Quonsets went up across this part of Alberta in the decades after the war, in the same years Devon itself was being built, and a great many of them are still standing and still working on the county parcels around the town. Quonset spray foam insulation in Devon is a job with exactly one practical method, and the reason is geometry rather than preference.
There is no framing and no flat surface
A Quonset is an arch of corrugated steel, bolted rib to rib, carrying its own load through its shape. There are no studs, no girts, no purlins and no cavity. The interior surface is a continuously curving corrugated sheet that changes angle at every point from the floor to the crown.
Nothing rigid fits that. A board cut to follow the curve meets the arch along one line and stands away from it everywhere else, leaving an air space against cold steel — the exact condition that produces condensation. Batt has nothing to be held in and nothing to be stapled to. Every attempt to mechanically fasten something to the arch puts a hole through the skin.
Sprayed foam is the only layer that takes the shape
Foam applied to the inside of the arch bonds to the steel, follows every corrugation and every change of angle, and cures as one continuous skin with no gap behind it and no fasteners through the shell. On this building that is not an advantage over the alternatives — it is the only method that physically works.
Closed-cell at roughly R-6 to R-7 per inch is also its own vapour barrier at about two inches, which matters because there is nowhere to install a separate sheet in a building with no framing to attach one to.
Condensation is what brings people in
An uninsulated Quonset rains on its contents. Moisture in the air condenses on the cold steel arch, runs down the inside of the curve, and reaches whatever is stored along the walls. Owners describe water along the sides of the building and assume the sheets are leaking at the laps. Occasionally they are; far more often the water formed on the inside.
An adhered layer that keeps the steel surface above the dew point stops it. Anything that leaves an air gap against the steel does not.
The end walls are a different building
The arch is steel but the end walls are usually framed conventionally, in timber, with a large door in one of them. They are built to a lower standard than the arch and they are frequently the leakiest part of the structure. Any quote that covers the arch and says nothing about the ends has priced the easier part of the job.
Snow, and what insulation does and does not change
A Quonset sheds snow well because of its shape, and foam does not change the load the structure was designed to carry. What it does change is heat escaping through the arch, which means less melting underneath a snow pack and less refreezing at the base of the curve where the snow piles up against the building.
The crew on your job
There is no handing you off here. We quote and manage Quonset spray foam insulation Devon start to finish, and our crews do the spraying.
Quonset Spray Foam Insulation Devon: Common Questions
Why is water running down the inside walls? Because it is condensing on the cold steel arch, not leaking in. Sealing the steel with an adhered layer is what stops it.
Can we use rigid board or batt in a Quonset? Not well. Nothing flat follows a corrugated arch, and whatever gap is left behind it becomes the condensation surface.
What about the ends? They are conventionally framed, usually the weakest part of the building, and they need their own line in the quote.
How much does Quonset spray foam insulation cost in Devon? Priced per board foot of sprayed area, so the arch area and the thickness set the quantity. Clearing stored goods away from the walls and travel to a county site are the other costs.
How do I choose a Quonset spray foam contractor in Devon? Ask whether the end walls are included and what thickness they intend on the arch. A quote for the arch alone will leave you with cold ends and a surprise.
Size the arch with the R-value calculator, then get a free Devon quote. More on Quonset Spray Foam Insulation Alberta.