Charlie:
Susan in Alvin, I’m building a steel home. Would you put insulation in the walls? I’m putting irradiant barrier in the atic, along with insulation.
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Tom:
Absolutely. In the walls, you bet. In fact, you need to put insulation against the back of the steel, and against the steel structure, depending how the home is built. If you don’t, it will sweat like a cold beer can, certain times of the year.
Charlie:
You’re talking about fiber glass all the time, because a house has to breathe. Metal is not going to breathe. Is this a place where you could possibly use foam up against that metal?
Tom:
Actually, the metal and a spray foam would not be a bad idea in this case, yes. That’s actually a good observation, Charlie. When we do wood frame, it’s a wood frame cavity wall. If you spray it tight against the metal, because you have to do that somehow, anyway, it is a different process, like a tilt walk. Foam goes up against concrete real well, too.