SPF Wall Insulation Gives New Mexico Church New Life

ALBUQUERQUE, NM - July 16, 2013 - In New Mexico, the desert weather that characterizes the state can bring about a harsh climate, which is why it's important to have good insulation inside of buildings. When it comes to giving thanks and praise, churchgoers ideally like to be comfortable at their place of worship. When fusing these facts together, the owner of a Chinese Baptist Church decided to better accommodate the church guests by providing them with pleasant weather conditions deriving from optimal insulation. The owner also realized that the stucco exterior of the building, which was falling apart, needed restructuring and beautification. To solve these problems, the owner found in spray polyurethane foam insulation a cost-effective, viable option.

The church was an aging two-story cement block building devoid of routine maintenance that the years and grueling weather had not been kind to. Because the cement block structure provided virtually no insulation, the energy costs had increased over the years. The owner breathed a little easier knowing that spray foam insulation would cut energy costs down substantially while obtaining significant insulating R-value.

A New Millennium Spray Foam, Inc. (NMSF) was brought in for the retrofit project, which entailed applying spray polyurethane foam to the walls of the exterior of the church building. The SPF would go over the existing stucco system and seal the substrate in order to later reapply a new synthetic stucco system upon completion of the application.

Rodney Rael, owner of NMSF, explained that instead of applying the foam on the inside of the building, NMSF opted on doing a wall insulation application because it was a more practical yet equally effective foaming approach that did not disrupt the life inside the church. The NMSF crew worked strictly during the weekdays so weekend church services could resume as scheduled.

"In this particular retrofit job, with a plastered inside and the church's pews and furniture in place, it was not practical to apply the foam inside," Rael said. "Wall SPF insulation was effective here because we were able to insulate the building without affecting the church's activities, not to mention that just the SPF without the stucco already makes the outside of the building look much more aesthetically pleasing."

Rael added that the owner benefitted greatly by choosing the SPF and stucco combination application because he claims that the project itself costs about the same as what the owner would have had to pay if he chose to simply replace the stucco of the building without any insulation.

For prep work, the crew removed some of the loose stucco system and powerwashed the substrate prior to the foam application. The crew wore proper PPE and used an articulated man lift that enabled them to work efficiently around the building during the project. They masked off all doors and windows of the church and they used drop cloths to cover the church's surrounding areas from overspray, including the vegetation. They applied one inch of SWD Quik-Shield 112 Roof Spray Foam, a 2 lb. closed-cell spray polyurethane foam made by SWD Urethane, on the walls for a total spray area of 8,000 square feet. The application provided the outside of the building with an R-value of 10.

According to Rael, the church owner decided to hold off on the stuccoing process and stick to a budget, which prioritized the application of SPF to seal in the cracks the existing system had left behind and give the building the proper insulation. Due to the considerable lag time this implied, the NMSF crew decided to apply two coats of brown Quik-Shield 1929R, an acrylic elastomeric roof coating made by SWD. The 25 mils of coating applied provide UV protection to the SPF substrate until the stuccoing process takes place.

"We usually apply one coat before the stucco application takes place," Rael said. "We didn't know how long it would take to get the stucco company out there, so we added a second layer to protect the sensitive foam from anybody poking at it or any other kind of damage."

The four-man crew had one rig on site equipped with a Graco Foam-Cat 400 proportioner and a Graco Foam-Cat mechanical purge spray gun, which was the equipment used during the SPF application. For the coating installation, the crew used a Graco Airless Paint Sprayer.

Rael noted that the biggest challenge his crew endured was the constant desert wind, which made its presence known during the job.

"Wind affects our surface texture and our surface profile," Rael said. "It was nice and hot during the project, which gave good reactivity to the SPF but some of the days during the application were windy and that proved challenging, but we were good at preventing any overspray and pulled through."

Rael said that as the application took place, the temperature inside the church started to change and the client provided feedback of how cooler it felt for churchgoers. Once the application was finished, the client revealed that the climate inside the building has dramatically changed, and so is very pleased with NMSF's work.

Even though the synthetic stucco application is yet to get underway, Rael affirmed that the SPF wall insulation application has outfitted the building with a visually appealing look.

"The aesthetics really improved with just the foam and coating application," Rael said. "I believe the owner and the churchgoers are going to have more pride in the way their building looks now, and more is yet to come once the stucco goes on. It's going to have a tremendous effect in the appearance of the building."

Rael added that he is personally looking forward to seeing the final result of the project, which will cap off an incredible revitalization of the 15-year old deteriorated building.

About A New Millennium Spray Foam, Inc: A New Millennium, Inc. was founded in 2001 by President, Rodney Rael, an experienced spray foam applicator. Mr. Rael recognized that attracting the best talent was key to both offering a quality product and keeping overhead low because the quality of a spray foam job is determined by on-site factors, like the ratio of spray foam components and evenness of application. The application teams at A New Millennium, Inc. have over 90 years of combined experience, the most of any spray foam insulation contractor in New Mexico.