Spraying After the Storms

SUMMER ISSUE 2019 (Spray Foam Magazine) – In August 2016, prolonged rain caused major flooding throughout a large part of the state of Louisiana. Thousands of homes and businesses were submerged and destroyed. Louisiana governor, John Bel Edwards, declared a state of emergency and described the disaster as, “a historic, unprecedented flooding event.” According to the National Weather Service, the storm dumped between 20 to 30 inches of rain, causing rivers to swell and eventually consume the area in water.

Fred Newman of B & B Spray Foam Insulation, located in Kentwood, Louisiana assisted an elderly couple that lost their home in the flood. Newman has been in the spray foam industry for four years since he created his company in 2015. The project was located in Denham Springs, Louisiana (approximately 50 miles away from Kentwood). The homeowners hired workers from around the United States and Canada to build them a new home.

Open-cell spray foam insulation was used in the walls and underneath the roof of the house. According to Newman, the job went smoothly and they encountered little to no problems. The team consisted of three crew members and it took four days to complete the project. A half-pound of open-cell Thermafil spray foam was used around the home. It reportedly took around three and a half hours to prep and another three and half to clean up the job, but only took 15 minutes to spray the house. For the front and back porches, an envelope and net wall were put up from the wall header to the peak of the roof.

Newman explained, “If you don’t build those walls, the AC and heat will go right out to your porches.” After insulation, the house went from needing three air conditioners to cool the house to just one. Heating the house at one time is much easier now as well.

During a separate job in Roseland, Louisiana, Fred sprayed a home for an elderly man that was unable to keep his house warm in the winter or cool in the summer. Fred’s four-member team drilled over 800 holes in the walls and ceiling preparing for foam. Some holes could not be filled underneath the floor because the area was unable to be accessed. With all of the furniture left out, everything in the home, including the furniture and floors, had to be covered before the work could begin. Four holes were dug in order to get underneath the home and two inches of closed-cell foam insulation were sprayed. The team also dug a 28-foot tunnel and two six-foot tunnels.

According to Fred, the customer was very happy with the job and said, “The owner said it was money well spent.” Two pounds of Thermafil CCX closed-cell foam were used and the project took a week to complete.