Using Spray Foam to Insulate Windows: A Comprehensive Guide

To insulate a window effectively, it is essential to choose the right method. Two common methods used are the spray foam method and using strips of bad insulation. In this article, we will delve into both methods, their pros and cons, and provide tips on how to execute them successfully.

**The Spray Foam Method**

To cure otherwise you just smear and make more of a mess so that's spray foaming. To insulate a window now we're going to move back to another window that we don't have any insulation in and we're going to actually use strips of bad insulation I'll show you how to do that okay okay so now the second method uh which really I don't really recommend I usually use the spray foam method myself but the second method is using a uh fiber bad insulation. To insulate a window, you want to move back to another window that doesn't have any insulation in and then we're going to use strips of bad insulation. We'll show you how to do that.

**Using Strips of Bad Insulation**

So now the second method uh which really I don't really recommend I usually use the spray foam method myself but the second method is using a uh fiber bad insulation. The second method, which we don't really like to use, is using a fiber bad insulation to insulate the space around windows or doors. To do this, you want to rip off a piece of insulation about twice the thickness of your gap between the window jam and the framing. We've got a 2in gap to fill here, so we'll use a piece that's about an inch thick.

**Cutting the Insulation**

We need to cut the insulation into width. We're using a 2x6 wall, so we'll cut this at about five and a half inches. What you really need is that insulation and some kind of flat utensil in order to help slide it back in there. I like to use a flat Red Bar, which is one of the tools I use for many things. You can use a butter knife or ruler, whatever fits back into the opening.

**Installing the Insulation**

Well first of all, what you don't want to do is just start ramming as much stuff as you can in there and think "I've got it full now I can't get anything else in." That's the worst thing you can do. This type of insulation loses its insulating value once you get it too compressed. What we're trying to do is actually take this piece that's why we've taken the time to make it the right size and slide it straight back in there as much as we can.

**Fiddling with the Insulation**

It does take a bit of fiddling to get it in there, but that's why we have the Red Bar. Start by folding the insulation on the Red Bar a little bit and starting it in there. Once you start doing a few, you kind of work it from the back side the front side whichever way seems to work the best. Get it all in there nice and neat, and you can see that it's well done.

**Installing on the Bottom**

We're just going to start it in there again. We've got a shim on one side here to work around, so we're starting at that shim. I'm trying not to bunch it up; I'm just working it along there until I can tell that I've got it right back to the edge and it looks good. It's not just all rammed in there and hanging out; it's nicely fit in there and does a great job.

**Alternative Method**

The only time we use this method is if we've got a really large gap in a renovation or something. The cost of spray foam can be expensive, and it usually isn't effective for small gaps. What we do instead is use the bad insulation to fill 3/4 of that gap, and then spray some foam to finish it off. This creates an air seal and completes the job.

**Conclusion**

Using the right method to insulate a window can be crucial in reducing energy bills and keeping your home warm or cool. Both methods have their pros and cons, but with practice and patience, you can achieve great results. If you're unsure about which method to use or need more information on how to execute them successfully, check out our YouTube channel or website at house improvements.com for more videos and resources.

**Additional Tips**

If you're new to insulating windows, here are some additional tips to keep in mind:

* Make sure to choose the right insulation material for your needs.

* Use a flat utensil to help slide the insulation back into place.

* Work slowly and carefully to avoid bunching up the insulation.

* Consider using spray foam if you have large gaps or want an air seal.

