When and/or why foam is or isn't needed inside vinyl frame windows or sliding patio doors.

99% of the clients I meet "assume" that foam is needed inside a vinyl window frame to provide insulating value for the framing system. Here's why foam is (NOT) needed and it's all based on "Laws of Physics"

[@danielg.8997]

Foam does add insulation to a window and it also adds some rigidity. No matter how you slice it, Foam is a smart option and it does make a window more efficient. The only reason a company would not offer foam is to save money and time on the production line.

[@psolsrud]

Isn't foam insulation just small beads of plastic with air inside them?

[@andyk4688]

Vinyl air gap vinyl on and on it how it’s designed for energy efficiency. Foam is needed for cheaper built windows. Understand the difference first

[@alanc6468]

Thank you so much Jay. You have saved me a lot of money and time. Every company says they're the best and I didn't know who to believe.

[@gsgambhir]

Very helpful Jay

[@carefuld9779]

Thanks for the knowledge, I live in Canada, where the temperature can drop to sub-zero degrees..I am now researching between bouble and triple pane Vinyl windows for my home. Much appreciate the time and effort you put into your videos.

[@bodhibriar7401]

Pro tip : you can watch movies on Kaldrostream. Me and my gf have been using it for watching a lot of movies during the lockdown.

[@marcushezekiah6627]

@Bodhi Briar Yea, I have been using kaldrostream for months myself =)

[@kellenralph5615]

@Bodhi Briar Yup, been using Kaldrostream for since november myself :D

[@aldenphillip765]

@Bodhi Briar Yea, I have been using kaldrostream for months myself =)

[@dropla6891]

Thank you so much for this video. How many chambers should be in a sliding patio door?

[@rlacy383]

What windows are those with the high number of hollow spaces? What rare the best vinyl windows with high number of chambers? How will expansion cracks of vinyl windows be prevent on states such as Colorado with high temp swings daily?

[@thechuckster1971]

Vinyl windows are the longest most expensive snake oil in the history of snake oil. And foam will absolutely improve the user experience by noise reduction. So say what you want about air gaps. But if the frame has no foam sound can pass right through. Use your loaf.

[@NoName-fw8ts]

Wow there are so many coments on what is good and not good. Ive read books and watched videos and offivialy more confusef than ever. Im now considering just replacing tge windows with a wall.

[@ldkent1]

Thanks

[@jaybee6976]

Thanks brother! Just starting a window company. Been sell windows for years... Never really knew the correct answer foam or no foam.... Gimmicks are nice though ha ha

[@27delphi]

You need to shut down your company if you are this gullible!

[@haralambosmarkopolo285]

Hi Jay. I have a question. What is the manufacturer of the 23 chamber vinyl unit?

[@haralambosmarkopolo285]

The most chambers I've seen is (10) by a company called Centra Windows and they are in Canada. I haven't seen multiple chambers like that from a company in the USA so that's why I'm asking.

[@nrehberg]

Probably Provia

[@haralambosmarkopolo285]

@@nrehberg Thanks!

[@listenkaren8222]

why would you ever buy an insulated door than?

[@emmanuelgutierrez8616]

2nd of your videos that i watch that have the sound problems. one works in the Right side of headset

[@gmcjetpilot]

You could retire if you had a dollar for every time you straighten someone out on windows? You could retire on 20 bucks... gee let me send that to you buddy. Ha ha, Jay they are just windows. I JUST got 7 QUOTES.... from $4,500 to $16,000 for 6 or 7 windows (depending on how you count then, one opening is double wide). So if I get a good vinyl window with foam for same price as same frame no foam... Dead Air verses insulation, the foam is higher R value. You are right to ask, is it NEEDED? Well depends on your weather, energy cost. If you have foam great, if not likely the performance will be similar all things being equal.

[@TheCOZ]

Condescension ain't moisture that collects on cold surfaces in humid environments.

[@stifflers69mom1]

Ok so it doesn’t provide any better insulation…….MAYBE I’ll give you that and that’s a big maybe ……but what about support? …….what about sound reduction?????

[@tatebraboy336]

Agreed!!

