One thing I can say about using the BladeRunner is that the cuts are a lot cleaner, and there is very little need for a rasp.   As the unit cuts the drywall paper on both sides at the same time, breaking away the cutoffs is very simple.  You simply bend the cutoff down, then up and remove.  It is that simple.  When trimming less then an inch off a section of drywall, it is a little more time consuming to remove the cutoff as it tends break off in pieces but in the end you are left with a clean cut.  One thing to note was that it is best to work with the drywall laying down rather then standing up as it allows you walk around the drywall rather then bending over when cutting.  I am sure I would have gotten the hang of using it both ways, but I always seemed to angle the cut when I tried to cut the drywall standing up.   One thing I found is that the slot for the tape measure tang, or lip tend to be smaller then the tang on my tape measure.  The first tape measures that I used had a hook that was too large and it keep sliding out of the groove as I moved across the sheet.  The purchase of a cheap $5.00 tape measure solved the problem.   Most of the time when cutting a sheet of drywall I did not need it to be 100% accurate and I would just draw a line and free hand it.  One quick swipe of the BladeRunner and the section would snap off.

So is the tool worth the asking price.  I would have to say yes.   Once I figured out the trick to using it and got the hang of it, it did speed up the cuts.  As I was working alone in an unheated house at -14, anything to speed up the installation was worth it.  Even now that I have heat, I find it handy to use the tool and wonder why it took so long for someone to invent it.

“I believe WALLTITE® is the best way to insulate. They stand behind their product and are constantly improving it with research and development. It’s a top quality product that’s number one in the marketplace.” – Mike Holmes

To top it off BASF will stand behind their product as long as it is installed by one of their certified and approved applicators. Could it get any better then that?

UPDATE: WALLTITE ECO® is not R-7 per inch as it was suggested but R-5.6 per inch. Sorry for the confusion, but that is what I was told by the installers.

While it is advertised to save time, the question is it worth the asking price of $70.00?   We will see.

Tiger Foam Insulation™ quick curing, recyclable, two-component spray polyurethane foam insulation kits are manufactured to ASTM E-84 Specifications and classified as a fire-rated foam insulation. (www.tigerfoam.com)

Once we decided to go with spray foam, it was not that much of a leap to decide to go with the denser of the two types of spray foam. There are two basic types of spray foams you will find on the market used for home insulation. They are basically referred to as ½ lb and 2 lb spray foam and while they are similar in the way they are applied, there are some differences. The primary being that the 2 lb has a higher R-value and does not require vapor barrier.

One product that caught my eye when researching spray foam was a product called Tiger Foam. It is a closed cell polyurethane foam insulation which means it is a 2lb foam so it does not require the vapor barrier. It is a two part kit that is available in a two sizes for the do it yourselfer. The two components are mixed as they are sprayed and expand about 8 times their volume. As it expands, it will hopefully fill every nook and cranny giving the best possible seal. With an advertised R-value of R-7 per inch, how could you go wrong?

It has been proven that as air moves through insulation it decreases its’ R-value as the temperature drops which is when you need it most. Installation also plays a major role in how efficient the insulation is. One of the biggest problems with batt insulation is not the efficiency of the product itself, but the loss of R-value due to improper installation. That is not to say that they are not efficient, only that they are less efficient certain types of insulation should be avoided, only that they need to be installed correctly. Now a days there are a couple of different option when it comes to insulation. It might even come down to where you live in the country as to what is available. Each type comes with its own pros and cons and can be broken down into three main groups. Batt, blown in or spayed insulation. Most houses have a combination insulation types. Most common is the batt insulation for the walls, but it can also be used in the attic or crawl space. Blown in insulation while mostly used in the attic can also be blown into the wall cavity as is done in most net zero homes. Last but not least is the spray category which includes both sprayed in cellulose and foam. As the ICF uses foam for blocks, I decided that I would have my attic sprayed. As sprayed cellulose is not common in my area, I focused on researching the different types of spray foams.

“Warmboard combines a structural subfloor and a thermodynamically sophisticated radiant panel into one simple component of your radiant heating system.” (www.warmboard.com)

One advantage of the Warmboard product is due to the high conductivity and low thermal mass of the aluminum which allows it to better respond to an increase or decrease in temperature. As each 4’ by 8’ sheet is covered with aluminum it allows the heat to be spread very efficiently and evenly while using the lowest water temperatures necessary for operation in the industry.

Given that each sheet of Warmboard is a 1-1/8″ thick, 4′ X 8′ sheet of tongue and grooved plywood it is used as a subfloor, instead of being installed on top of your subfloor. Being both a subfloor and radiant panel, it reduces the time it would take to install both products separately. The thickness of the product also allows for greater spacing between joists which can help to reduce costs while maintaining the structural strength of the sub-floor. Which can also reduce material and installation costs.

The simplicity of the system can be seen in the modular pattern of channels which allows for an infinite variety of tubing layouts while not requiring any specialized tools for installation.

Well, that is the hype of the product, and one we will be reviewing in a future post.

UPDATE:  Well it took less then a day to tear down the old house and remove it.  It happened so quickly that I was not even able to get any pictures of the demolition or removal.  The next day they completed digging the hole for our new home and were gone.  From what my neighbors tell me the house was reduced to a pile in less then 20 minutes.  So the moral of this post is if you want to snap a couple pictures, make sure you know when they are coming and be there on time.