Repurposed foam
Wannabegreenbuilder
| Posted in Green Products and Materials on
It’s safe to say that I do not live and operate in a population dense area. We trade open spaces and fantastic views for cultural events, convenience of close by materials and services and help if one needs it. That is why I value this forum. I would like to find out a source for used foam insulation (preferly polyiso but have an open mind other types). Does anybody have any idea of how I can find and repurpose foam if I live in south central Montana. I have never seen any for resale/repurpose in my area.
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Some of the insulation reclaiming people advertise on Craig's List, so that's a good place to start. You may find you have to widen your search area if you're in a pretty remote spot though. I know there are some big operations out of Chicago, and some of them will ship. Freight isn't always super expensive, but it depends a lot on where you are. If you were willing to go pick up a shipment from a freight terminal near you so that they don't have to come all the way to your place that will save money too.
Bill
Wannabee,
Here is a link to the closest source I know of:
https://www.repurposedmaterialsinc.com/Denver-Location-Product-Inventory
Unfortunately, they seem to be out of insulation at this time. It comes and goes, sometimes pretty quickly. The current lack of foam in Denver may simply be due to the fact that ripping off insulation for re-roofing is done when the weather is more favorable.
I got my 3" 25psi XPS from them some years back and the stock was amazingly good. Very little lost to tears or gouging. I contracted with an independent hauler that brought the whole load over the mountains to my relatively remote part of SW Colorado. I think it was under a thousand for the haul. Remember foam is bulky not heavy, so it can fill a trailer quickly. Total cost was well below new stock and I re-used the planetary hit.
I have not been to Montana so I can't judge if Billings or Bozeman would have many big buildings that need re-roofing. Maybe Rapid City would be worth a few calls or internet searches to see if there are recyclers or roofers that need to move used insulation. If you can connect with someone scheduled to do a roof, you might find them even less costly as they would avoid hauling the stuff off site and disposal fees if they can't be bothered to hook up with a recycler. Mileage costs are going to be the biggest factor not weight if you can't haul on your own.
Do be prepared to deal with bundled stacks that are way heavier than you might think. My little tractor couldn't do a bundle, so my good neighbor bailed me out with a proper skid steer.