"Spray-on" polyurethane foams

[kmitchel]

I'm seeking input on poly foam insulation.  I have a 130 y/o 2 story brick house that has virtualy no insulation.  The house is made with an outer and inner brick wall with about a 1 or 2 inch dead-air space between them.  The attic is half-way insulated with rolled fiberglass.  Since temps are getting down to -2, and I just got a $200 gas bill I've been investigation my insulation options.  It appears as though poly foam is my best option.  I don't think blown cellulouse and such will do any good due to the wall cavity being so narrow.  I'm poor/cheap so I'm looking for Do-It-Yourself products.  So far, the only thing I've come up with is Fomo's Handi-Foam Slow Rise formula.  http://www.fomofoam.com/existing_homes.htm But, it's fairly expensive > $600 for 600 board feet (12"x12"x1).  Anyone have any input?  I'm in no hurry, if I'm lucky I might do something about it before next winter, but I'm not holding my breath.  Thanx.

[TLSea]

Fire retardant cardboard? Most new homes in my area use shredded cardboard and paper for attic insulation .

At my work the computer racks come in half to three quarter inch  thick fire retardant cardboard. I have found it to be excellent for both sound and heat insulating.

When I first moved in to my house I put in hours of sweat equity and my children grew vary board very quick. My quick remedy was to build them a zero cost play house. I did it with Fireboard from my work. After 15 minutes they would come out of a 4x6 playhouse sweaty in 50 degree weather.

The stuff sat out in the weather for almost 2 years and didn't mold or break down.

You might check around for companies in you area that dispose or recycle the stuff.

I plan on building a workshop in the future and this is probably what I will use for sound and heat insulation.

This is what I found in a one minute Google search http://www.flamerated.com/product.html  go to the bottom of the page

[Chagrin]

Blown fiberglass does a pretty good job of filling the voids -- I can say this because I'm just finishing up a room in my house that had blown fiberglass behind the plaster lath I tore off. The fiberglass was blown in from holes in the outside wall. Corners, etc. filled up quite nicely from top to bottom; the only problems were around odd framing in the wall where the empty cavities would have been impossible to find without completely tearing off the wall.

[Wolfie1]

You say that your attic is half-way insulated? Since you loose most of your heat through the roof, I would spend most of my efforts in the attic before I would deal with the walls.

And before I spend money on improving the insulation in the attic, I would check to see if there is cold air getting into the house around window and door frames. A stick of caulk costs just a few bucks and can pay for itself in a matter of days.

Martin.