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Insect-Resistant Rigid Foam Insulation

pbout | Posted in Green Products and Materials on

Anyone know where I can buy insect resistant rigid foam? My local store can’t find it (Big Creek Lumber, zip 95062).

Something like this:
http://inlineco.com/msds/Dow_Corning/http___www.dow.com_PublishedLiterature_dh_006d_0901b8038006d55c.pdf_filepath=styrofoam_pdfs_noreg_179-07348.pdf

or this
https://www.cellofoam.com/BuildingProducts/permabg.html

but I’m open to other products as well.

I’m also trying to find a copper termite shield, like the YorkShield TS 106: https://www.buildsite.com/pdf/yorkmanufacturing/YorkShield-106-TS-Product-Data-737588.pdf

Pouring a new perimeter foundation this week, and insulating the stem walls, then installing the mud sill (kind of a non-slab foundation version of this: https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/sites/default/files/Air-sealed%20Mudsill%20Assembly.pdf).

Many thanks!

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Replies

  1. GBA Editor
    Martin Holladay | | #1

    Phil,
    I don't know how easy it is to find a distributor for the product, but you could look into Perform Guard EPS from ACH.

  2. pbout | | #2

    Thanks Martin, I'll contact ACH to see if I can find a distributor.

  3. pbout | | #3

    An update: I just spoke to someone at Dow, and they no longer make any termite-resistant rigid foam.

    There is a product called BoraFoam, sold through Crawl Space Depot, but the shipping would have been $500 via truck across the country.

    I also contacted ACH for the Perform Guard, and they are able to sell their product to me through HD Supply. It's an EPS with in integral borate, similar to BoraFoam above.

  4. RobInNorCal | | #4

    Anyone have a good source of .5mm/ 1/50th inch stainless steel wire mesh? It appears as though the Termi-mesh folks require a 'licensed' installer; I want to install my own at the top and bottom of the rain screen assembly. Or suggestions for a better way to treat the bottom of the siding in new construction?

  5. JC72 | | #5

    Doesn't code require treatment of the sub and surrounding soil? Are there termites which can burrow under the stem wall?

    Try contacting our resident curmudgeon Carl Serville. He built a home with a similar insulation strategy in termite alley (Atlanta GA) and used Polyguard.

    https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-curmudgeon/movin

  6. pbout | | #6

    Another update: ACH says they don't have a single sheet of their Perform Guard product in stock, but suggested that I contact their competitor, Insulfoam.

    Insulfoam makes R-Tech EPS, stocked at Lowe's and Home Depot, which has borates in it for insect prevention. But then I found this document from Owens-Corning saying that borates don't actually work: http://insulation.owenscorning.com/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=978

    @John, I just read Carl's article, and will look into the Polyguard Term product. Our local code/AHJ doesn't require treatment of the soil. I don't know much about the depth that termites can burrow, but a quick google search says that their colonies can go pretty deep.

  7. peterolfe | | #7

    Well, mosquitos became a huge problem for me last year here in Texas. In times of lockdown, it was hard to deal with them, especially when I got locked inside of my summer house. Hopefully, I found a good proposition from the professional pest company, mr mister mosquito control, which helped me choose the proper mosquito trap and install it inside and outside my house. If you are looking for a solid suggestion, I recommend you approach https://www.mrmr.biz/ for a consultation regarding the best option for you.

    1. Expert Member
      KYLE WINSTON BENTLEY | | #8

      I’m starting to see a lot of spam similar to this one making it through to the comments on articles, and in the QA section.

      1. Expert Member
        BILL WICHERS | | #9

        I have noticed that too, and some of it is pretty sneaky in that it's not immediately obvious that it's not just a legitimate post that happens to mention a product. I do find the spammers tend to respond to pretty old threads though, so any thread that starts off with posts from more than a year ago is immediately suspect.

        Bill

        1. Expert Member
          Akos | | #10

          Link spam is the result of search engine optimizations. A site that is linked to from other sites will get higher ranking, thus this type of spam is pretty valuable.

          I have a local site that hosts an online copy of the building code. They basically took the published building code and made all the text link to random sites. Great idea for them as the site is indeed useful as it is much quicker to find something quickly than searching through the government portal and each time I use it bumps up the search ranking of the links there.

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