Phenolic Roof Insulation

Composite polyiso insulation board.

Phenolic roof insulation.

Phenolic foam insulation used to be available in board form but today is only sold as a type of foamed in place insulation. Phenolic foam insulation was manufactured and sold into the north american market in the 1980 s and early 90 s mainly as roofing insulation. Trymer supercel phenolic meets the 25 50 flame smoke requirement established by astm e84 and offers compressive strength that ranges from 32 psi to 158 psi. Claimed benefits were high insulation value and excellent fire resistance.

Where can i use phenolic insulation. It can be used in a variety of roof wall and floor applications which makes it a great solution for a range of constructions. Other precautions had to be undertaken as well. It was produced in board form in various sizes and thicknesses ranging from 1 inch to 3 3 5 inches 25 4 mm to 91 4 mm.

Phenolic insulation exposed to humidity or direct moisture such as roof leaking creates sulphonic acid. The presence of phenolic insulation should be carefully considered. High moisture absorption potential and residual acid present in the foam allegedly resulted in significant corrosion issues. While the roof surface is flat the installation of the new roof the removal of the phenolic foam and its replacement with polyisocyanurate foam had to be carefully sequenced.

Phenolic insulation is the most thermally efficient insulation commonly used helping you to meet building regulations and has exceptional fire performance. The reason is that phenolic dust once introduced to moisture can become very acidic and damage surrounding materials. In a short amount of time this sulphonic acid corrodes both standard painted deck as well as galvanized deck. Click here to see more roofing topics.

Phenolic foam insulation was a short lived innovation developed in the early 80s in response to the energy crisis driven demand for greater insulation efficiency. The plant is comprised of several sections with varying heights says lembke. The denser thinner layer acts as a cover board and is attached at the factory. Currently july 2014 membrane roofing manufacturers will not issue a warranty on new roofing on buildings which had phenolic insulation.

It offers many advantages including excellent density and an r value of 4 8 per inch of thickness which forms an effective barrier against heat transfer and thus helps you save energy around the house. Phenolic foam roof insulation consisted of a phenolic foam core bonded to nonasphaltic fiberglass and other facers. As regulations required higher r value insulation in roofs a demand arose for material which offered both fire resistance and high r value while not requiring a full roofing re build to accommodate its thickness. Our phenolic foam trymer supercel phenolic is a closed cell rigid phenolic foam insulation.