The insulation post - another question for you guys

[Kansas Cockshutt]

The insulation discussion got me thinking.

Is there a good way to insulate a Quonset (bolted together metal hoop building)?

Seems to me moisture would build up between the spray foam and the metal on the inside of the building, or does it really seal it off completely forever? I hate to have it rust from the inside out if the foam pulls away even a tiny bit and humid air gets there. You know as time settles the shed and the weather gets the skin of the building moving about.

At any rate the older I get the shorter the good weather gets and the longer the winters and ice last, please give me your input on insulating farm shops.

 

[Uncle Ernie]

Spray on is the way to go if you want to heat and use ALL the space in the building. The foam will move with the building and not crack away unless you get some extreme movement.
Fibreglass batts are a pain to install and keep in place against a curved surface like that. Talk about pulling away and gaps! Friend has a shop like yours with firreglass and curses the day he made that decision!
You will get less condensation on insulated panels than you will on bare ones.

 

[IH2444]

Seems to me that if the insulation is sprayed directly on the metal there will be no condensation as moisture could not get to the metal to condense.

 

[Anonymous-0]

There should be no difference between that and other insulation. Even on a straight sided wall there would be more air spaces between wall and fiberglas or a hard type foam than on a spray on. I've did some remodel work on a building that was sprayed on 30+ years ago and saw no problems.

 

[oliver power]

Kansas Cockshutt, the spray on foam (iycening, spelling???)bonds to the metal. No air gap = no condensation. All other insulations will condensate.

 

[Cliff (VA)]

I work for a company that makes machines to make metal buildings. We also make trailers to apply two types of insulation to our buildings: spray on cellulose and spray on polyurethane. Both work fine. On cellulose we recommend overcoating with a protectant to prevent finger poking, but it is not required.

On polyurethane we recommend overcoating with a fire retardant finish. We just had a customer burn down a warehouse due to weld spatter falling in the polyurethane insulation. The polyurethane will not support flames, but the gas fumes that had accumulated in the cells did. What a mess.

We have investigated all sorts of other alternatives from paint on coatings to fiberglass bats to low E bubble foam. None of them seem to work as well.

If you don't insullate you will have condensation and "rain" inside the building.

No we don't sell to the public. Sorry. But I can tell you who we buy our insulation from if anyone is interested.

Good luck!

Cliff (VA)

 

[bc]

Cliff, how do you spray the stuff at purlins and corners to avoid condensation at the attachment points?

 

[Cliff (VA)]

Our buildings have no purlins. The skin is the structure. We normally spray corners first and then work around them. Kind of like cutting in first when you paint. Seems to cover the corners better that way.

Cliff (VA)

 

[lha]

In my opinion{former gen.contractor],polyurethane or celulose,painted with epoxy or elastomeric[very flexible]would be very effective.You have to allow insulation to cure well before painting.---lha