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ZJBQow3MKb| Posted inGreen Products and Materialson
I’m sorry I don’t know how to get back to my original question. Air Krete’s brochure says ALL GREEN INSULATION . The salesman said Retrofoam emitted gases. Retrofoams brochure says no fumes gases or emissions. Then I googled and it seemed that the words that came up said Air Krete that is made from…yes Retrofoam made by Polymaster. I guess what I want to know is IF Air Krete is made fro Retrofoam? And is Air Krete All Green? (I got asthma from black mold)
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Replies
Connie,
Air-Krete and RetroFoam are brand names, not technical descriptions. They are two separate companies.
Air-Krete brand insulation is made from magnesium oxychloride cement and a variety of ceramic talc. These minerals are mixed with a proprietary foaming agent and sprayed with pressurized air through a foaming gun.
As far as I can tell, RetroFoam is a brand of foamed-in-place insulation that is either a polyurethane foam or (perhaps) a phenol-formaldehyde foam. It is chemically different from Air-Krete brand insulation.
The phrase "all green" is meaningless. It has no technical or legal definition.
Martin, I believe that RetroFoam is a pour foam, and may have some similarities to Tripolymer 105.
David,
Environmental Building News refers to Tripolymer foam as "foamed-in-place insulation." Thanks for pointing out that I shouldn't have used the phrase "spray polyurethane foam." I'll edit my answer.
In any case, it doesn't sound like it has anything to do with Air-Krete.
Connie,
Air Krete and Retro foam are in no way related. We have installed Air Krete for several years and have looked at Retro along the way. The way they are handled in the field and the ingredients are totally dissimilar. Our experience is that Air Krete is very dimensionably stable while Retro tends to shrink. Also, We have never detected any outgassing from Air Krete, which is supported by the manufacturer's test data.
Thank You everyone for your answers. This is a big decision to make (I was recently widowed) and I don't want something that will not last or that will irritate my asthma (which I got after a botched repair job on my travel trailer caused black mold) The Air Krete is more costly but I was leaning that way and wanted to be sure I wasn't wasting money