* Check out our YouTube channel and website for more information on insulating windows.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi Shannon here from host improvements.com I'm going to explain to you in this video here how to two different methods on how to insulate around uh a window so that's actually insulating the Gap that's left between the framework and the window frame itself uh there's basically two methods one method involves uh bad insulation that you they call it chinking so you'll actually slide this into place in the in that space uh the other method and the one that I prefer to use is a spray foam now you have to be sure you're using a low expanding spray foam made for around windows and doors uh you don't want one that says filling gaps or anything like that or high pressure you're just going to have a mess because it'll actually uh bend your window jams and and door jams out of shape so you you want the low expansion foam uh one that's made for windows and doors so we're going to start with that one to begin with so we've we've got a window here and uh we've got two 2x6 framing uh so this spray foam comes with a straw and everything shake the can really well before you start to use it um I like to do my spray foam in two passes so that being said what I mean is I want to stick the straw into back into the Gap about an inch from the outside edge of the window the back the far side of the window spray that opening about half full let it sit for couple hours or you don't even have to do that half an hour say you know go and do every window half full then come back and spray again to fill that window up what that does is that then when the foam you know you're going to get some that comes outside of the opening that you need to trim off with your knife soon as you trim it it cuts off the outer layer that actually creates a air barrier so by doing it in two passes the inner one still creates an air barrier for you know 3/4 of the thickness of the window and uh you know this last one is giving our value but not necessarily uh air barrier so I like to do it in two passes we're going to do this one here I'll just show you how to how to go about it I've got another one that I've already done one pass on so then we'll switch over to that window and just show you the final pass so again uh I usually start in a in a bottom corner and work my way up and uh I want to stick the straw right back in there just about as far as I can like I said about an inch or 2 Ines from the from the far outside edge of the wall and start filling okay and you'd continue all the way up to the top come back down to the bottom work around any blocks or shims you have in the way just like so and and you'd continue on doing that all the way around the window and like I said you're wanting to fill that maybe half full or 3/4 full now uh it will expand out a little bit so usually if you stop at about half full it'll expand enough to about 3/4 and and you should be good so uh we're just going to quickly reset the camera couple Windows over at one that I already did with the first pass so we can show you the second pass Okay so we've moved over to a different window and this one like I said I already sprayed the first uh pass in and I don't know if you can really see it on the camera but you can see some of the foam down in there so now what I want to do again is just insert the straw and uh do another another bit of a pass here and up the side as well and like I said you would continue yourself all the way around there uh once once that has a chance uh most of these will cure within a couple hours and you'll find that it expands out past the window uh just go back and trim it off with your uh utility knife once it's fully cured if you get some of this on your hands or your clothes or hopefully not the flooring but if you get some on there uh I know it's hard not to but don't try to wipe it up when it's still wet let it cure and then get rid of it if you get it on your hands obviously you're going to want to clean it up right away but uh uh it's a lot easier to clean off of flooring or the wall or anything if it's actually had a chance to cure otherwise you just smear and make more of a a mess so so that's spray foaming uh to insulate a window now we're going to move back to another window that we don't have any insulation in and we're going to actually use strips of bad insulation I'll show you how to do that okay okay so now the second method uh which really I don't really recommend I usually use the spray foam method myself but the second method is using a uh fiber bad insulation to uh insulate the uh the space around the windows or doors um so what you want to do is whatever your width of your space is here between the window jam and the framing you want to rip off a piece of insulation about twice that thickness so we've got about a/ inch or three 3/4 inch Gap here I've got about an inch of thickness uh then I've cut it into width we're we've got a 2x6 wall so I've cut this at about five five and a half inches and uh what you really need is that insulation and some kind of flat utensil in order to uh help slide it and guide it back in there um I like to use a flat Red Bar I use a red bar for a lot of things you'll notice in my videos uh you could use a butter knife of ruler whatever whatever fits back in that opening so uh what you want to do well first of all what you don't want to do is just start I've seen lots of people just Ram in as much stuff as they can in there and think well I've got it full now I can't get anything else in it's good that's the worst thing you can do because this type of insulation once you get it too compressed you actually have lost your insulating value value in it so what we're trying to do is actually take this piece that's why we've taken the time to make it the right size and and slide it straight back in there as much as we can now it does take a bit of fiddling to get it in there but uh uh that's why we've got the red bar so basically start by just getting it folded on the Red Bar a little bit and starting it in there and once you once you have it in there unless you've got a really tight spot you can almost pinch it and just slide it right back and you can kind of tell if you're getting it all balled up or not once you start doing a few of them kind of work it from the back side the front side whichever way seems to work the best get it all in there nice and and uh you can see it's well I don't know if you can see but uh I'll do the bottom to show you better but it's just all nicely fit in there and uh does a does a real nice job um so same thing on the bottom we're just going to start it in there we've got a shim on the one side here to work around so we're starting at that shim I'm trying not to Bunch it up I'm just working it along there until I can tell that I've got it right back to the edge and it looks good it's not just all rammed in there and hanging out and snagged up um so like I said I I don't really like to use this method if I don't have to uh about the only time I do is if I've got a really large gap in a renovation or something you know we've changed the size of the window because the cost of the spray foam it's usually not that effective if you know we've got a 2in gap to fill it takes a lot of foam uh what I have done is used used the bad insulation to fill 3/4 of that Gap and then I'll maybe spray spray foam to the inside because it creates that air seal and kind of finishes it off so it's kind of a hybrid between the two but for most times when you got a half inch or 3/4 of an inch or whatever or less I'll use the spray foam for sure um yeah so that's that's about all there is to either one of those methods should be good okay so thanks for watching another one of the my videos uh we have lots online to to view uh we have videos on installing these actual Windows uh in new construction we've got uh installing renovation type Windows um all kinds of different things so if check out our whole YouTube channel there's 30 or 40 or I don't even know how many videos are on there now um we've also got the website at house improvements.com we've got the Forum on the website where you can come and ask any questions or make any comments you want