Insulation – Should Fiberglass Be Compressed or Use Foam Insulation?

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I have a room made of hollowed concrete blocks that I framed by mounting 2x4s, wide side against the wall. This gives me a 1.5in depth cavity to fill with insulation.

Should I use an r19 fiberglass insulation and compress it down from 6" to 1.5"? Or should I use a 1" foam board (r5)? I know compressing insulation lowers the r value. I'd like to get the r value as high as possible (recommended is r13 in Florida)

Best Answer

If you use anything Use foam, fiberglass gets its R value in the volume. The block wall actually has an R value, I think when I poured my shop walls there was foam on outside and inside and I think the wall was rated at R 50. Since you have a solid wall I might just have an air space. As 1” of foam is expensive for the R value and the air space is actually an insulator. I would base my choice on the r value of foam panels vs the cost.