Building Envelope Solutions
Spray foam for Brooklyn brownstones and row houses
Most Brooklyn row houses lose the most heat through the flat roof over the top floor and the gaps where the house meets its neighbors. Spray foam fixes both in one pass: it fills the cavity and seals the air leaks that loose insulation leaves open.
We work from our shop on Bedford Avenue, so most Brooklyn jobs are a short drive for the rig.
Open cell or closed cell?
- Closed cell: dense and water resistant, the right choice under a flat roof deck, on rim joists and on basement walls. It gives the most insulation per inch where space is tight.
- Open cell: softer and lighter, good for pitched attics in frame houses in Midwood, Flatbush and Marine Park, and it quiets street noise.
We tell you which one fits each part of the house after we look at it, and some homes get both.
Where we spray in a Brooklyn house
- Under the roof deck: from inside when the top-floor ceiling is open, or into the roof cavity during a roof replacement.
- Rim joists and the top of the foundation: the band where floors sit on the walls, a big source of drafts in older houses.
- Open walls during a gut renovation: before the drywall goes up.
- Party-wall gaps: where cold air moves between attached houses.
Rebates
Most of Brooklyn has National Grid gas. National Grid’s Total Home Comfort program is paused for new applications, so most one- to four-family homes now go through NYSERDA programs, and buildings with 5 or more units through National Grid’s multifamily program. We check what is open for your address before we price the job. See the NYC rebate guide.
Common questions
Do you need to open my ceilings? Not always. If the ceilings are finished, we look at roof-side access or blown-in insulation instead.
How long does it take? Most one- to three-family Brooklyn homes take one or two days.