Foaming Applications

BORON FOAM TREATMENTS

Foam is an effective way of treating voids beneath concrete slabs, inside wall voids, exposed attic framing and sub-area framing. The properties of the foam allow the gradual penetration of boron into the wood without the run off water based boron applications could have.

Foam is a compact mass of air bubbles which are separated by a liquid film. It is 85% to 98% air and only about 5% liquid. Foam may contain a lot of water and be considered "wet," or a little water and be considered "dry."

Foam exists for only a limited time; eventually the liquid drains from between the bubbles, which causes them to break and the foam to "collapse." The speed at which foam collapses depends on the amount of water and other products in it. The slow collapse of borate foam provides the opportunity for increased diffusion into wood.

TOXICITY TO INSECTS. The objective of applying borates, whether liquid or foam, to structural timber is to produce a concentration of boron below the surface of the wood that is lethal to the target insect pest.

It is commonly held that borate treatment for wood is a new development. Wrong! Borates have been widely used in Europe and elsewhere for decades. In New Zealand, wood-destroying organisms had been a major problem until soaking construction timbers in a borate solution was mandatory. This was introduced in 1953 and since that time there has been no single reported incidence of failure in these treated houses.

When deciding on the type of treatment that best fits your needs several factors should be considered: the type of pest being controlled, the degree of infestation or number of known areas of infestation, the accessibility of the infestation, and the approximate age of the infestation.

This shows foam stacking in a wall void.