[@davidr9876]

This guy is wrong. And look at the glass loss in those frames he says are better. Gigantic frames and smaller glass units and no foam are all cost saving measures. Whats the u factor on those frames he is hocking?

[@appleater3]

Ok, there are a couple facts sprinkled in here which makes it seem knowledgeable, but this is NOT correct. There are many other reasons why there would be foam in there and those cavities are big enough to cause convection currents which are very effective at moving heat

[@27delphi]

Exactly, this guy knows just enough to be dangerous! He does not understand air movement or convection at all! Nor does he understand why you have windows in your home! Who wants a 6 inch frame, when you can have a 3 inch just as efficient!

[@MrAquinas1]

@@27delphi And the 3 inch will warp enough to lose a good seal losing a lot more heat than foam preserves.

[@27delphi]

Some people play on the gullible nature and the ignorance of people! Anyone that knows anything about physics knows this is a Bull article trying to convince people to buy cheap windows because they do not want to put the engineering in to make them quality!

[@27delphi]

Some of what you are saying is true, but most is smoke an mirrors! I have been in manufacturing my entire life at some of the largest companies in the world! There is a reason they insulate refridgerator! Sure you can have more chambers if you want, but look how much glass area you are losing in your window! The reason for a window is light and be able to see, if you chamber it all in, you are defeating the purpose! Look how massive those frames are! You just lost me as a follower! You are so gullible! Traping air is what insulates, foam is much more efficient than open air. Look it up in any engineering manual! YOU ARE WRONG!

[@MrAquinas1]

And window manufacturers who assume that maximizing glass area is wonderful are flat out stupid. The overall aesthetics of the house matters. Scrawny frames look crappy. Frames should be thick and beefy. What kind of neurotic sits by their window staring out all day.

[@27delphi]

@@MrAquinas1 Yeah, just go by many of these houses with replacement windows and the gawky looking huge frames around the windows! Ruins the look of the house! I can spot a house with cheap replacement windows from a quarter of a mile away! Just get you some foot wide frames and one little pain of glass then if that is what you like! I am just correcting him on his bad engineering! If insulated frames are not needed, I wasted a lot of money insulating the walls of my home! I should have just caulked it good and called it good! HA HA! Only people I have seen that argued against insulated frames are the window companies that do not offer it!

[@MrAquinas1]

@@27delphi I don't propose the other extreme of cheap vinyls with excessive outer frames. But frames that are skinnier than how a classic traditional all wood frame would look are equally ugly. On the other matter. As a physicist, I know a few things about thermodynamics, and he is not wrong on his main point that multiple chambers, provided they are well sealed and mated welll at the corners, will provide very good thermal efficiency. Additional foam has minimal benefit,, although every factor counts. Nonetheless, it is far more important to have multiple chambers with reasonably thick gauging of pvc compartmentalizing. The resulting small chambers might make foam injection much more difficult. But heat transfer by convenction would be low with many chambers, a far greater factor for torsional stiffness as well.

[@27delphi]

I agree you need to consider the architectural look of the home. But, on many homes the vinyl replacement windows have much larger frames than the original which ruins the look of the entire home! I agree that many chambers with dead air space is better on an uninsulated window than few small spaces on an uninsulated window. But, you are not dealing with a vacuum chamber here! You only need a pin hole or crack in the vinyl to lose most of your insulation! Also, you get much more convection in an empty chamber than in an insulated one! No way around that fact! You talk of many insulated chambers, well insulations job is to give you thousands of insulated chambers, that is how insulation works! I am not a physicist but I have years of experience in building and designing chillers, air conditioners, and boilers! So, I will take an insulated frame with thousands of insulated chambers that will still be there 30 years down the road vs 4 or 5 chambers that could very well be breached! Similar to a Pontoon boat, the large pontoons float just as well as an insulated one until it gets a hole in it! I will take the foam insulated pontoons myself!

[@Sporttster]

@@MrAquinas1 We're looking at vinyl windows and they have both insulated and non insulated frames available. I'd like to go with the foam inside just to add rigidity and strength to the framing, not just insulation. It makes the window stiffer and stronger, especially on larger windows which two of ours will be. I may not add it to the smaller ones to save some cost.