Poultry barn spray foam insulation in Drumheller is work on the most tightly controlled building type on any farm in this area. A poultry building is not trying to be comfortable, it is trying to hold a specified temperature and a specified air exchange rate at the same time, and the shell is what decides whether those two requirements fight each other. Around Drumheller the buildings sit on the dryland farming ground above the valley rim and on the benches, and the climate they are holding out is semi-arid with a very wide spread.
The birds supply the heat and the water
A house full of birds generates a large and continuous heat load from the flock itself, which is why mature flocks often need cooling rather than heating even in cold weather. At the same time the flock generates an equally continuous moisture load through respiration and through the litter. Those two facts set the whole problem. The building has to shed surplus heat without losing control of temperature, and it has to remove water vapour at the rate the flock makes it. The only way to do both predictably is to move a known quantity of air through a known path, and that is impossible in a shell that leaks.
Why leakage breaks ventilation control
Minimum ventilation in cold weather is a small, carefully metered quantity of air, admitted at a planned inlet so that it mixes with warm ceiling air before it reaches the birds. If the building also leaks, two things happen. The fans draw their air through the leaks instead of the inlets, because a leak is the path of least resistance, so the planned mixing does not happen and cold air falls directly onto the litter. And the total exchange rate is no longer what the controller thinks it is. Wet litter, chilled birds and a static pressure reading that means nothing are all symptoms of a shell problem being blamed on the ventilation equipment.
Semi-arid outside, saturated inside
The outdoor air here is dry, and that is helpful for removing moisture once the air is inside and warmed. It gives no protection at the surfaces. Cold dry nights make the cladding and the ceiling colder, and the colder those surfaces the more readily the flock's moisture condenses on them. In an uninsulated or a compressed-batt building that condensate runs down the wall into the litter at the edges, which is where the wet patches always appear first. Removing the cold surface, rather than trying to ventilate harder, is the fix.
Washdown and the material question
A poultry building gets cleaned out and washed between flocks, and that puts the insulation surface under direct water and pressure. A fibre product behind a punctured poly facing absorbs that water and keeps it against the structure. Closed-cell foam at roughly R-6 to R-7 per inch is a closed, rigid, adhered surface that becomes its own vapour retarder past about two inches, so there is no facing to puncture and no cavity for water to sit in. It also seals the gaps around every fan housing, inlet frame, conduit and penetration, which on a poultry building is a very large number of openings.
Where the scope usually is
The ceiling plane first, because it is the largest surface, the one the warm air is pressed against, and the one where condensate drips straight down. Then the walls, with particular attention to the junction at the ceiling and the base of the wall where litter sits. Then the perimeter of every fan and inlet opening, which is detail work rather than area work and is where a well-sealed building separates from an adequately insulated one. We quote the job, schedule it around a barn turnaround and stand behind it, and pricing follows the board feet sprayed against the target R-value.
Poultry Barn Spray Foam Insulation Drumheller: Common Questions
Why is our litter wet at the walls? Almost always condensation running down a cold wall surface, not a water line problem. Insulating that surface so it stays above the dew point is what stops it.
Does a tighter barn make ventilation harder? It makes it possible. A leaky barn lets the fans pull air through gaps instead of the inlets, so the mixing never happens and the controller is working from a false reading.
Can the foam take a washdown? Closed-cell is a closed, rigid, adhered surface rather than a fibre behind a facing, which is why it suits a building that gets washed between flocks.
How much does poultry barn spray foam insulation cost in Drumheller? It follows the sprayed area and depth. The sealing work around fans, inlets and penetrations is detail labour rather than area, so ask for it as its own line.
How do I choose a poultry barn spray foam contractor in Drumheller? Ask whether the quote includes the fan and inlet perimeters and how they plan to fit a barn turnaround. A barn job that cannot be finished inside the window between flocks is not a workable quote.
Set the target depth with the R-value calculator, then get a free Drumheller quote. More on Poultry Barn Spray Foam Insulation Alberta province-wide.