Cavitymate System Insulates and Seals Brick Exteriors

Combining expanding sealant with specially formulated rigid foam from DuPont solves several building challenges at once.

When installed with spray foam to seal gaps, DuPont's Styrofoam Cavitymate XPS Ultra panels, meet ASHRAE 90.1-2010 prescriptive requirements for continuous insulation and air barrier. Their sizing (15 3/4  inches wide) means they fit between wall ties in block-backed walls. This pairing of rigid foam with spray foam products has a formal name: Ultra Air Barrier Wall System. Although designed as a commercial product, the system offers the same durability and performance advantages for residential homes built with brick, stone or other masonry facades.

To clarify what can be a confusing branding issue, Cavitymate is manufactured by DuPont, although it bears the Dow logo. Back in 2017, Dow Chemical merged with du Pont de Nemours, to form the American company DuPont, the current makers of Cavitymate.

An especially dense formula of expanded polystyrene (XPS) enables these panels to boost performance for brick and other masonry exteriors, at same time resisting regular wetting and temperature fluctuations.

DuPont has made major strides in reducing its pollution footprint in the manufacture of Styrofoam products. Using something they call BlueEdge techology, producting the rigid XPS board releases no hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC).
On average, Styrofoam made in North America contains about 20 percent preconsumer recycled content, a figure certified by UL Environment Inc.

The other performance benefit of DuPont's Cavitymate is a high r-value per inch of material, as shown in the chart below.

It's important to note that adding insulation has been shown to be one of the most cost-efficient ways to reduct greenhouse gases globally.

Here's DuPont's official brochure about this system.

U.S. Sizes, R-values and Edge Treatments for Styrofoam™ Brand Cavitymate™ Ultra XPS Foam Insulation