Question on using "Great Stuff" foam sealant

I've used that in various places, home and RV, to closed holes. In the RV, I used it to seal the hole where the water plumbing comes through the floor. Put some newspaper down on basement carpet else you'll never the the stuff out of the carpet. It does tend to go everywhere.

Like you I had a gap in the sheet metal under the shower. The problem was the the shower is over the wheel well and the road grime and water made a nice mess. I screwed down the sheet metal and then used great stuff to fill in the gap on top.

You can get a can with a trigger type applicator tube which does stop, but to be honest if you don't use the whole can, just throw it out. You'll never be able to clean the stuff out of the tube so you can use it again.

You can purchase spare tubes on Amazon. I have also used a pipe cleaner once the great stuff dries in the tube to clean it out.

As a caution a little bit goes a long way and it can exert a good of pressure while it's curing and damage flexible materials.

The straw screws onto the trigger. You have to operate the trigger to make the foam flow.
It expands like crazy so be careful that you don't put too much in as it can break or move things that get in its way. Since you can see the ground through the hole you should block it off underneath. duct tape or cardboard to cover the hole should work.
And as others have said, throw out the can when you are done because in a day you can't use it again.

If you don't want the ugly yellow color, use landscape foam. It's the same stuff in a dark gray.

whoah, great tip there Lynmore.

Do you have the can of Great Stuff that is designed for a dispensing gun?
As mentioned above, the regular cans have a trigger.

I have found that if you leave the dispensing tube screwed into the can, you can leave it dry and later clean the tube. Then you can use the remaining foam for other projects. I have used leftover foam several weeks after the initial use. YMMV

WEAR DISPOSABLE GLOVES when working with the foam. It's very difficult to remove from your skin unless removed quickly after contact.

after is sets... you can CUT it with a sharp knife...
and can use a wood rasp/file to shape it... primer and paint if needed.

as stated.. go EASY.. it expands a lot. and can damage ...
wear gloves.. it's difficult to remove from Hands .... or anything...

Chuck_thehammer wrote:
it's difficult to remove from Hands .... or anything...

+1 on this! I have a pair of blue jeans that I can only wear to work around the house. DW won't let me wear them off of the property because I got some Great Stuff on them. It DOESN'T come out!

There are two types of Great Stuff; the expanding kind and the Windows and Doors kind. If you can't reach all of the opening with the straw you probably want the expanding kind. Read the instructions. Some will drip out of the straw when you release the trigger so let it drip on something that you can discard. It is tenacious.

I bought some that was supposed to be somewhat flexible.. as I was scared of it expanding too much around the water pipes in floor. It may have been the window and door kind. I just read cans carefully before I bought. Yes I spent a good 30 minutes buying a $5 item.