Riding High

SPRAY FOAM MAGAZINE – The city of Spring Creek is a rural community situated in a rugged valley close to the Ruby Mountains in central Elko County, Nevada. Starting out as a planned community in the 1970s, The Spring Creek Association (HOA) is one of the largest in the country and has a lot to offer its residents. With a 32-acre stocked lake, a private marina, an 18-hole golf course, skeet range, as well as a pistol and rifle range, this community is impressive.

Spring Creek is also home to the Horse Palace, an equestrian facility that hosts auctions, archery contests, rodeos, and a hunter/jumper classic. This facility is a very important feature in the area due to the percentage of locals who love and admire horses. Spray Foam Magazine spoke with a local contractor about how working alongside another contractor, they were able to transform the equestrian facility into a dry and comfortable space.

Nevada Urethane is an established spray foam and coatings contractor servicing residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural industries. They specialize in new construction, current construction retrofits and additions, and are licensed in Nevada, Utah, and Idaho. Owner/operator Michael Minton entered the SPF industry after originally trying to get someone to give his dad a bid for his shop, but no one was willing to travel, or even give him a rough quote over the phone. This got Minton’s wheels turning. Once he had carried out his research on all things SPF, he quit his job as a mechanic at a local gold mine and in 2018 bought a spray rig from Profoam Corp., a recognized spray foam and equipment supplier based in Rutledge, Georgia.

Regarding the Horse Palace, Nevada Urethane has been contacted multiple times over the last four years by both the Spring Creek Association (HOA) and different contractors. In the end, it always came down to cost. However, in 2023 everything aligned and the HOA received a grant. They decided on Braemar Construction to handle the project. Braemar then proceeded to hire Nevada Urethane for the SPF work.

Initially, Braemar Construction considered a TPO roofing system over the existing steel and even looked at replacing the steel roof altogether. “That’s until they learned about the SPF system and the fact that it would help come in on budget. Without SPF, this project would not have been able to happen. It was on a tight budget, so we had to make sure we met that,” said Minton.

The original Horse Palace was built in 1973. It’s a 1500-seat indoor arena with an approximately 150' x 300' of arena floor, a bar, and a coffee shop. However, this impressive arena had a major issue, a leaking roof. There also has never been any insulation installed, so anytime they had events it was usually nicer outside of the building. The residents of Spring Creek were fed up and wanted the arena to be a place where they could enjoy all the activities it had to offer in comfort.

Nevada Urethane was booked solid, but it was essential and meaningful that they took this local project on. To do so, they enlisted the help of a roofing contractor to install the SPF roof, while Minton and his crew concentrated on the interior. Minton met Dennis and Andrew Lawrence from Black Canyon Roofing, through SFWW. Minton thought they looked like a good fit for the job considering they were licensed in Nevada.

To help complete the interior SPF application, Nevada Urethane ran a PMC PH-2 Reactor, T3 pumps, and a fusion AP gun on 200’ of hose. Their crew consisted of Minton, one full time employee, Jake Miller, one part-timer, and Minton’s wife Jessica, who helped with logistics and scheduling.

Minton and his crew installed two inches of NCFI InsulStar closed-cell foam to the interior walls, and underside of the roof followed by a No-Burn Coating. The exterior block wall needed structural repairs and exterior paint as parts of the metal around the bottom of the building were rusted. The Braemar contractors cut all the metal about five feet up and installed a block wall wainscoting. Then another subcontractor painted the exterior.

Meanwhile, the Black Canyon crew, including Dennis and Andrew Lawrence, and one other helper proceeded to fix the damaged roof. The original metal roof was fastened down with new screws where needed. The roof also had a floating parapet wall all the way around it, so the Braemar crew removed that material and used it to cover the skylight holes. After the initial repairs had been completed, Black Canyon proceeded to install two inches of NCFI EnduraTech 2.8-pound density foam to the top of the roof which was then covered with General Coatings Ultra-Flex 1000.

Both Nevada Urethane and Black Canyon Roofing originally planned on allocating 45 days to the entire project. However, aside from some small spots they had to complete after other subs finished their work, they completed everything in 28 days. They had great feedback from both the client and the Spring Creek community, who were happy and excited to see the building’s new roof with added SPF insulation, knowing they would get to use the building for all the horsing events.

As for working alongside Black Canyon Roofing, Minton said, “Working with Dennis and his crew was great. I was able to focus on the interior and not have to worry about them on the roof. This was our first time working with them, but we plan to again in the future as the relevant projects arise.” He went on to say, “Thanks also to Jake Miller for knocking out the interior foam and Profoam for helping get all the material here on time and on budget.”

This project was no horseplay, with every buck needing to be accounted for. By Nevada Urethane coming together with Black Canyon Roofing they completed the job on time and on budget and discovered a new business relationship. “I’d also like to thank my wife Jessica, for holding down the fort and taking care of the kids while we worked long days,” said Minton. With a combination of teams working well together the result is a dry and well insulated horse facility which has made Minton’s “nnneighhh-bors,” very happy.