Estimating

How to Calculate Spray Foam Requirements for a Project

spray foam tanks
Due to the variety of applications and different formulas of Tiger Foam Air Sealant that are available, there are several formulas for determining the quantity of product required for the job. Read the general information about the spray foam air sealant kits, then calculate the amount of spray foam required for your project using the Slow Rise Formulas and Fast Rise Formulas. If you have problems calculating, simply call our sales office directly at 1-888-844-3736 and they’ll be happy to do the calculations for you.

Tiger Foam has two types spray foam air sealant formulas:

Tiger Foam’s Fast Rise (FR) is formulated for surface spraying. Use for air sealing open frame walls in new construction buildings, air sealing crawl spaces and basement ceilings, and air sealing metal walls.

  • density is 1.75 lbs. per cubic foot
  • Rated at R-6.2 – R-7.4 per inch
  • The 600 kit will cover up to 600 square feet at 1” or up to 50 cubic feet
  • The 200 kit will cover up to 200 square feet at 1” or up to 16 cubic feet

Note: A board foot as it relates to this product is a square foot one inch thick. The kit size is yield of the kit expanded
E-84 Fire Rated: Formulated as a value added product with additional self-extinguishing fire retardants. Used primarily where the foam is going to be exposed in commercial applications that require the E-84 rating be satisfied or additional fire safety is a consideration.

Calculation Advice By Project


Spray Foam Seal for New Construction Open Wall Cavities

The amount of spray foam required depends on your application.

To calculate how much you will need for air sealing open frame walls:

  1. Measure your outside walls length x height to get your raw square footage.
  2. Measure the doors and windows for the total square footage of each
  3. Subtract the total square footage of the windows and doors and subtract that from the raw square footage of the walls

Example: A house that measures 36′x 20′ with 8′ walls:

  • 36L + 20W x 2 = 110 x 8′ = 896 total square feet of wall area in the outside walls.
  • You have 120 square feet of windows and doors area
  • 896‐120= 776 square feet of wall
  • You have a total of 776 square feet of wall area to foam

This job would require one TF600FR kit and one TF200FR kit for a 1′′ application

Spray Foam Sealing Crawl Spaces and Basement Ceilings


Crawl spaces and basement ceilings, including rim joists are calculated at simple board footage. For instance, if your crawlspace is 20’x 30′, that equals 600 sq. ft.

This air sealing job requires only one TF-600 kit to warm the floors and block draftiness from air infiltration coming up the walls from the crawlspace or basement.

See application instructions for crawl spaces and basement ceilings 

Spray Foam Sealing Metal Buildings Walls and Ceilings


Tiger Foam is ideal to use for Metal Roof overhead application.
Metal buildings are figured on gross sq. footage of wall and ceilings. Here’s how to calculate how much spray foam you will need for metal walls and ceilings:

Calculate the linear footage of your metal building
Multiply this total by the height of your walls
Example: You have a 20′ x 30′ metal building with 10′ walls.

20+20+30+30 = 100 linear feet
100 x 10 = 1000 sq. ft

If you are doing the ceiling also, it’s 20’x 30′ = 600 sq. ft. Add that total to 1,000 sq. ft of walls and you need to cover 1,600 sq. ft. Three of the TF-600 kits will do that, even allowing for a 3:1 pitch in the roof.

See application instructions for metal buildings and ceilings  

Sealing Hot Tubs and Spas


Unless your Hot Tub or Spa is for more than 8 people, a TF-200 kit will do it.

See application instructions for hot tubs and spas 



Tiger Foam’s Slow Rise (SR) pour in place formula is a low-expansion foam that is made to expand slowly and fill boat hulls, pontoons and flotation devices or anywhere injected foam can be used.

  • density is 2.0 lbs. per cubic foot
  • rated at R-6 per inch
  • rated—floats 60 lbs per cubic foot
  • filling liquid tanks with foam for EPA mandates, flotation devices, etc.

Conditions For Best Yield

You really need to put a heat source on these tanks to get the maximum yield. A ceramic heater or electric heater with a fan works well. The warmer they are, the better the yield. If you don’t keep the tanks warm, you will not get the yield out of the kits and will run out of foam.

It’s a basic bell curve. Maximum yield is achieved when tanks are between 75 and 85 degrees. If you were doing a large project, it would pay to invest in an Infrared thermometer because if the TF-600 gets below 70 degrees, you can lose 30% of the yield, so the thermometer would be a good investment. If the chemical temperature gets any lower in Temperature, the foam may not expand and will run.

BEST BET: Put a heat source of 70-85 degrees (24-29 C ) on these kits for approximately 1-2 days before you use them and remember they need to be properly warmed to get the maximum yield. This foam expands and adheres great within its prescribed temperature ranges.

KEY WORDS: WARM TANKS UP! You don’t have to keep heat on them while you are spraying. Get them properly warmed just before you start and, unless it’s below 20 degrees C out, they won’t cool down in the time it takes to spray a kit. A little common sense when using these kits really makes them work well.

Do not subject them to open flame to warm them up. Do not use a blowtorch to warm them up. (This was a real question called into us, so we thought we’d address it before it was asked again)

These kits are a dream to use in the summer, but they do take special attention to surface, ambient, and chemical temperatures in the cooler months. We appreciate you taking the time to understand this.