INSULATION DAM, METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR INSTALLING FLOWABLE INSULATION USING THE INSULATION DAM
An insulation dam comprises: a single sheet of material configured to define at least four side walls, wherein the single sheet of material comprises at least four creases, and each crease corresponds to a junction of two adjacent walls; an open bottom; and instructions on how to use the insulation dam, wherein the insulation dam has a substantially planar form.
Flowable materials, such as fibrous or particulate insulation materials, also known as loose-fill insulation, may be used to insulate both new and existing buildings. The loose-fill insulation may be installed within various open spaces of the building such as, for example, roofs, attics, walls, ceilings, or floors. During installation, the loose-fill insulation is blown into the open space from a position above the space to be covered. For example, when blowing the loose-fill insulation into a ceiling, the loose-fill insulation is blown from a distance above the surface of the ceiling so that it covers the surface of the ceiling from above. The flowable insulation can be blown to a height of about ten to about 16 inches above the ceiling floor.
The placement of the loose-fill insulation in the open space can be controlled to a certain degree, but due to the particulate nature of the material, it is difficult to prevent the loose-fill insulation from coming into contact with various non-structural building components (e.g., bathroom vent fans, recess light cans, etc.) which may be negatively impacted, either functionally or aesthetically, by particles of the loose-fill insulation.
It would thus be beneficial to provide a method of installing loose-fill (flowable) insulation in an open space which effectively prevents particles of the loose-fill insulation from coming into contact with certain non-structural building components within the open space.
SUMMARYDisclosed, in various embodiments, is an insulation dam comprising: a single sheet of material configured to define at least four side walls, wherein the single sheet of material comprises at least four creases, and each crease corresponds to a junction of two adjacent walls; an open bottom; and instructions on how to use the insulation dam, wherein the insulation dam has a substantially planar form.
Also disclosed is a method of installing flowable insulation in an open space of a building, the method comprising: providing an insulation dam comprising a plurality of side walls defining an interior space and an exterior space, and an open bottom; disposing the insulation dam on a surface in the open space of the building; and installing the flowable insulation on a surface of a structure in the exterior space defined by the plurality of vertical side walls, wherein a height of the flowable insulation is less than a height of the insulation dam.
Also disclosed is a system for installing flowable insulation in an open space of a building, the open space comprising a building component, the system comprising: an insulation dam comprising a plurality of side walls defining an interior space and an exterior space, and an open bottom, wherein the insulation dam is configured to enclose the building component and to prevent contact between the flowable insulation and the building component; and a device for installing the flowable insulation.
These and other features and characteristics are more particularly described below.
The following is a brief description of the drawings wherein like elements are numbered alike and which are presented for the purposes of illustrating the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein and not for the purposes of limiting the same.
Disclosed herein is an insulation dam. When installing flowable insulation, it may be desirable to prevent the flowable insulation from coming into contact with certain building components, such as mechanical, electrical, and/or plumbing components, which may be negatively impacted by the particles of the flowable insulation. The insulation dam minimizes or prevents contact between building components and flowable insulation.
Disclosed herein also is a method of installing flowable insulation in an open space of a building using the insulation dam. The method comprises providing an insulation dam comprising a plurality of walls defining an interior space and an exterior space, and an open bottom; disposing the insulation dam in the open space of the building; and installing the flowable insulation on a surface of a structure in the exterior space defined by the plurality of side walls, wherein a height of the flowable insulation is less than a height of the insulation dam. In the method of installing flowable insulation, the insulation dam acts as a barrier to protect the building component from coming into contact with the flowable insulation.
Disclosed herein also is a system for installing flowable insulation in an open space of a building comprising a building component. The system comprises an insulation dam comprising a plurality of walls defining an interior space and an exterior space, and an open bottom; wherein the insulation dam is configured to enclose the building component and to prevent contact between the flowable insulation and the building component; and a device for installing the flowable insulation.
A more complete understanding of the components and structures disclosed herein may be obtained with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which various embodiments are shown. This disclosure may however, be embodied in many different forms, and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
The insulation dam and method of installing flowable insulation are described herein with reference to
The insulation dam 40 may be provided to minimize or prevent contact between building components and the flowable insulation. The building component may be the non-structural building component, the structural building component, or a combination thereof. The insulation dam 40 comprises a plurality of side walls 50 which define an interior space 60 and an exterior space 70. The interior space refers to the space enclosed by the plurality of walls, while the exterior space refers to the space which is outside of (i.e., is external to) the plurality of side walls. In the insulation dam, each wall of the plurality of side walls is a vertical side wall.
