Quonset spray foam insulation in Cardston is work on buildings that have already lasted a long time. The arch building belongs to the middle of the last century, and on the long established yards around this town a good number of them are still in daily use, holding equipment, feed, grain or whatever has accumulated. They are good buildings, and they are the single hardest shape in agriculture to insulate by any method other than spraying.
There is no flat surface and no cavity anywhere
The structure is corrugated steel ribs forming a continuous arch from the ground to the ground. There is no wall and no roof as separate planes, no stud space, no purlin cavity of any useful depth, and no flat run long enough to fasten a rigid board to. Every mechanical fixing has to go through the skin. Anything hung inside follows a curve badly and leaves voids behind it at the ribs. Sprayed foam is applied as a liquid and takes the shape of the arch exactly, including the corrugations, which is why it is effectively the only practical insulation for this building type.
Why these buildings drip
A bare steel arch has an enormous interior surface relative to its footprint, and all of it is thin metal exposed to the sky. It loses heat to a clear night sky quickly and its inside face runs cold. Any moisture in the air inside, whether from stored crop, a machine driven in warm, ground moisture from a dirt floor or simply a mild day following a cold one, condenses on that face. On a curve the water does not sit; it runs down the arch and falls off at the point where the curve steepens, which is usually right where things are stacked. Owners describe it as the building raining, and that description is accurate.
Freeze and thaw works on the condensation, not just the steel
In southern Alberta the temperature crosses the freezing point far more often through a winter than it does further north. On a bare arch that means the condensed water freezes to the inside of the skin, then releases, then re-forms, repeatedly through the season. Each cycle puts liquid water on the steel and on whatever is below it. An adhered layer stops the cycle at its source by keeping the interior face above the dew point, and it does it without needing the building heated.
Rust, fasteners and what is under the foam
Before anything is sprayed, the inside of the arch has to be looked at honestly. These buildings are decades old and the skin is sometimes thin at the base, at the fastener lines and where water has sat. Foam adheres well to clean, sound, dry steel and poorly to loose rust or oil, and covering a failing section conceals it. We will say what needs attention first, because spraying over a hole is not a repair.
The end walls and the base of the arch
The arch itself is the easy part. The end walls are framed separately, usually in wood, with the door in one of them, and they are where the air actually moves. The base of the arch where it meets the ground or the pony wall is the other leakage line and often the most corroded. A quote that covers the curve and not the ends is quoting the large area rather than the significant one.
One company, start to finish
There is no handing you off here. We quote and manage Quonset spray foam insulation Cardston start to finish, and our crews do the spraying.
Quonset Spray Foam Insulation Cardston: Common Questions
Why can nothing else be used on a Quonset? Because there is no flat plane and no cavity. Boards and batts cannot follow a continuous corrugated curve without leaving voids at every rib.
It rains inside ours. Will foam stop that? That is the main reason these buildings get sprayed. The water forms because the inside of the steel is below the dew point, and an adhered layer removes the cold surface.
Does the building need to be heated? No. Stopping condensation in an unheated arch building is a common and worthwhile scope on its own.
How much does Quonset spray foam insulation cost in Cardston? Priced per board foot over the sprayed area, and an arch has a lot of surface for its footprint. Preparation of old steel and clearing the interior are the practical variables.
How do I choose a Quonset spray foam contractor in Cardston? Ask what they will do about the end walls and the base of the arch, and what condition the steel has to be in first. Those answers separate a real scope from a square footage.
Size the assembly with the R-value calculator, then get a free Cardston quote. More on Quonset Spray Foam Insulation Alberta province-wide.