[chadh]

BFS stands for basement finishing system. 

You see, I want to finish my basement.  And I discovered that owens corning offered to install these systems, specially designed for basements.  The claim seems to be that drywall (with moisture barrier, typical insulation and wood studs) is about the last thing you want to use to line your basement walls.  The representative who visited my house even showed me videos of dying babies, their lungs ravaged by deadly black mold that was harboured behind the basement drywall.  (Lordy, I hate these scare tactics!) 

Anyway, the owens corning solution is to manufacture special walls that are erected in the basement that "breathe", and allow moisture to pass through.  The walls are made of 2.5 inch thich slabs of R11 insulation material, coated with fabric made of some sort of high strength, permeable plastic weave.  They claim something like 90% sound absorbtion from this stuff.  They also install a ceiling of specially designed acoustic tiles that they claim absorbs over 50% of sound.  One of the selling points seemed to be the amount of sound insulation that these walls/ceilings would give the basement.

Now, I know nothing about acoustics.  But I know a lot of people around here are interested in acoustic treatments.  And I know a lot of people end up with listening space in the basement.  So, if you find yourself in this situation, the owens corning system may be worth considering - you get a bunch of room treatments without having to hang anything on your walls.  Of course, you apparently have to sit through a four hour long sales presentation, pictures of dying babies, an unbearably uncomfortable negotiation process and (in my case) a shouting match with the regional assistant manager over speaker phone.  I'll let you all be your own judge of whether it's all worth it.

Chad

[lonewolfny42]

I've seen the ad's on tv....and a few mailed flyers.....link.......

[MaxCast]

Interesting, as we look at houses, I am looking for a good basement.

[Soundbitten]

The claim seems to be that drywall (with moisture barrier, typical insulation and wood studs) is about the last thing you want to use to line your basement walls

Now ya tell me ... that's what I used when I built my room in the basement about 5 years ago .   

[chadh]

Just in case anybody's interest in this has been piqued...

My wife has been doing some online research into the Owens Corning BFS, and especially consumer responses to the system.  It seems, by and large, people are
(i) happy with the product (the main concern seems to be that it doesn't look as classy as a nicely drywalled basement, although there are occasional problems with the product quality, as well as buck-passing problems when product failures occur);
(ii) appalled by the scare tactics used in the sales pitch (in which a drywalled basement is essentially characterised as a ticking time bomb ready to explode in a cloud of toxic mold at any moment); and
(iii) outraged by the strong-armed and misleading sales techniques (examples:  the consultant who visited last night assured us he did not work on commission.  This was true, but only because they call it "incentive payment" rather than commission.  The typical sales pitch involves them quoting you an absurdly high price. which falls by anything from 25%-50% after some negotiation.  But at some point the "super discounted price" is given as a take-it-or-leave-it, one-night-only offer.  This comes complete with financing, at interest rates that they won't/can't quote you, and at terms that they cannot specify on the spot.  Yet, they insist on a commitment on the spot.

The bottom line is that the system may be quite good, but be prepared to deal with some obnoxious and potentially deceitful sales experiences if you wish to go this route.  Take the time to check things out online before a consultant arrives at your home.

Oh...and while OC claims to have no competitors in the industry, this is apparently not true.  Shop around.

Chad

[lonewolfny42]

iii) outraged by the strong-armed and misleading sales techniques (examples:  the consultant who visited last night assured us he did not work on commission.  This was true, but only because they call it "incentive payment" rather than commission.  The typical sales pitch involves them quoting you an absurdly high price. which falls by anything from 25%-50% after some negotiation.  But at some point the "super discounted price" is given as a take-it-or-leave-it, one-night-only offer.  This comes complete with financing, at interest rates that they won't/can't quote you, and at terms that they cannot specify on the spot.  Yet, they insist on a commitment on the spot.

Wonder if the last job that sales person had was selling cars ? Thats the way alot of them operate....
Thanks for the further info.....

[MaxCast]

Thanks Chad, most interesting.
Don't really care if it looks as good as the best dry wall, I'm more interested in the accoustics.

[srlaudio]

The fiberglass itself has practically no value as "sound insulation"  I assume they mean transmission between rooms.  The only thing that helps with this is Mass, and decoupling.  We have the products you need to "float" the walls and floor and decouple the basement from the rest of the house.  Insulation for thermal reasons would be behind all of this, we don't use fiberglass in our acoustic absorption products.  Proper density mineral wool handily outperforms fiberglass in absorption coefficient.  The room can then be completed using surface mount panels with a mix of absorption, bass trapping, and diffusion.  You can see pics of studio control rooms we have treated with this process, and the results are positive.  In my view, the Owens Corning is anything but a "solution"  I won't even go into the loose fibers in the air problem......this is documented elsewhere on the net and I reitereate...we use NO fiberglas inside your living space.  I also know that our approach is cost effective, based on the pricing I have seen on the Owens Corning route.

[George]

Perhaps B.F.S. really does stand for what I thought when I first saw the letters.

[MaxCast]

Perhaps B.F.S. really does stand for what I thought when I first saw the letters.

What's that all about?  If it's what I think it is, take it elsewhere. 

[bprice2]

Just curious...what do you think it is?

[Papajin]

Beige Fuzzy Socks?
Burnished Flaming Staves?
Bowling For Sex?
Big Front Speakers?

Am I getting close with any of these?!