Pole barn spray foam insulation in Whitecourt is a case where the building is usually fine and the site is not, because a post-frame structure standing in the shelter of timber sits on ground that never gets sun or wind and therefore never gets a chance to dry.
Where the building sits matters more than how it was built
Two identical pole buildings, one on an open field and one in a clearing surrounded by mature timber, behave nothing alike. The sheltered one has damp ground under it into July, snow banked against its walls until late spring, and no air movement to take moisture away from anything. Before anything is specified on a Whitecourt property it is worth walking the outside of the building, because the ground around it explains most of what the owner is complaining about inside it.
Snow against the wall for five months
On a sheltered lot the snow that comes off the roof lands at the base of the wall and stays there, which puts a wet mass in contact with the lowest part of the cladding and the tops of the posts all winter, and then puts all of that water into the ground right next to the building in April. That is a rot problem and a moisture problem before it is an insulation problem, and where it is happening, grading and drainage come before anything sprayed on the inside.
The posts go into ground that stays wet
On a post-frame building the structure continues below grade, so each post is a path between the inside of the building and the soil. On a site where that soil is damp most of the year, the posts are also drawing moisture up into a building nobody has ventilated. Sealing the perimeter where the wall meets the ground is the first item in one of these, it is reachable from outside, and on a Whitecourt building it is cheap relative to everything else on the list.
Sealing a building on a damp site without ventilating it
This is the mistake that turns a draughty building into a damaged one. A pole building on a wet site has been surviving because air has been moving through it and taking the moisture away. Close it up without giving that moisture a route out and it condenses on the coldest surfaces and stays in the timber. Sealing and a deliberate exchange are specified together here, and doing the first without the second makes the building worse than it was.
Pole Barn Spray Foam Insulation Whitecourt: Common Questions
Why does a building that looks fine feel damp inside? Then look outside it. On a sheltered lot the ground around it is usually the cause.
What does snow sitting against the walls all winter do to a building? That is a rot risk at the base and a water load in spring. Grading comes before insulation.
Can we just seal it up? Not on its own. Air has been carrying the moisture out, and it needs another route first.
Size the assembly with the R-value calculator, then get a free Whitecourt quote. More on Pole Barn Spray Foam Insulation Alberta.