old ice rink | Ask Mason Knowles - SPF Consultant | Spray Foam Technical Questions and Answers | SprayFoam Magazine Q&A Forums

Q&A Forums

Author	Comments
andy buff Posted: Jan 20, 2012 08:04 PM	old ice rink Mason happy new year...looking at an an old ice rink its a metal building 120x60 they are thinking of using 2" 2lb to the metal walls possibly roof deck then some kind of wall system vynal fiberglass or something.. question.. is it enough foam i think the idea was to use foam for air miosture barrier then dress it up..and is it better to have the foam on the metal or on the inside (rink side)..this rink runs all year..any ideas..cheers
mason Posted: Jan 21, 2012 08:49 AM	I am assuming the ice rink will be running consistently all year round. Check out the temperatures that will be in the ice rink. If they are consistently colder than the outside temperature then your vapor drive would be typically from the outside to the inside. In which case your vapor drive will be consistently going from the outside to the inside similar to a freezer. But, the ice would cause fairly high humidity on the inside which may cause the vapor to go the other way in the winter. I would perform a WUFI type modeling on the proposed design to determine the direction of the vapor drive. You can install foam on the inside or outside. The metal acts as a vapor retarder but it will allow moisture to diffuse through the hundreds of cracks between the metal panels, around the wall/roof interface and fasteners. Check out SPFA's technical guideline on Insulating Metal Buildings with SPF. AY 134. It has a decision tree to follow when spraying foam on metal buildings and when and where to place the vapor retarder depending on the vapor drive. For example if the vapor drive is primarily from the outside to the inside, you would install the vapor retarder on the inside surface of the metal before spraying the foam on an interior application (also add a vapor retarder slip sheet to the wall/ceiling interface to minimize expansion cracks in the vapor retarder. If the vapor drive is from the inside to the outside then the vapor retarder would be installed over the foam on an interior application. If spraying the foam from the outside and the vapor drive is going towards the inside of the building, the vapor retarder would be installed over the foam as a coating. If the vapor drive is going to the outside, then the vapor retarder would be installed next to the metal substrate. Also when insulating a metal building from the inside you need to insulate the metal columns, beams, purlins and anything other conductive material that is exposed to the outside temperature.

Author

Comments

andy buff

Posted: Jan 20, 2012 08:04 PM

old ice rink

Mason
happy new year...looking at an an old ice rink its a metal building 120x60 they are thinking of using 2" 2lb to the metal walls possibly roof deck then some kind of wall system vynal fiberglass or something.. question.. is it enough foam i think the idea was to use foam for air miosture barrier then dress it up..and is it better to have the foam on the metal or on the inside (rink side)..this rink runs all year..any ideas..cheers

mason

Posted: Jan 21, 2012 08:49 AM

I am assuming the ice rink will be running consistently all year round. Check out the temperatures that will be in the ice rink. If they are consistently colder than the outside temperature then your vapor drive would be typically from the outside to the inside. In which case your vapor drive will be consistently going from the outside to the inside similar to a freezer. But, the ice would cause fairly high humidity on the inside which may cause the vapor to go the other way in the winter. I would perform a WUFI type modeling on the proposed design to determine the direction of the vapor drive.

You can install foam on the inside or outside. The metal acts as a vapor retarder but it will allow moisture to diffuse through the hundreds of cracks between the metal panels, around the wall/roof interface and fasteners. Check out SPFA's technical guideline on Insulating Metal Buildings with SPF. AY 134.

It has a decision tree to follow when spraying foam on metal buildings and when and where to place the vapor retarder depending on the vapor drive. For example if the vapor drive is primarily from the outside to the inside, you would install the vapor retarder on the inside surface of the metal before spraying the foam on an interior application (also add a vapor retarder slip sheet to the wall/ceiling interface to minimize expansion cracks in the vapor retarder.

If the vapor drive is from the inside to the outside then the vapor retarder would be installed over the foam on an interior application.

If spraying the foam from the outside and the vapor drive is going towards the inside of the building, the vapor retarder would be installed over the foam as a coating.

If the vapor drive is going to the outside, then the vapor retarder would be installed next to the metal substrate.

Also when insulating a metal building from the inside you need to insulate the metal columns, beams, purlins and anything other conductive material that is exposed to the outside temperature.

You need to login to reply to this topic. Please click here to login.