Alternatively, in some embodiments, the insulation dam may be a single wall defining an interior space and an exterior space. For example, the insulation dam may be a single, non-expanded sheet of material used to create a damming run, such as if there is a storage area on one side of an open space (e.g., an attic) and it is desirable to hold the loose fill of the flowable insulation away from the area. In this application, the insulation dam may be a straight line of the insulation dam formed from a single piece of material, or formed by linking smaller, individual sheets together, and applied in long lengths.
The insulation dam has a two-dimensional form, e.g., a substantially planar form, and a three-dimensional form. The insulation dam may be easily stored and transported when in the substantially planar form. Accordingly, the insulation dam may be provided as a substantially planar form. The insulation dam may be quickly expanded from the substantially planar form to the three-dimensional form. The insulation dam may also be collapsible (e.g., compressed) from the three-dimensional form into the substantially planar form. Once collapsed, the insulation dam may once again be readily opened and quickly erected from the substantially planar, flat form into the three-dimensional form, and thus is immediately ready for use.
The insulation dam may further comprise instructions on how to use the insulation dam. For example, the instructions may comprise instructing how to expand the insulation dam from the substantially planar form to a three-dimensional form. The instructions may also comprise instructing on how to use the insulation dam to protect building components when installing flowable insulation.
The overall size and design of the insulation dam, such as the number and dimensions of the vertical side walls, may be determined based upon the size and shape of the non-structural building part to be isolated from the layer of flowable insulation.
The insulation dam may comprise at least four side walls. In some embodiments, the insulation dam comprises an even number of side walls in order to provide structural symmetry to the insulation dam. Structural symmetry allows for the insulation dam to be more easily compressed from the three-dimensional form into the substantially planar form and subsequently opened from the substantially planar form into a structure which is immediately ready for use (e.g., three-dimensional form).
The insulation dam may comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of at least four side walls forming an integral structure. As illustrated in
Alternatively, the top of the insulation dam may further include a top cover which covers and substantially encloses the building component within the interior space. Once the insulation dam has been positioned around the building component, a top cover may be positioned across the opening at the top of the insulation dam so as to cover the opening and substantially enclose the building component. Once the open top of the insulation dam has been covered by the top cover, an adhesive may be used to seal the top cover to the side walls, thereby providing an air sealed application. The material for the top cover may be the same material as the side walls or may be a different material.
The number of the vertical side walls is not limited, and may be, for example, about 4 inches to about 48 inches, or about 5 inches to about 40 inches, or about 6 inches to about 36 inches, or about 10 inches to about 24 inches, but is not limited thereto. In order to prevent flowable insulation from contacting the building component within the interior space of the insulation dam, the height of the side walls is greater than a height of the layer of flowable insulation to be installed. The height of the at least four side walls may be about 6 inches to about 36 inches, or about 8 inches to about 24 inches, or about 9 inches to about 20 inches, or about 10 inches to about 15 inches, but is not limited thereto.
The insulation dam may be formed of a single sheet of material. The single sheet of material may comprise creases which provide the lines at which the single sheet is folded to provide the plurality of vertical side walls. Thus the creases define the junction between adjacent side walls in the plurality of side walls. The creases may be positioned in the single sheet such that individual side walls of the plurality of vertical side walls have the same length or different lengths. The single sheet of material may be provided as a precreased sheet.
Alternatively, the insulation dam may be formed from multiple sheets of material which are hingeably connected to form side walls, such that each side wall is formed by a separate sheet of material. The separate sheets of material may have the same length or different lengths. The separate sheets of material may be hingeably connected to form the plurality of walls using any suitable method. The separate sheets of material are hingeably connected in a manner which allows for the sheets to be compressed from a three-dimensional form to a substantially planar form and to be expanded from a substantially planar form to a three-dimensional form.
The separate sheets of material may be connected using a fastener. The fastener may comprise a rivet, screw, pin, bolt, rod, stud, anchor, staple, hook, wire, adhesive, snap, hook, hook-and-eye fastener, hook-and-loop fastener (e.g., VELCRO®), or nail. In some embodiments, the fastener may be an interlocking mechanism comprising two mating elements which ensure a tight fit. For example, the interlocking mechanism may include one interlocking element (“male portion”) which fits into or latches onto another interlocking element (“female portion”). A non-limiting list of examples of interlock mechanisms includes, but are not limited to, spring fasteners, snap-fits, click fingers, snap locks, snap clip mechanism (such as automotive clip mechanisms), plastic clips, push-in clips or fasteners, arrow clips, grommets, rivets, removable rivets, or snap rivets. A combination comprising at least one of the foregoing may also be used.
