Freezing Cold in the Heat of Honduras

LATE SUMMER 2020 – Spray Foam Magazine – Arlington Bennett is the owner and head sprayer of Bay Islands Spray Foam, based on the island of Grand Cayman. He was thrilled to get a call from a client which would enable him to return briefly to the Bay Islands, Roatan’s French Harbour in the Caribbean Sea to be exact. The job involved spraying one walk-in freezer and one blast freezer; two separate jobs in one compound of a fish factory. The fishing is plentiful just off the reef in Roatan with marlin, barracuda, tuna, wahoo, mahi mahi, and much more that can be caught in the surrounding waters.

Bennett was born and raised in Savanna Bight, Guanaja, located in the region of Bay Islands in Honduras. Due to his great reputation, he finds himself taking jobs in both Honduras and the Caymans. He had formerly completed work for this client stating, “I had previously worked for this customer on some lobster boat freezer repairs with closed-cell spray foam, and he told me about this upcoming job, knowing that spray foam insulation was the best option for it.”

The aim of both projects was to complete the seal of the building envelope and guarantee true R-value and a vapor barrier. There was minimal cleanup of the concrete block substrate before the spraying began, and with no code requirements the crew ensured they monitored their moisture level before application and maintained their temperatures between passes.

Spray foam acts as an air barrier stopping the warm air from hitting any cold surface within the structure. Closed-cell spray foam is also a vapor barrier preventing moisture migration by at least 95 percent, making it the ideal choice to use on these freezers. The blast freezer was 18 feet wide by 21 feet long and 14 feet tall. The crew consisted of one sprayer and two assistants. Their foam of choice was Icynene-lapolla closed cell ProSeal HFO for its excellent performance in minimizing heat transfer and moisture gain. They sprayed six inches on the walls, eight inches on the roof, and four inches on the floor, totaling four sets of foam. The walk-in freezer measured, 10 feet long, 7 feet wide, and 10 feet tall and four inches of foam were sprayed on the walls, roof and floor. The crew used a Graco Gusmer H20-35 Proportioner for this part of the job.

Bennett explained the process he always takes when starting a new job. “We meet the client on site, and I walk them through the plan for the job, like setting up our scaffolding and ventilation system.” The crew always makes sure they are wearing their respirators and breathing systems and check that the weather conditions are right. For this spray application, the conditions were good—sunny and 94 degrees, “no problems,” says Bennett.

Both freezers took a total of two days to complete with the client being incredibly pleased and happy that this project was completed to a high standard. Bennett concludes, “This customer continues to give us jobs because of our dedication and the way we professionally put our heart into every application.”