Commercial spray foam insulation in Lacombe is mostly work on a main street that has been kept rather than replaced. That is unusual in this province and it is the thing that shapes every technical decision on these buildings.
A facade that is the reason the street exists
The outside of these buildings is what the town is known for, and on many of them the owner is not free to alter it even if they wanted to. Whatever is done to the envelope therefore happens on the inside, which is a genuine constraint rather than a preference. It rules out the approach most commercial retrofits reach for first, and it makes the detailing on the inside face considerably more important, because there is no second chance from the other side.
Solid masonry behaves differently from a framed wall
These walls are not a cavity with something in it. They are solid brick or stone, they have always managed moisture by absorbing it and letting it dry outward and inward, and they have done that successfully for a century. Insulating the inside face changes that balance: the wall runs colder, and it dries in one direction instead of two. That is manageable and it has to be designed rather than assumed, which is why closed cell foam applied in continuous contact with the masonry, with the detailing thought through at the floor and window junctions, is the arrangement that suits it.
The upper floor nobody has used since the sixties
Almost every building on a street like this has a second storey that was offices or living space and has since become storage or nothing at all. It is the coldest part of the building, it is above the part that earns money, and it is where a great deal of the heat from the ground floor ends up. Bringing that floor into use is the conversation worth having, because the envelope work and the return on the space are the same project.
Working on a building people are trading in
None of these businesses can close. The work is sectioned around opening hours, done out of hours where that suits better, and staged so that a shop front stays a shop front throughout. On an attached row it also means talking to the neighbours, because a party wall is shared and what happens on one side is felt on the other. That is normal on a Lacombe block and it is planned rather than discovered.
Commercial Spray Foam Insulation Lacombe: Common Questions
Can anything be done to the outside? On most of these buildings, no, and the work is designed for the inside face from the start.
Can solid brick walls be insulated? Then the drying behaviour changes when you insulate, and the assembly is designed for that rather than assumed.
Can we stay open? Yes. It is sectioned around your hours, and on an attached row the neighbours are part of the plan.
Size the assembly with the R-value calculator, then get a free Lacombe quote. More on Commercial Spray Foam Insulation Alberta.