoddy work was the problem, not the product.

 

After 6-8 weeks at the correct temperature no further shrinkage is expected in EPS insulation from Tempra hf.

1%. then nothing. look at poly iso after 30 years and do some r value testing. its going to lose out.

we have a curing room where we place the freshly 'baked' blocks of foam. they are placed there under a constant humidity until they have stabilized. then they are cut into slabs, made into panels and shipped out. no shrinkage.