Insulation dam, method and system for installing flowable insulation using the insulation dam

Abstract

An insulation dam comprises: a single sheet of material configured to define at least four side walls, wherein the single sheet of material comprises at least four creases, and each crease corresponds to a junction of two adjacent walls; an open bottom; and instructions on how to use the insulation dam, wherein the insulation dam has a substantially planar form.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An insulation dam, comprising:
 a single sheet of material configured to define at least four side walls, wherein the single sheet of material comprises at least four creases, and each crease corresponds to a junction of two adjacent walls;   an open bottom; and   instructions on how to use the insulation dam,   wherein the insulation dam has a substantially planar form.   
     
     
         2 . The insulation dam of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions comprise how to expand the insulation dam from the substantially planar form to a three-dimensional form. 
     
     
         3 . The insulation dam of  claim 1 , further comprising a cutout in at least one side wall. 
     
     
         4 . The insulation dam of  claim 1 , wherein the insulation dam comprises a corrugated plastic material. 
     
     
         5 . A method of installing flowable insulation in an open space of a building, the method comprising:
 providing an insulation dam comprising
 a plurality of side walls defining an interior space and an exterior space, and 
 an open bottom; 
   disposing the insulation dam on a surface in the open space of the building; and   installing the flowable insulation on a surface of a structure in the exterior space defined by the plurality of vertical side walls, wherein a height of the flowable insulation is less than a height of the insulation dam.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the plurality of side walls are formed from a single sheet of material comprising a plurality of creases and each crease corresponds to a junction of two adjacent side walls. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the plurality of side walls are hingeably connected. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the method further comprises forming a cutout in at least one wall of the plurality of side walls. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein a position of the cutout is along a bottom edge of the at least one wall, along a top edge of the at least one wall, along a side edge of the at last one wall, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein a shape of the cutout is substantially the same as a shape of a portion of a building component and the disposing of the insulation dam comprises aligning the cutout with the portion of the building component. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the insulation dam consists of four side walls forming an integral structure. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the dam has a substantially planar form and the disposing comprises expanding the dam from the substantially planar form to a three dimensional form. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the open space of the building comprises a ceiling, an attic, a floor, or a crawl space. 
     
     
         14 . A system for installing flowable insulation in an open space of a building, the open space comprising a building component, the system comprising:
 an insulation dam comprising
 a plurality of side walls defining an interior space and an exterior space, and 
 an open bottom, 
   wherein the insulation dam is configured to enclose the building component and to prevent contact between the flowable insulation and the building component; and   a device for installing the flowable insulation.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the insulation dam further comprises a cutout in at least one side wall of the plurality of side walls. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein a shape of the cutout is substantially the same as a shape of a portion of the building component. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein a position of the cutout in the at least one wall is configured so that when the insulation dam and the portion of the building component are conjoined, the portion of the second building component fits within the cutout. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the insulation dam consists of at least four vertical side walls forming an integral structure. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the insulation dam comprises a corrugated plastic material. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the building component comprises a non-structural building component, a structural building component, or a combination thereof.