The insulation dam may be provided as a pre-fabricated structure by a manufacturer or distributor. The step of providing the insulation dam comprises providing an insulation dam comprising a single sheet of material in a substantially planar form or in a three-dimensional form, or providing an insulation dam comprising several sheets of material which are hingeably connected to form the insulation dam. Instructions on how to use the insulation dam in a method of installing the flowable insulation and/or as part of a system of installing flowable insulation, may also be provided. In the case of a pre-fabricated structure, the instructions may include instructing how to expand the substantially planar form to a three-dimensional form. Alternatively the insulation dam may be custom built by the installer using the separate sheets of material. Instructions regarding how to assemble or build the insulation dam may accompany the materials.
The insulation dam may be formed of a material which is foldable (bendable), resuable, relatively lightweight, and configured to maintain rigidity during the installation of the flowable material. An example of such a material is a corrugated plastic. The corrugated plastic may be, for example, a twinwall, extruded plastic sheet having an appearance of two flat sheets with a ribbed or “corrugated” center layer therebetween, but may be formed of only two layers. The corrugated plastic may comprise a polymer material, such as polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene (e.g., high density polyethylene), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or a combination thereof. Examples of such materials include POLYFLUTE®, FLUTEPLAST®, COROPLAST®, INTEPRO®, PROPLEX®, CORREX®, TWINPLAST®, CORRIFLUTE®, CORFLUTE®, CORREX®, CARTONTPLAST®, and KARTON®, but are not limited thereto.
In the method of installing flowable insulation, the insulation dam 40 is disposed (e.g., positioned) so that a building component, for example, a non-structural building component 30c, is within the interior space 60 defined by the plurality of the walls 50. The insulation dam may be disposed directly on a surface of a structural component 20 or non-structural component in the open space, for example, on a floor, a beam, drywall, and/or a post. The insulation dam 40 may be positioned around the non-structural building component 30c such that the entire non-structural building component 30c is present within the interior space 60 defined by the plurality of walls 50, so as to be enclosed by the plurality of walls 50. Alternatively, only a portion of the non-structural building component may be contained within the interior space, with a remaining portion of the non-structural building component extending into the exterior space defined by the plurality of walls. The insulation dam encloses the building component such that when the flowable insulation is being installed, contact between the flowable insulation and the non-structural building component is prevented.
The insulation dam may further comprise at least one cutout. In some instances, stable positioning of the insulation dam around a building component may be hindered by the presence of another building component. That is, a different (e.g, second) building component (structural and/or non-structural) may interfere with the positioning of the insulation dam around a first building component. For example, non-structural building components (such as conduits, electrical wires, non-electrical wires, pipes, and joists) and/or structural building components (such as boards or beams), may be present on the surface of the structure in the exterior space on which the insulation dam is to be disposed, and thus may prevent stable positioning of the insulation dam on the surface of the structure as well as prevent the insulation dam from effectively enclosing the nonstructural building component. In other instances, it may be desirable to isolate only a portion of the building component within the interior space. In such situations, the insulation dam is disposed on, and in contact with, the building component such that only a portion of the building component is within the interior space with the remainder of the building component extending into the exterior space defined by the plurality of walls. When the insulation dam comprises a cutout, it may be possible to stably position the insulation dam and to effectively isolate the building component within the interior space of the insulation dam.
As shown in
The insulation dam 50 may comprise a cutout 80 in at least one side wall. The position of the cutout may be along a bottom edge of the side wall, along a top edge of the side wall, along a side edge of the side wall, or a combination thereof. The shape of the cutout is designed to reflect a shape of a portion of a building component. Thus, the cutout is configurable with the portion of the building component such that the portion of the building component is insertable into the cutout. The disposing of the insulation dam further comprises aligning the cutout with a portion of a building component which has substantially the same shape as the cutout.
