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CloseWe would love to talk with you about your project. Please contact us by filling out this form.
CloseActive Foam Specialists, LLC has been installing Icynene Insulation into homes in the Chicagoland area since 2002. Meet some of our employers that work hard each day to ensure that your experience with Active Foam Specialists is enjoyable.
In July, 2002 Mike became an Icynene dealer. He was in the process of building his own home on Pistakee Lake in Johnsburg, IL. Mike had done the research and found that spray foam insulation as seen on This Old House was the way to go in creating an airtight home. He chose Icynene insulation because it is 100% water blown and there are no detectible emissions after a 24 hour period. So he called the local Icynene dealers, there were only two in the area at that time. He had some difficulty in getting them to return the call and figured that if they were that busy, it was time he jumped on the opportunity. Prior to Active Foam Specialists, LLC Mike was the co-owner and operating manager of Pinnacle Contractors, LLC who was a commercial general contractor. Since Active Foam’s inception in 2002, working part-time at the spray foam, weekends/evenings to adding a second rig in 2007 and now a third full size rig in 2011. His business has changed and grown to keep up with the changing times, we now offer Insulation Extraction services, where we are able to remove existing insulation that is no longer performing as it should, or insulation that has been damaged by leaks or even insulation that has been defiled by animals. We vacuum it out, bag it and haul it away.
Active Foam now offers attic access covers which are a great application to insulate that attic access door. Typically a piece of drywall which has little to no Rvalue is shoved over the attic access, this results in an extraordinary amount of heat loss. For as little as $250.00 an AtticAccess cover can be installed and significantly reduce heat loss through this scuttle hole.
Last year, Mike invested in a Fluke Thermal Imaging camera. This equipment allows him to have x-ray vision inside a wall/ceiling cavity to determine a multitude of potential problems. Such as, water damage, determining if there is insulation inside a cavity or if it is void of insulation, heat loss, where is the heat loss coming from, is it from around an electrical conduit pipe or plumbing intake?, was the fiberglass insulation compressed, did the cellulose insulation shrink down, leaving the top of the wall void of any insulation. Once the thermal imaging camera reveals the problems, Mike has the construction/insulation knowledge to know if and how the problems can be resolved.
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October, 2004 – to Present
My career with Active Foam Specialists, started in October, 2004 where I was hired on a part-time basis to cut & clean the foam up, after it was installed. One day while we were working, the opportunity arose for me to work in the office, answering telephones. I quickly took on more responsibility, paying bills, payroll, but the best part of the work was bidding. I was given the opportunity to learn how to field measure a jobsite, to read a blue print and bid jobs. I attended the Icynene Certified Installer training up on Mississauga, Ontario which is a four (4) day extensive training session that covers everything from Building Science to the actual properties of the chemicals along with the installation and equipment repair.
Why would an estimator need to attend a certification? I now have an understanding of why Icynene will exceed in buildings, how the installation process is completed, the equipment that is necessary and how the basics on how it operates.
Since that time, I have never bid two projects that were the same. Each project is as unique as the owners who will occupy the space. I’ve bid homes that have elevators, swimming pools, spas, pool rooms, a poker ante room, one had a Barbie showcase room, this last week an Xbox Game Room, needless to say, some of these projects are very high end residential homes.
However, I think my favorite client is one who is going to enjoy the benefits of the foam on a month to month basis, meaning, when a homeowner with a modest budget makes the investment into spray foam insulation, the benefits are immediate. By lowering their heating/cooling costs actual cash money is freed up in the monthly budget.
It’s exciting to see how much we’ve grown as a company over the last years and frankly I adore my job, plus after working in the legal field, it is really nice to be able to wear my cowgirl boots and blue jeans to work every day. If your looking for an honest, competitive quote for spray foam insulation on your next project, please do call me, I would be willing to answer your questions, and provide you with the back-up documentation that you would need to make a “spray foam insulation” choice for your next project.
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Jim has done just about everything, union laborer, snowplowing, air machine business (owns/operates) and is a good ole’ boy raised on the farm. He started in the spray industry when he gutted and remodeled his own home. He had researched spray foam and knew it was the right choice for him and his family. Jim teamed up with Mike McNish (the owner of Active Foam Specialists) to insulate his home with Icynene in November, 2004 and worked alongside of Mike while he was spraying his home. Jim decided that he could be a sprayer after watching Mike. There are many components in spray foam insulating a home.
Jim is responsible for maintaining all of the equipment on the spray foam trailer, which includes a diesel generator, air compressor, a MHII Graco Proportioner and Proper P2 spray foam gun. The equipment is expensive and must be constantly maintained to ensure that the equipment is operating properly.
Spray foam insulation is made when two separate chemicals are heated up and mixed together only seconds before expelling out of the gun. Only an experienced installer will be able to tell if the chemicals are expelling at the correct ratio and under the correct temperature.
Jim has sprayed over 5 million boardfeet of Icynene insulation.
