Farmer Entrusts Equipment, Retains Heat With Spray Polyurethane Foam

ROLLA, ND – March 20, 2013 – When you farm thousands of acres, it takes a lot of equipment to get your work done. A brand new combine can cost over $300,000, so when making such an investment, protecting it is important. A farmer in North Dakota with multiple combines and tractors built a new building to store and maintain the equipment. Since he recognized that installing spray foam insulation would not only help protect the machines, but also prevent heat from escaping the structure during cold winter months, he contacted Kohls Foam Systems, Inc. (KFS), located in Minnesota, to ensure the job was done right.

“The building owner knew this was the best insulation out there,” said Pat Kohls, co-owner of KFS with his brother Jon. “He spent quite a bit on the building because they need big buildings to store and work on the combines and tractors. It gets pretty cold and windy in that part of the country, so if they used another type of insulation, it would have cost them a ton of money to heat it.”

Before the new building existed, the property owner stored his equipment in a smaller building, which also housed his classic car collection, but wanted to keep the cars and equipment separate. The new building was 9,600 sq. ft. and had an R-panel metal roof. Kohls believes the owner had planned to install a geothermal heating system in the concrete floor of the building. The walls were already insulated with 2 inches of spray foam, which had been applied by a different contractor from North Dakota. That contractor was new to the business and referred the owner to KFS to install the ceiling insulation.

“He did a nice application on the walls,” said Kohls. “It’s just that spraying 9 sets of foam on a ceiling application can be a little intimidating to a newer applicator. It’s a lot of overhead spraying.”

The jobsite was about an 8-hour drive for KFS. Since crewmembers would be working on a dirt floor, scaffolding could not be used. Instead, KFS contacted two boom lift rental companies, one of which was 40 miles away from the rural, agricultural location. Both boom lifts had to get delivered to the jobsite.

In preparation for spray foam application, crewmembers covered the boom lifts with plastic for overspray protection. They also covered lights and other beams on an overhead door to protect them from overspray and to ensure that they would continue to function properly. The large overhead doors were kept open so the breeze was able to circulate the air inside the building. KFS was able to park two rigs at both ends of the building with little difficulty.

Crewmembers took turns on the lifts during application due to the warm temperatures near the 30-ft. peak of the ceiling. It was over 90 degrees for the entire application, according to Kohls.

KFS applied a nominal thickness of 4 inches of Bayer MaterialScience’s Bayseal CC XP 2 lb. closed-cell spray foam to the ceiling. Crewmembers used one Graco H-20/35 and one Graco H-20/35 Pro spray foam machine.

“We were constantly checking to make sure we used the correct amount of foam,” Kohls said. “When we got to the end, we were right on the money.”

The application took two to three passes to complete. “If you put it down too heavy right away, the foam would come right off of the metal,” said Kohls. “We had to put it down, let it set up a little bit, then hit it again.”

It took four crewmembers about a day and a half to complete the job in late July of 2012. The total spray area for the project was 16,000 square feet.

According to Kohls, the property owner was very pleased with the results of the spray foam insulation and was happy the project was completed so quickly.

“We got it done in a timely manner,” Kohls said. He added that in the following week, the concrete was poured and the owner was ready to begin harvesting.

About Kohls Foam Systems, Inc.: Located in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, KFS has applied sprayed foam roofing to thousands of buildings for companies across the nation. Brothers Pat and Jon Kohls and their crews have been providing insulation and roofing solutions for the commercial, industrial and residential industry for over 25 years. KFS specializes in polyurethane foam roofing systems for commercial and industrial roofs, flat roofs, metal roofs, traditional, and irregularly shaped roofs. For more information about KFS, please use the contact details and links provided below.