Quonset spray foam insulation in Barrhead is work on an arch, and an arch is not a building with walls and a roof. There is one continuous curved surface from the slab on one side, over the top and down to the slab on the other, with no plates, no cavities and nothing to fasten to except the corrugation itself. Everything about insulating one follows from that single fact.
Snow to the springline, on both sides
In a yard with wind, snow is swept off an arch and away from its base. In a sheltered yard it is not. It slides a little way down the curve, stops, and builds up along both flanks until the lower third of the arch is buried from the first heavy fall until the melt. On a lot of these buildings the drift reaches the point where the curve starts to go vertical.
That band is the part of the structure that fails. It is held near zero rather than cycling, it is wet through weeks of melt, and it is where any interior moisture that runs down the inside of the curve ends up — because on an arch, everything that condenses overhead runs downhill to exactly the same place. Water from the inside, water from the outside, and the base of the sheet in between. That is why the rust on an old quonset is a stripe along the bottom and not a patch on the top.
Insulating the inside of the arch stops the condensation half of it. It does nothing at all about the drift, so grading, a proper slab edge, and keeping the snow back off the flanks are part of the same conversation.
The whole inside surface is a condenser until it is covered
There is no rigid board that bends to a corrugated arch and no batt that friction-fits to nothing. What gets attempted instead is a liner frame built inside the arch with insulation behind it, and in a building with an arch's geometry that frame eats a surprising amount of usable space and leaves an air gap against the sheet. Air in that gap circulates against cold metal and the whole exercise is undone.
Sprayed closed-cell goes on the corrugation and bonds to it, following the profile. At around two inches it manages vapour as well, keeping the point where water would form inside the layer. On a curved surface with no framing, continuity is not a refinement — it is the only version of the job that works.
What is in it decides the depth
The specification follows the contents, and around Barrhead that varies a lot. An arch used for cold machinery storage needs the sheet covered and little more. An arch holding bales needs that plus honest ventilation, because the forage is putting water into the air. An arch being made into a shop needs the depth that a working temperature requires, plus a proper floor plan for where the heat goes. And an arch holding anything that cannot freeze needs to be treated as a small building with a target temperature rather than as storage.
Two other details on every one of them: the end walls, which are usually a framed timber or steel infill of completely different construction from the arch and often the leakiest part of the building; and the big door at one end, which is the opening nothing can fix except seals.
We take care of the work
We are the contractor on Quonset spray foam insulation Barrhead, not a referral service. We quote the job, schedule it and stand behind it, and our own installers carry it out.
Quonset Spray Foam Insulation Barrhead: Common Questions
Why does the rust start at the bottom of the arch? Because that band is buried in snow for months and everything that condenses on the inside of the curve runs down to the same line. It gets wet from both faces.
Can a quonset be insulated with board or batt? Not satisfactorily. There is nothing to fix to, and a liner frame built inside it leaves an air space against the cold metal, which is the problem you were trying to solve.
It is only storage. Is it worth doing? If what is stored suffers from water — machinery, feed, anything with electronics in it — then covering the sheet is worth it. A heated depth is not.
How much does Quonset spray foam insulation cost in Barrhead? Sprayed area prices by the board foot at the depth the use calls for, and the end walls and door are separate from the arch. Working off a curved surface at height is a labour factor.
How do I choose a Quonset spray foam contractor in Barrhead? Ask what they will do about the end walls and the base of the arch. Anyone pricing only the curve has quoted the part that is easy to measure.
Size the assembly with the R-value calculator, then get a free Barrhead quote. More on Quonset Spray Foam Insulation Alberta province-wide.