Tried spray foam in a can vs rigid foam board for sealing my basement rim joists

I spent last Saturday trying to air seal the rim joists in my 1940s bungalow in Cleveland. The can foam kept dripping and sagging everywhere, but the rigid foam board cut to size with a few dabs of caulk went up clean and solid in half the time. Has anyone else found rigid board way easier to work with for rim joist sealing?

3 comments

3 Comments

anthonymurray12d ago

My 1920s house has a ton of gaps a half inch or bigger, so the rigid board leaves visible air gaps no matter how tight I cut it. I just spray foamed around each piece after setting it in place, it took maybe 20 extra minutes but I know it's sealed. Honestly I think people overthink this stuff, a little foam and friction fit works fine for me.

sage_dixon12d ago

@anthonymurray you're making me feel real bad about the gap I just caulked over and called it a day.

park.abby12d ago

Had a buddy who did the exact same thing and his place passed inspection no problem. It's more about the foam than fancy cuts honestly.