The size and shape of the cutout is based upon the size and shape of the building component(s) for which the cutout is designed, and can be determined accordingly. The size of the cutout is limited only by the size of the vertical side wall, such that the size of the cutout is less than the surface area of the vertical side wall. The shape of the cutout is not limited and is substantially the same as a shape of a portion of a building component. Similarly, the number of the cutouts in the insulation dam may be appropriately determined based upon the size, shape, and number of building components with which the cutouts are to be configured. The insulation dam may comprise one cutout, or two cutouts, or three cutouts, or four cutouts, but is not limited thereto. The number, size, and shape of the cutout preferably does not affect the ability of the insulation dam to provide an effective barrier between the building component and the flowable insulation.
The cutout may be defined in a side wall prior to providing the insulation dam. Alternatively, the cutout may be made by the installer prior to the disposing of the insulation dam. The method of forming the cutout in the insulation dam is not limited, and any suitable method for cutting and removing a portion of a corrugated plastic sheet may be used.
Depending upon the situation, the installer may choose to define a plurality of cutouts in the insulation dam. The plurality of cutouts may be in a single vertical side wall, in each of the plurality of vertical side walls, or variously divided amount individual vertical side walls in the plurality of vertical side walls. As illustrated in
Following the disposing of the insulation dam, as illustrated in
The method of installing flowable insulation in an open space of a building comprises installing the flowable insulation on a surface of a structure in the exterior space defined by the plurality of vertical side walls. The flowable insulation may be any type of loose-fill insulation. One example of a flowable insulation material is a loose-fill (particulate), cellulose fiber insulation. The installing (e.g., placement) of the flowable insulation is performed using a pneumatic device, but is not limited thereto, and any suitable method of installing flowable insulation may be used. During installation, particles of the flowable insulation are dispersed onto the surface of the structure from a distance above the surface to form a layer of flowable insulation. In one embodiment, the flowable insulation may be a loose-fill, cellulose fiber insulation installed at a density of about 1 to about 3 pounds per cubic foot, specifically, about 1 to about 2 pounds per cubic foot (lb/ft3 or p.c.f.) The layer of flowable insulation has a thickness which does not exceed the height of the insulation dam. For example, the layer of flowable insulation may have a thickness from about 6 to about 24 inches, or about 8 to about 15 inches, or about 10 to about 12 inches.
During the installing of the flowable insulation, the insulation dam prevents contact between the flowable insulation and the building component. That is, the insulation dam acts as a barrier to protect the building component from coming into contact with the flowable insulation. Once the flowable insulation has been installed, the insulation dam remains in place. Optionally, in some circumstances, the insulation dam may be removed.
A system for installing flowable insulation in an open space of a building is also provided. The open space comprises a building component to be prevented from contacting the flowable insulation. The system comprises an insulation dam comprising a plurality of vertical side walls defining an interior space and an exterior space, and an open bottom, wherein the insulation dam is configured to enclose the building component and to prevent contact between the flowable insulation and the building component. The system also comprises a device for installing the flowable insulation. The building components in the open space may be structural and/or non-structural building components, and a portion of one or more of the building components may be insertable into a cutout defined in the insulation dam.
A more complete understanding of the components, processes, and apparatuses disclosed herein may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings. These figures (also referred to herein as “FIG.”) are merely schematic representations based on convenience and the ease of demonstrating the present disclosure, and are, therefore, not intended to indicate relative size and dimensions of the devices or components thereof and/or to define or limit the scope of the exemplary embodiments. Although specific terms are used in the following description for the sake of clarity, these terms are intended to refer only to the particular structure of the embodiments selected for illustration in the drawings, and are not intended to define or limit the scope of the disclosure. In the drawings and the following description below, it is to be understood that like numeric designations refer to components of like function.
In general, the invention may alternately comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of, any appropriate components herein disclosed. The invention may additionally, or alternatively, be formulated so as to be devoid, or substantially free, of any components, materials, ingredients, adjuvants or species used in the prior art compositions or that are otherwise not necessary to the achievement of the function and/or objectives of the present invention. The endpoints of all ranges directed to the same component or property are inclusive and independently combinable (e.g., ranges of “less than or equal to 25 wt %, or 5 wt % to 20 wt %,” is inclusive of the endpoints and all intermediate values of the ranges of “5 wt % to 25 wt %”). Disclosure of a narrower range or more specific group in addition to a broader range is not a disclaimer of the broader range or larger group. “Combination” is inclusive of blends, mixtures, alloys, reaction products, and the like. Furthermore, the terms “first,” “second,” and the like, herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to denote one element from another. The terms “a” and “an” and “the” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, and are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. “Or” means “and/or.” The suffix “(s)” as used herein is intended to include both the singular and the plural of the term that it modifies, thereby including one or more of that term (e.g., the film(s) includes one or more films). Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment”, “another embodiment”, “an embodiment”, and so forth, means that a particular element (e.g., feature, structure, and/or characteristic) described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment described herein, and may or may not be present in other embodiments. In addition, it is to be understood that the described elements may be combined in any suitable manner in the various embodiments.
