All buildings, both commercial and residential, have character, and a major factor that plays a role in creating that character—is how the occupants feel while inside the building. Is your building putting visitors at ease with a cozy and comfortable ambiance, or keeping them at a distance with a cold and clammy atmosphere? The difference is in the materials.
You can change your building’s attributes simply by altering your insulating strategy. When it comes to creating comfort in your home or commercial building, thermal insulation can make or break your environment.
Since walls make up the majority of a building’s surface area, it’s an ideal place to focus on when designing an enhanced comfort and energy-efficient structure. Let’s learn more about wall board insulation.
What is Wall Board Insulation?
Wall board insulation goes by many names. It’s commonly referred to as rigid insulation, foam board, rigid foam, bead board, foam insulation, board insulation, polyiso, and more. The term “wall board insulation” does not necessarily refer to a single type of insulation material, but rather the general shape of the material and the way the insulation is installed.
Foam board wall insulation is made up of thin, rectangular panels of insulating material in various sizes—think of it as the foam-core poster boards you used to use in school to present your science fair project, but thicker. Thicknesses vary from around ½” to over 6” in some materials. Typical dimensions of foam insulation boards are similar to what you’d find in the plywood selection at your local hardware store, including 4’x8’ and 4’x4’ boards.
Typical materials used for wall board insulation include the following:
Polyisocyanurate (Polyiso or iso)
Extruded Polystyrene (XPS, blue board, or pink board)
Expanded Polystyrene (EPS or bead board)
Mineral Wool Boards
Each of these materials has its pros and cons and they all are used in construction, from the below-grade foundation level up to the rooftop.
Why Choose Wall Insulation Foam Board for Your Project?
To contrast wall board insulation to other types of insulation, we’ll need to identify other common ways to insulate walls, which include:
Fiberglass batt insulation
Spray foam insulation
Loose-fill and blown-in
Insulation wall boards are different from these other types and come with some unique advantages, including easier installation, increased R-values, better fire resistance, and the ability to customize the installation.
For example, let’s compare the R-values, in descending order, of various materials per a one-inch-thick application.
As you can see, board insulation does the job when it comes to achieving a high thermal R-value with less thickness. Closed-cell polyurethane slightly outperforms polyiso, but it’s important to take into consideration that spray insulation may require multiple layers to achieve the same thickness that can be installed in one effort with board insulation. That means you can achieve comfort and energy efficiency with less material, quicker labor, and often—less expense.
Another clear advantage of board insulation is the simplicity of installation and lack of a mess that comes with loose-fill, spray foam, and blanket insulation. Rigid board insulation material can generally be easily cut-to-size by scoring with a razor knife and snapping to size by hand. Plus, there’s no mess or clean-up after installation. What you get is a professional and clean final product finish for your wall.
Polyiso board insulation can be customized to fit your project’s needs by adding additional properties in the facers. For example, Thermasheath® is a polyiso foam core bonded to reinforced aluminum foil facers on both sides, while other boards can feature fiberglass facers or even laminated plywood.
Where to Use Thermal Insulation Wall Board
Thermal insulation wall board is a versatile material due to its modular nature. Common applications of these rigid insulating materials include:
Exterior wall insulation board
Interior basement wall board insulation
Exterior concrete walls
Foundation waterproofing protection board
Thin wall insulation board applications
Exterior wall insulation boards are advantageous because they do not need to fit within the wall cavity space. With continuous insulation, such as polyiso boards, building owners benefit from the energy savings, and contractors can achieve the desired R-value thickness outside of the building’s occupied space.
Get the Best Price on Wall Insulation Board
Rmax carries a wide range of Polyiso wall insulation board products for your next construction project. Whether you’re looking for an exterior continuous insulation solution for a masonry or steel stud wall such as Durasheath® or a fire-resistant plywood backing system like ECOMAXci® FR Ply for cladding attachment, Rmax representatives have you covered.
Reach out today to find out what your best insulating options are and we’ll get you in touch with the right professionals to get you a comprehensive thermal insulation wall board price list!