Spray foam and mineral wool hybrid insulation system

Abstract

A reduced thickness and/or reduced width insulation product is provided for use in combination with spray-on foam insulation. The insulation product is configured to be inserted into standard-size spaces between adjacent wall studs to which a spray-on foam insulation has been applied. The reduced size of the insulation product is specifically designed so that the combined width and thickness of the insulation product and the spray-on foam insulation fill the entirety of the building space, but do not overfill the space.

1 . An insulation system for insulating a wall space, comprising: 
 a foam layer having a first thickness; and    an insulation mat overlying the foam layer, the insulation mat having a second thickness corresponding to an uncompressed condition of the insulation mat;    wherein the insulation mat and foam layer are configured for installation within a space defined by a plurality of structure members, the distance between first and second of the plurality of structure members being substantially equal to the sum of the first and second thicknesses.    
   
   
       2 . The insulation system of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second structure members comprise internal and external wall sheathing, respectively, the foam layer is positioned against the external wall sheathing and the insulation mat is positioned against the internal wall sheathing.  
   
   
       3 . The insulation system of  claim 2 , wherein the insulation mat further comprises a width substantially equal to a distance between third and fourth of the plurality of structure members.  
   
   
       4 . The insulation system of  claim 2 , wherein the insulation mat further comprises a width that is smaller than a distance between third and fourth of the plurality of structure members by a predetermined amount, the predetermined amount being substantially equal to a thickness of foam positioned between the insulation mat and the third and fourth structure members.  
   
   
       5 . The insulation system of  claim 4 , wherein the third and fourth structure members comprises wall studs.  
   
   
       6 . The insulation system of  claim 1 , wherein the foam comprises polyurethane spray-applied foam.  
   
   
       7 . The insulation system of  claim 6 , wherein the foam comprises a closed-cell foam.  
   
   
       8 . The insulation system of  claim 6 , wherein the foam comprises an open-cell foam.  
   
   
       9 . The insulation system of  claim 1 , wherein the first thickness is from about 0.5-inch to about 1.5-inches.  
   
   
       10 . The insulation system of  claim 9 , wherein the second thickness is from about 2-inches to about 3-inches, and the combination of the first and second thicknesses is about 3.5 inches.  
   
   
       11 . A reduced size insulation product comprising: 
 an insulation mat having a width and a thickness, the mat configured for installation between a plurality of structure members, first and second of the plurality of structure members being separated by a space width, and third and fourth of the plurality of structure members being separated by a space thickness;    wherein the insulation mat thickness is smaller than the space thickness by a first predetermined amount, the first predetermined amount corresponding to a thickness of foam insulation material disposed adjacent at least one of the plurality of structure members such that when the insulation mat is completely disposed between the plurality of structure members the insulation mat is substantially non-compressed.    
   
   
       12 . The reduced size insulation product of  claim 11 , wherein the width of the insulation mat is smaller than the space width by a second predetermined amount, the second predetermined amount corresponding to a thickness of foam insulation material disposed adjacent at least one of the plurality of structure members.  
   
   
       13 . The reduced size insulation product of  claim 11 , wherein the first and second structure members comprise wall studs, the third structure member comprises an external sheathing layer, and the fourth structure member comprises a wall board layer.  
   
   
       14 . The reduced size insulation product of  claim 11 , wherein the foam insulation material comprises polyurethane spray-on foam disposed adjacent the first, second and third structural members.  
   
   
       15 . The reduced size insulation product of  claim 11 , wherein the foam insulation material is an open cell foam.  
   
   
       16 . The reduced size insulation product of  claim 11 , wherein the foam insulation material is a closed cell foam.  
   
   
       17 . The reduced size insulation product of  claim 11 , wherein the foam insulation material thickness is about 0.5 inch to about 1.5 inches.  
   
   
       18 . The reduced size insulation product of  claim 17 , wherein a combined thickness of the foam insulation material and the insulation mat is about 3.5 inches.  
   
   
       19 . The reduced size insulation product of  claim 11 , wherein the space width is about 14.5 inches, the space thickness is about 3.5 inches, the foam insulation material thickness is about 1 inch and the batt thickness is about 2.5 inches.  
   
   
       20 . An insulation system comprising: 
 a foam layer having a foam thickness; and    an insulation mat having a width and a thickness,    wherein the foam layer and the insulation mat are configured for installation within a wall space defined by oppositely disposed internal and external wall sheathing members and oppositely disposed wall stud members, the space having a width defined between the sheathing members and a thickness defined between the wall stud members;    wherein the thickness of the insulation mat is smaller than the space thickness by a predetermined amount, the predetermined amount being substantially equal to the thickness of the foam layer.    
   
   
       21 . The insulation system of  claim 20 , wherein the width of the insulation mat is smaller than the space width by a predetermined amount, the predetermined amount being substantially equal to a second thickness of the foam layer disposed between the insulation mat and each of the wall stud members.  
   
   
       22 . The insulation system of  claim 20 , wherein the foam layer comprises a spray-applied polyurethane foam material.  
   
   
       23 . The insulation system of  claim 22 , wherein the spray-applied polyurethane foam material is an open-cell foam or a closed-cell foam.  
   
   
       24 . The insulation system of  claim 20 , wherein the foam layer thickness is about 0.5 inch to about 1.5 inches.  
   
   
       25 . The insulation system of  claim 24 , wherein a combined thickness of the foam layer and the insulation mat is about 3.5 inches.  
   
   
       26 . The insulation system of  claim 20 , wherein the space width is about 14.5 inches, the space thickness is about 3.5 inches, the foam insulation material thickness is about 1 inch and the insulation mat thickness is about 2.5 inches.  
   
   
       27 . A method of insulating a building space comprising: 
 providing a first structural surface;    applying a first insulation material to the first structural surface;    applying a second insulation material over the first insulation material; and    applying a second structural surface over the second insulation material to enclose the first and second insulation materials between the first and second structural surfaces without compressing the first or second insulation materials.    
   
   
       28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the first structural surface comprises exterior wall sheathing, the second structural surface comprises interior wall sheathing, the first insulation material comprises a foam material, and the second insulation material comprises an insulation mat.  
   
   
       29 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the step of providing a first structural surface further comprises providing third and fourth structural surfaces at opposite ends of the first structural surface to create a structural space having an inner surface, and wherein the step of applying the first insulation material comprises spraying a foam insulation material onto at least a portion of the interior surface to an applied foam layer thickness of from about 0.5 inches to about 1.5 inches.  
   
   
       30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the structural space has a width defined by the distance between the third and fourth structural surfaces, and a space thickness defined by the distance between the first and second structural surfaces, and wherein the combined widths and thicknesses of the first and second insulation materials is substantially equal to the space width and thickness.  
   
   
       30 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the space width is about 14.5 inches, the space thickness is about 3.5 inches, the step of applying the first insulation material comprises spraying the foam insulation material onto the entire interior surface to an applied foam layer thickness of about 1.0 inches, and the step of applying the second insulation material comprises applying an insulation mat having an uncompressed thickness of about 2.5 inches and a width of about 12.5 inches.  
   
   
       31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the foam insulation material comprises a closed-cell polyurethane foam material  
   
   
       32 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the second insulation material comprises mineral wool.