um so yeah just come and check it out and let us know what you thinkhi Shannon here from host improvements.com I'm going to explain to you in this video here how to two different methods on how to insulate around uh a window so that's actually insulating the Gap that's left between the framework and the window frame itself uh there's basically two methods one method involves uh bad insulation that you they call it chinking so you'll actually slide this into place in the in that space uh the other method and the one that I prefer to use is a spray foam now you have to be sure you're using a low expanding spray foam made for around windows and doors uh you don't want one that says filling gaps or anything like that or high pressure you're just going to have a mess because it'll actually uh bend your window jams and and door jams out of shape so you you want the low expansion foam uh one that's made for windows and doors so we're going to start with that one to begin with so we've we've got a window here and uh we've got two 2x6 framing uh so this spray foam comes with a straw and everything shake the can really well before you start to use it um I like to do my spray foam in two passes so that being said what I mean is I want to stick the straw into back into the Gap about an inch from the outside edge of the window the back the far side of the window spray that opening about half full let it sit for couple hours or you don't even have to do that half an hour say you know go and do every window half full then come back and spray again to fill that window up what that does is that then when the foam you know you're going to get some that comes outside of the opening that you need to trim off with your knife soon as you trim it it cuts off the outer layer that actually creates a air barrier so by doing it in two passes the inner one still creates an air barrier for you know 3/4 of the thickness of the window and uh you know this last one is giving our value but not necessarily uh air barrier so I like to do it in two passes we're going to do this one here I'll just show you how to how to go about it I've got another one that I've already done one pass on so then we'll switch over to that window and just show you the final pass so again uh I usually start in a in a bottom corner and work my way up and uh I want to stick the straw right back in there just about as far as I can like I said about an inch or 2 Ines from the from the far outside edge of the wall and start filling okay and you'd continue all the way up to the top come back down to the bottom work around any blocks or shims you have in the way just like so and and you'd continue on doing that all the way around the window and like I said you're wanting to fill that maybe half full or 3/4 full now uh it will expand out a little bit so usually if you stop at about half full it'll expand enough to about 3/4 and and you should be good so uh we're just going to quickly reset the camera couple Windows over at one that I already did with the first pass so we can show you the second pass Okay so we've moved over to a different window and this one like I said I already sprayed the first uh pass in and I don't know if you can really see it on the camera but you can see some of the foam down in there so now what I want to do again is just insert the straw and uh do another another bit of a pass here and up the side as well and like I said you would continue yourself all the way around there uh once once that has a chance uh most of these will cure within a couple hours and you'll find that it expands out past the window uh just go back and trim it off with your uh utility knife once it's fully cured if you get some of this on your hands or your clothes or hopefully not the flooring but if you get some on there uh I know it's hard not to but don't try to wipe it up when it's still wet let it cure and then get rid of it if you get it on your hands obviously you're going to want to clean it up right away but uh uh it's a lot easier to clean off of flooring or the wall or anything if it's actually had a chance to cure otherwise you just smear and make more of a a mess so so that's spray foaming uh to insulate a window now we're going to move back to another window that we don't have any insulation in and we're going to actually use strips of bad insulation I'll show you how to do that okay okay so now the second method uh which really I don't really recommend I usually use the spray foam method myself but the second method is using a uh fiber bad insulation to uh insulate the uh the space around the windows or doors um so what you want to do is whatever your width of your space is here between the window jam and the framing you want to rip off a piece of insulation about twice that thickness so we've got about a/ inch or three 3/4 inch Gap here I've got about an inch of thickness uh then I've cut it into width we're we've got a 2x6 wall so I've cut this at about five five and a half inches and uh what you really need is that insulation and some kind of flat utensil in order to uh help slide it and guide it back in there um I like to use a flat Red Bar I use a red bar for a lot of things you'll notice in my videos uh you could use a butter knife of ruler whatever whatever fits back in that opening so uh what you want to do well first of all what you don't want to do is just start I've seen lots of people just Ram in as much stuff as they can in there and think well I've got it full now I can't get anything else in it's good that's the worst thing you can do because this type of insulation once you get it too compressed you actually have lost your insulating value value in it so what we're trying to do is actually take this piece that's why we've taken the time to make it the right size and and slide it straight back in there as much as we can now it does take a bit of fiddling to get it in there but uh uh that's why we've got the red bar so basically start by just getting it folded on the Red Bar a little bit and starting it in there and once you once you have it in there unless you've got a really tight spot you can almost pinch it and just slide it right back and you can kind of tell if you're getting it all balled up or not once you start doing a few of them kind of work it from the back side the front side whichever way seems to work the best get it all in there nice and and uh you can see it's well I don't know if you can see but uh I'll do the bottom to show you better but it's just all nicely fit in there and uh does a does a real nice job um so same thing on the bottom we're just going to start it in there we've got a shim on the one side here to work around so we're starting at that shim I'm trying not to Bunch it up I'm just working it along there until I can tell that I've got it right back to the edge and it looks good it's not just all rammed in there and hanging out and snagged up um so like I said I I don't really like to use this method if I don't have to uh about the only time I do is if I've got a really large gap in a renovation or something you know we've changed the size of the window because the cost of the spray foam it's usually not that effective if you know we've got a 2in gap to fill it takes a lot of foam uh what I have done is used used the bad insulation to fill 3/4 of that Gap and then I'll maybe spray spray foam to the inside because it creates that air seal and kind of finishes it off so it's kind of a hybrid between the two but for most times when you got a half inch or 3/4 of an inch or whatever or less I'll use the spray foam for sure um yeah so that's that's about all there is to either one of those methods should be good okay so thanks for watching another one of the my videos uh we have lots online to to view uh we have videos on installing these actual Windows uh in new construction we've got uh installing renovation type Windows um all kinds of different things so if check out our whole YouTube channel there's 30 or 40 or I don't even know how many videos are on there now um we've also got the website at house improvements.com we've got the Forum on the website where you can come and ask any questions or make any comments you want um so yeah just come and check it out and let us know what you think\n"