The modifier “about” used in connection with a quantity is inclusive of the stated value and has the meaning dictated by the context (e.g., includes the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity). The notation “+10%” means that the indicated measurement may be from an amount that is minus 10% to an amount that is plus 10% of the stated value.
The terms “front”, “back”, “bottom”, and/or “top” are used herein, unless otherwise noted, merely for convenience of description, and are not limited to any one position or spatial orientation. “Optional” or “optionally” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance can or cannot occur, and that the description includes instances where the event occurs and instances where it does not. Unless defined otherwise, technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as is commonly understood by one of skill in the art to which this invention belongs. A “combination” is inclusive of blends, mixtures, alloys, reaction products, and the like.
While particular embodiments have been described, alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and substantial equivalents that are or may be presently unforeseen may arise to applicants or others skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims as filed and as they may be amended are intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications variations, improvements, and substantial equivalents.
Claims
1. An insulation dam, comprising:
- a single sheet of material configured to define at least four side walls, wherein the single sheet of material comprises at least four creases, and each crease corresponds to a junction of two adjacent walls;
- an open bottom; and
- instructions on how to use the insulation dam,
- wherein the insulation dam has a substantially planar form.
2. The insulation dam of claim 1, wherein the instructions comprise how to expand the insulation dam from the substantially planar form to a three-dimensional form.
3. The insulation dam of claim 1, further comprising a cutout in at least one side wall.
4. The insulation dam of claim 1, wherein the insulation dam comprises a corrugated plastic material.
5. A method of installing flowable insulation in an open space of a building, the method comprising:
- providing an insulation dam comprising a plurality of side walls defining an interior space and an exterior space, and an open bottom;
- disposing the insulation dam on a surface in the open space of the building; and
- installing the flowable insulation on a surface of a structure in the exterior space defined by the plurality of vertical side walls, wherein a height of the flowable insulation is less than a height of the insulation dam.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the plurality of side walls are formed from a single sheet of material comprising a plurality of creases and each crease corresponds to a junction of two adjacent side walls.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein the plurality of side walls are hingeably connected.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein the method further comprises forming a cutout in at least one wall of the plurality of side walls.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein a position of the cutout is along a bottom edge of the at least one wall, along a top edge of the at least one wall, along a side edge of the at last one wall, or a combination thereof.
10. The method of claim 6, wherein a shape of the cutout is substantially the same as a shape of a portion of a building component and the disposing of the insulation dam comprises aligning the cutout with the portion of the building component.
11. The method of claim 5, wherein the insulation dam consists of four side walls forming an integral structure.
12. The method of claim 5, wherein the dam has a substantially planar form and the disposing comprises expanding the dam from the substantially planar form to a three dimensional form.
13. The method of claim 5, wherein the open space of the building comprises a ceiling, an attic, a floor, or a crawl space.
14. A system for installing flowable insulation in an open space of a building, the open space comprising a building component, the system comprising:
- an insulation dam comprising a plurality of side walls defining an interior space and an exterior space, and an open bottom,
- wherein the insulation dam is configured to enclose the building component and to prevent contact between the flowable insulation and the building component; and
- a device for installing the flowable insulation.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the insulation dam further comprises a cutout in at least one side wall of the plurality of side walls.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein a shape of the cutout is substantially the same as a shape of a portion of the building component.
17. The system of claim 14, wherein a position of the cutout in the at least one wall is configured so that when the insulation dam and the portion of the building component are conjoined, the portion of the second building component fits within the cutout.
18. The system of claim 14, wherein the insulation dam consists of at least four vertical side walls forming an integral structure.
19. The system of claim 14, wherein the insulation dam comprises a corrugated plastic material.
20. The system of claim 14, wherein the building component comprises a non-structural building component, a structural building component, or a combination thereof.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 17, 2018
Publication Date: Jul 18, 2019
Inventors: Wesley Couture (South Hadley, MA), Suzanne Couture (South Hadley, MA), Wyatt Couture (South Hadley, MA), Kurtis Couture (Belchertown, MA)
Application Number: 15/873,253
