How to spray expanding foam into tight gaps?

[r_c]

Hello all

I hope you can help me. I do a little DIY, but I have a lot to learn. The current cold snap has made me realise how leaky my house is and I am on a mission to try and patch it up. I have noticed in our kitchen that there is lots of cold air coming in between gaps between the floor and the skirting boards. The floor is concrete with LVT (sadly we did not realise how uneven it was when it was done) and the walls are mainly dot and dab.

The gap between floor and floor board tapers down from about 5mm to 0. If I taped up the area, to avoid spoiling it, is there a way to get expanding foam into that small gap?

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• r_c
• 29 Nov 2021

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• r_c
• 29 Nov 2021

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• r_c
• 29 Nov 2021

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• r_c
• 29 Nov 2021

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• r_c
• 29 Nov 2021

I have found items in America that look promising, but I cannot find similar in the UK

• 3.5" NEEDLE TIP CONE FOR SHARP CAN FOAM
• Needles for Todol guns <- these look more like syringes!

Is expanding foam suitable here? And is there something I can use to help direct the foam into that tight spot?

I do have a foam gun, if that helps.

Thank you!

 

[Swwils]

Foam is not suitable here if you want to do the job with the skirting and flooring still intact.

You can get neat products like DraughtEx or other clones that are a foam rod you shove in and it expands.

You might then want to investigate where the air is comming from in the first place - if the joist ends are exposed into the cavity without filling gaps around or the dot and dab does not have a continuous perimeter of dabs perhaps.

 

[foxhole]

You could caulk those gaps.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Agreed - caulk the gaps. Expanding foam works slower and slower the nearer to freezing point you get and below 2 or 3 degrees C it just stops expanding - and after a cold night, as we've recently had, the materials you are trying to seal can be very cold

 

[JP_]

would silicon be better - try to squeeze under the gap, wipe off along the skirting, so nothing showing as such.

 

[conny]

would silicon be better - try to squeeze under the gap, wipe off along the skirting, so nothing showing as such.

No, caulking would be better as it can then be painted to match the skirting boards.

 

[JP_]

Does caulk allow for expansion of wood floors though? Thought I read once that silicon better with some types of wood floor under skirtings. But caulk probably easier and cleaner!

 

[mcprinter]

Have not tried this myself but looks suitable for your job

 

[Deleted member 174758]

That looks a bit like the Compraband we use for sealing floor edges against rough brick walls, etc. It's good, but the stuff we use runs about £20 a roll, which is maybe a bit pricey for a small job

 

[r_c]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'm sorry I was not clearer, but the flooring is not floorboard - it is just vinyl tiles on a concrete subfloor (with underfloor heating).

In other parts of the house where there are floorboards, and the same problem, I have used caulk and that expanding foam (not at the same time). The foam works well, although is hard to squeeze in. But you need a certain size gap.

@Swwils Unfortunately the house is all done, and I cannot pull off bits. But you are probably right about there not being a "continuous perimeter of dabs". I would have never known to check for this in the first place

 

[Swwils]

One for next time!

 

[Mr Chibs]

Just done this process on a couple of my rooms, I used a good quality clear sealant and standard gun... You can get a Good finish and it’s a lot less messy than foam.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I think it is worth mentioning that there is such a product as paintable silicon caulk