Spray Foam Insulation in Stapleton, NY

Spray foam insulation in Stapleton usually goes into houses that are more than a century old. Wikipedia describes Stapleton as one of the older waterfront neighborhoods on the island, laid out in the 1830s on land once owned by the Vanderbilt family after William J. Staples and Minthorne Tompkins acquired it in 1832. Its residential side is built around standalone homes that have stood since the Victorian era, alongside the large Stapleton Houses development and newer apartments by the water.

Old houses, empty walls

Houses from that era were built with solid wood sheathing and plaster, often with nothing in the wall cavities. Many have balloon framing, which lets cold air enter at the basement and rise straight through the walls into the attic. Our usual plan is to block the cavity tops from the attic and the bottoms from the basement, dense-pack or foam the walls, seal the attic and add depth, then spray the rim joist. Each part is priced separately so you can phase the work.

Multifamily buildings

Wikipedia's tabulation for Stapleton shows 71.2% of occupied housing units are rented. Many owners here have two- to four-family houses, and heating costs and tenant complaints about cold or overheated top floors are common reasons to call. Air sealing the top-floor ceiling and the basement benefits all units, because it slows the stack effect that pulls cold air in at the bottom and pushes warm air out the top.

Near the waterfront

Stapleton's lower blocks sit close to the harbor. Basements near the water can be damp, and some have taken water in storms. Before we insulate a lower level, we look for staining, efflorescence and rot. Closed-cell foam on the rim joist and walls keeps humid air off cold masonry, but it is not a substitute for fixing water that comes through the foundation.

Changes coming to the area

The 900-apartment Urby complex opened on the former Homeport site in 2016, and the city's 2023 North Shore Action Plan includes a waterfront promenade and new development in Stapleton. If you are renovating an older house nearby, opening walls is the cheapest time to insulate to the 2025 NYC code targets, which list R-30 for wood-frame walls or R-13 cavity plus R-10 continuous in Climate Zone 4A.

Tell us about the house and the units. We will inspect and quote each area in writing. Get a free estimate