A post-frame building is the default outbuilding on acreages and small holdings in the country around Grande Cache, because it goes up fast on ground that has just been cleared and it does not need a full foundation. It is also the building type that confuses insulation quotes the most, for one structural reason: there is no wall cavity to put anything into. Everything that follows comes from that.
A post-frame wall is not a stud wall
The posts are set at wide spacing, horizontal girts span between them, and the cladding is screwed to the girts. There is no continuous framed cavity with a defined depth, no sheathing behind the steel, and no plane for a cut-to-fit product to sit in. Anything that has to be held in place by friction between two framing members has nowhere to be held. That is why fibre batts in a pole barn end up sagging, bulging between girts or lying on the floor within a few seasons.
Spraying the inside of the cladding
The arrangement that works is to apply closed-cell foam to the inside face of the steel, over the girts and across the posts as a single layer. It adheres to the steel, it follows the rib profile, it buries the girts rather than leaving them bridging, and it needs nothing to hold it in place. It is also the air seal, which on a post-frame building is the larger share of the benefit, because these buildings leak along every line where the cladding changes direction.
Where it leaks, in order
The eave, where the wall sheet meets the roof sheet; the base of the wall, where the cladding stops short of the grade board or the slab; the big door opening and its track; and every point where a sheet has been cut around something. In a mountain winter with wind in the valley, those openings are not passive gaps. Air is driven through the building from one side to the other, and sealing the top and bottom of the wall usually changes more than anything done in the middle of it.
The snow bank against the wall
Snow sliding off a steel roof piles along both long walls of these buildings and stays until spring. That bank holds moisture against the base of the cladding and against whatever is in the bottom of the wall. Closed-cell foam is the right material down there precisely because it does not absorb water, and sealing the bottom plate line is also where a surprising amount of the building's air leakage is.
Decide the use before the thickness
A building holding equipment and needing to stop condensation wants the roof deck sprayed and little else. A building that will be heated as a shop wants the full shell at a depth matched to that intention. A building housing animals wants the shell plus a ventilation plan. These are three different quotes on the same structure, and the most common mistake is specifying the thickness before deciding which one the building is.
The crew on your job
We quote the job, schedule it and stand behind it, and our own installers do the work on pole barn spray foam insulation Grande Cache. You deal with us from the first site visit to the last pass of foam.
Pole Barn Spray Foam Insulation Grande Cache: Common Questions
Why does batt insulation fall out of a pole barn? Because there is no cavity holding it. Post-frame walls have girts spanning between widely spaced posts, so there is nothing for a friction-fit product to grip.
Can you spray straight onto the steel? Yes, that is the standard arrangement. Closed-cell foam adheres to the inside face of the cladding and follows the rib profile.
Which part should we do if we only do one thing? The roof deck if the problem is dripping, and the top and bottom of the walls if the problem is draught. Those are the two different complaints.
How much does pole barn spray foam insulation cost in Grande Cache? Priced by the board foot over the sprayed area at the depth chosen, so the intended use of the building drives the number as much as its size does. Reaching an out-of-town property is a real input worth planning around.
How do I get a pole barn spray foam insulation quote in Grande Cache? Tell us the building's dimensions, what it will be used for, whether it will be heated, and whether the complaint today is cold, wet or draughty.
Size the assembly with the R-value calculator, then get a free Grande Cache quote. More on Pole Barn Spray Foam Insulation Alberta province-wide.