Polyurethane Foam Helps Support Retaining Wall of Woodstock Home

WOODSTOCK, NY – December 3, 2014 – Time does not necessarily heal – or repair – all things. Take structures, for instance. More often than not, time either weakens or completely obliterates them. And when time has taken its toll on these structures, the only way to rehabilitate them is to find a solution for the right price.

Such was the case of a New York homeowner hailing from the remote region of the Catskill Mountains, who had a damaged retaining wall barely holding together the  front deck of his home. The 30-foot-long , 8-foot-high retaining wall deteriorated over time and was beginning to fail. Initially, the homeowner had thought of pouring in concrete to level off the foundation of the wall, an installation that would’ve proven to be costly and time consuming. Luckily, the owner sought the advice of Cutting Edge Spray Foam’s Douglas Haeberer, who suggested that a polyurethane foam application would be a much more cost-effective and efficient solution.

“The beauty of polyurethane foam is that it provides structural integrity while being light,” said Haeberer. “Concrete is heavy and could do more harm than good by cracking the beams and causing the whole structure to crumble.”

With a three-man crew, Cutting Edge took charge of the application, which consisted of installing several lifts of polyurethane foam beneath the wooden-log beams of the retaining wall. The crew parked their rig, which was equipped with a Gusmer H-20/35 proportioner, directly next to the wall and suited up with PPE consisting of Tyvek suits, full-face masks, and gloves.

“It wasn’t necessary to wear some of the PPE since we were pouring the foam, but I’m all about keeping my guys safe,” said Haeberer. “There are no exceptions to this rule.”

Before the polyurethane foam installation, the Cutting Edge crew affixed cement board to the wooden beams to provide strength. They also laid plastic sheeting on the bottom of the foundation for foam adhesion. The crew then created footing holes to pour the foam through.

The rest was simple: The Cutting Edge crewmembers took turns with a Graco Fusion air-purge gun to apply the foam directly through the footing holes. They used DEMILEC B352-0 / A100-4, a rigid, slow-rising polyurethane foam formulated by Demilec. According to Haeberer, the crew applied a six-inch lift to the sheeting plastic and carried on installing lifts from there for the foam to take shape and ultimately hold the wall in place. However, after the initial lift, the Cutting Edge crew decreased the depth of foam from six inches to four, three, and sometimes two inches of foam, so as to minimize the chances of an exothermic reaction. They utilized an infrared camera and infrared thermometer to monitor the heat, using it as a guide of what depth of foam to apply. Furthermore, the crew adhered to 30-minute intervals between lifts to ensure the foam cooled. The crew installed 1.5 sets of foam during the project.

“We wanted to make sure the foam wasn’t applied too thick and too fast for safety purposes,” said Haeberer. “Because the foam rises slowly it gave us ample time to maintain the whole structure level from end to end between lifts.”

The Cutting Edge crew was able to complete the project in a day. Haeberer noted that the homeowner was so excited about having his structural problem solved without depleting his funds that he recommended Cutting Edge for a number of spray foam insulation and spray foam roofing jobs around the Woodstock area.

“It doesn’t matter what the job is,” said Haeberer. “When you’re well-versed in foam and know about the results it produces, I can’t see how the client wouldn’t be happy. That’s what I’m all about: keeping my clients happy and my guys busy.”
  
About Cutting Edge Spray Foam: Cutting Edge Spray Foam Services, Inc. provides top-quality residential and commercial insulation services. They  offer a wide variety of services primarily focused on interior insulation. Cutting Edge also provides such services as storage tank insulation, pipeline insulation, soundproofing, and the various other uses for spray foam insulation and coating.