TL;DR
A thermal barrier coating is a spray-applied material, typically intumescent or cementitious, that covers exposed spray polyurethane foam to delay its ignition and meet the code requirement separating foam plastics from living space. IRC R316 demands a barrier equivalent to half-inch gypsum board wherever foam is not behind drywall, with specific coatings tested to keep the foam below ignition temperature for 15 minutes.
What it means
A thermal barrier coating is a spray-applied material, typically intumescent or cementitious, that covers exposed spray polyurethane foam to delay its ignition and meet the code requirement separating foam plastics from living space. IRC R316 demands a barrier equivalent to half-inch gypsum board wherever foam is not behind drywall, with specific coatings tested to keep the foam below ignition temperature for 15 minutes. Crews apply it at a listed wet-film thickness, and skipping it in rim joists and crawl spaces is a common inspection failure.
Where it sits in the glossary
Thermal barrier coating is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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