Great Stuff foam and mechanical connection.

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paulscary
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Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2007 11:52 am
Location: Boston,Massachusetts

Great Stuff foam and mechanical connection.

Post by paulscary »

Hi,
Does anyone think Great Stuff low expansion foam makes a significant mechanical connection in a gap between a wall and a ceiling?

I double framed part of my basement and the gap I left is too big for caulking (.5"-.75").

If so, I may just fill behind some crown molding with rockwool or regular insulation.Maybe neoprene strips cut just to the gap size where needed?

Thanks in advance. :D
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Soundman2020
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Re: Great Stuff foam and mechanical connection.

Post by Soundman2020 »

...Great Stuff low expansion foam...
I'm not familiar with that specific product, but from what I can find on-line, it's just a typical "foam in a can" expanding polyurethane foam. As such, it has very few uses in acoustics. It's a closed-cell foam, so it has no useful porous absorption properties (only open cell foams are good for that). It is very light weight, so it's no use for isolation (which requires serious mass). It is rigid, so it can create flanking paths. Etc. The only good thing about is, is that it seals gaps and cracks well, since it expands as it hardens, but that alone is no use.

I'm not sure what you are trying to use it for, since you didn't explain very clearly, but my guess is that it won't do what you are hoping it will do, for all of the above reasons. If you are trying to seal a gap in one of your leaves, this would be no use since it has very low mass, not even a small fraction of the mass of caulk.

If you are trying to seal a gap between the two leaves without creating a flanking path, then first I'd ask WHY you are trying to do that! Then I'd ask the same again: Why would you want to seal between the two leaves? That doesn't make a lot of sense...

If you can provide a detailed and clear description of exactly what ti is that you are trying to do, and also supply some photos of the problem area, then we might be able to help you decide what to use, but I would guess that "foam in a can" is not the solution.


- Stuart -
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