Spray Foam Insulation in Apison, TN

Where the suburbs meet the farms

Apison was farmland and a small railroad community until the growth around Collegedale and Ooltewah reached it. Today it is a mix. Census Bureau estimates for the Apison census area put the median build year at about 1998, with nearly half the homes built since 2000 and fewer than a third predating 1980. Subdivisions of 2000s and 2010s houses line Apison Pike and East Brainerd Road on the west side; farmhouses, 1970s ranches on large lots, and working barns and equipment sheds fill the country roads toward the state line.

Apison was also in the path of the April 2011 tornado outbreak, and a number of homes in the area were rebuilt afterward. Rebuilt homes and new subdivisions share the same insulation questions: attics full of ductwork, bonus rooms over garages and vented crawl spaces on the rolling lots.

Barns, shops and metal buildings

Apison has more pole barns and metal buildings per mile than almost anywhere else in the county: horse barns, equipment sheds, contractor shops and hobby garages, many of them being finished into workshops, offices or living space. Uninsulated steel in this climate sweats. Warm humid air meets a cold roof panel on a spring morning and it rains inside the building.

Closed-cell spray foam on the roof panels and walls is the standard fix. It bonds to the steel, acts as a vapor retarder at about two inches, adds real R-value and stiffens the panels. For an owner turning a barn into a shop or a shop into an apartment, foam is usually the first trade in. Where the foam will stay exposed, a thermal barrier or an approved intumescent coating is part of the scope, and Hamilton County's building office has the last word on what a given building requires.

Houses old and new

The farmhouses and older ranches along the country roads are on block or stone crawl spaces, often shallow and open, with wet fiberglass in the floors and thin attics. Encapsulation below and air sealing plus insulation above are the fixes, and on the older stone foundations closed-cell foam is the only material that seals properly. The newer subdivision homes get the newer-home treatment: sealing the attic penetrations, bringing the depth up or foaming the roof deck to protect the attic ducts, and encapsulating the vented crawl spaces before they get any wetter.

Apison is unincorporated, so permits go through Hamilton County. Most of the area is served by EPB, though addresses near the county line may be on a different distributor, so we confirm your utility before talking about the EPB and TVA EnergyRight rebates.