The best way to check if you have insulation in your walls is to have an outlet plate on one of the exterior walls removed and look into the wall cavity with a flashlight.

We recommend installing RetroFoam from the exterior but it is possible for us to install it from the inside.

For most homes, there will be one hole drilled in each stud cavity. On brick and a few other types of homes, we will drill more than one hole to ensure that we fill each cavity completely.

As RetroFoam is being installed into your walls, it flows around electrical wiring and interweaves with any insulation already in the walls (fiberglass for example). This is because RetroFoam has the consistency of a very thick shaving cream when it is being installed. A very short time after RetroFoam is installed into the cavity, it becomes firm. Even though it is firm, electrical wiring can be pushed through it in the future if necessary. For example, you may hire an electrician to install an additional electrical outlet. RetroFoam is not a problem in this case.

Your RetroFoam installation crew (also the business owners) are professional and use specialized techniques to install RetroFoam in your walls including specific placement of the access holes, timing the flow of foam into the wall, and by monitoring the equipment in use to install the foam.

The initial water content of the foam is about 4% by volume, which is too low to affect a building’s structure. The partially open-cell nature of the foam means the insulation dries out quickly. 

Once dry, RetroFoam resists the re-absorption of water. Mold can occur whenever wetness gets trapped inside a wall. The foam dries out before mold can grow. 

A common misconception with brick construction is that the gap between the wood stud and the brick surface is there for ventilation. 

This is partially correct, however, the primary purpose of this gap is to keep moisture traveling through the brick, which is porous, from touching the wood and sheathing. If the wood is in contact with brick, it will take up moisture which causes the wood to rot. 

RetroFoam is breathable but also repels water. The foam fills the whole cavity space providing a suitable thermal barrier, without transferring moisture to the wood.