Quonset spray foam insulation in Drayton Valley is work on the arch-rib steel buildings standing on farms and yards all over Brazeau County. They are durable, they shed load well, and they were never designed to be insulated. Anyone who has tried to do it with conventional materials already knows the problem: there is nothing in the building to attach anything to.
An arch has no cavity and no flat run
A Quonset is a continuous curve of corrugated steel with ribs, and that is the entire structure. There is no stud, no girt at a usable spacing and no cavity with a depth. Every batt has to be held up against a curve by something, and anything rigid has to be bent to a radius that changes as you go up. What gets built instead is a framed-out interior box inside the arch, which costs headroom, costs floor area at the sides and still leaves a ventilated gap between the box and the steel where moisture collects.
Spray foam is the only material that follows the shape
Closed-cell foam is applied as a liquid directly to the inside of the corrugation. It follows the curve, fills the flutes, covers the ribs and ends up continuous from the base on one side, over the crown, down to the base on the other. There is no fastening, no framing and no gap. That is why foam and Quonsets came to be associated in the first place: it is less a preference than the only practical way to get a continuous layer onto a surface shaped like that. At around R-6 to R-7 per inch it also puts useful R-value against steel without needing depth the building does not have.
Water runs to the bottom of the arch, always
Everything that condenses on the inside of an uninsulated arch runs down the curve to the base, because that is where gravity takes it. So the damage in these buildings concentrates in a predictable band: the bottom few feet of the sheeting, the base channel and whatever is stacked against the wall. On a farm that is usually the bags, the pails and the things that should not get wet. Owners often think the building leaks at the ground. It is condensing at the crown and delivering the water to the floor.
The crown is the coldest surface and it is above everything
Steel at the top of the arch radiates heat to the sky and sits colder than the air inside the building on a clear night. Because the shape puts that surface directly over the contents, with no attic, no truss space and nothing in between, anything that forms up there falls on what is parked below. That is the mechanism behind the Quonset that rains on the equipment, and it is addressed by covering the steel with an adhered, vapour-resistant layer rather than by heating the building.
The end walls are a different building
The two ends of a Quonset are usually framed conventionally, often in wood, with a large door in one of them. They are a different assembly from the arch and they get treated differently, and the junction where the flat end wall meets the curve is the most awkward detail in the building. It is also where the leaks are. A quote that covers the arch and says nothing about the end walls has priced the easy part.
Quonset Spray Foam Insulation Drayton Valley: Common Questions
Why is the bottom of our Quonset wall always wet? Because water condensing up on the arch runs down the curve and collects there. The source is the crown, not the ground.
Can a Quonset be insulated with batt? Only by building a framed interior inside the arch, which loses space and leaves a gap between the new wall and the steel where moisture collects. Foam applied straight to the corrugation avoids both.
Does the whole arch need doing? Usually yes, because the value of the layer is in its continuity. Stopping partway up leaves a cold band for water to form on and run from.
How much does Quonset spray foam insulation cost in Drayton Valley? It is priced per board foot over the sprayed surface, and the curved area of an arch is larger than the building's footprint suggests, so that is the figure the number follows. The end walls are quoted as their own item.
Who does Quonset spray foam insulation in Drayton Valley? We do the work ourselves: we look at the building, quote it, schedule it and stand behind it. Ask any bidder how they intend to handle the junction between the arch and the end walls, because that is where these buildings fail.
Size the assembly with the R-value calculator, then get a free Drayton Valley quote. More on Quonset Spray Foam Insulation Alberta province-wide.