Foam Roof and Skylight in Garage
Hello all,
We are considering a foam roof on our Eichler for the insulating factor. At the same time, we are considering recessed lights and skylights in the living space and one in the garage (which seriously lacks natural and electrical light). We will work with a lighting designer to ensure that the coverage is not over the top and appropriate in style and number of lights.
Does anyone have any objections to any of the above choices which would contradict the modern Eichler design? Any comments, positive or negative is appreciated.
Thanks :)
We too thought about recessed lighting when we Foamed but having to build Boxes to go over the cans and the possibility of stepping through them while on the roof made us reconsider.
We ended up with some very minimal low profile italian track lighting that looks great and works very well. We laid out all the wiring for lighting and speakers while the roof was bare wood and had it all foamed over.
It works well and is very Eichler friendly.
Really think about all your lighting, ventilation, and skylight needs before you foam and do as much as you can afford.
GT
'Can Lights' look great in an Eichler. The clean and un-cluttered look makes the most of the open beam ceilings.
Sprayed foam is much tougher than you think. It can support 40 pounds per square inch without even denting. So, a 10x10 inch plywood box with foam on it could support 4,000 pounds without denting the foam. This is more than 100 times more 'live load' than your roof was engineered to support per squre foot. You could park a wheel of your car on the 'can light' box without hurting the foamed box....and, the hardest part of this demonstration would be getting the car on the roof.
Two problem areas: There are many different kinds of 'can lights'. Some create a lot of heat and need a much larger box. Some are called 'Zero clearance' and can use a much smaller box. The important thing is to hire a contractor that can (and does) read and understand the installation requirements.
2. The best way to do the wiring on the roof for these lights is to cut a neat narrow channel in the old tar roof. Foam transmits shapes. If you foam over a messy, chopped-up surface.....this is what you will get. If you were to foam over a nickel on a roof, you could see it through two inches of foam.
Few people know that the Space Shuttle foam is exactly the same material they have on their sprayed-foam roof. The foam color in the news is brownish orange because the foam has no coating and the tanks are stored outside for many months before they are used. Exposed foam turns this color without coating.
I'm also considering a new roof and probably 4 - 5 skylights and track lighting in my home.
I'm starting to take bids/estimates on the roofing and it seems that most roofing companies will recommend a contractor for the skylight. My question is:
-is there a high and low (cost) season for roofing? I'm perfectly fine waiting until October if I can save money!
-any brand or model of track lighting that people have used and like?
Thanks.
Edgar
