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SPF Pool House Plunge
By: Michelle Gardner
Deck: Contractor is rewarded with a satisfied customer and an industry award for an SPF insulation installation because contractor and client did their homework.
Homework pays off as Dennis Vandewater, co-owner of Eagle Grove, Iowa-based Sadler Coating Systems, learned when his company’s first foray on an indoor swimming pool insulation installation won an award at Spray Foam 2007 in Orlando, Florida.
Winning an award wasn’t Vandewater’s initial thought when his friend, Earl Taylor, Executive Director of the Hidden Acres Christian Center in nearby Dayton, Iowa, called to ask him about insulating an indoor swimming pool.
“They wanted an excellent insulation that maintained its properties and would be impervious to air and moisture,” says Vandewater. “But, to stay on budget, Hidden Acres Christian Center acted as its own general contractor and wanted its employees and volunteers to do as much of the work as possible.”
“We did the job at a discounted rate,” he says. “As a company, we look for opportunities to be charitable.”
Learning Curves
Taylor says that moisture penetrating through the insulation and rotting the rafter system and rusting the post–and-beam Morton steel building from Morton Buildings, Inc., was a big concern.
“We wanted total protection from moisture,” says Taylor. “We saw many pools, and each one had different aging problems -- mostly from too much moisture in the air and too little ventilation.”
 He adds, “We looked at a soy bean oil insulation. It was much cheaper, but it was new and didn’t have a track record.”
It wasn’t until the geothermal heating and cooling system supplier suggested spray polyurethane foam that Taylor gave Vandewater a call.
“We began researching for a proper specification several months before beginning this project,” Vandewater recalls. “We had never done a swimming pool application, and I wasn’t sure that I knew all of the ins and outs with moisture.”
Vandewater talked to industry professionals. “I did some checking at Spray Foam 2006 on this procedure,” he says. “Two or three people I knew in the SPFA organization had experience with this type of project.”
The result was adapting known products to new applications. BASF Elastospray 81202, a 2-lb. spray polyurethane foam insulation, supplied by Spray Foam Distributors in Iowa, was chosen for the job.
“We typically use BASF spray systems, and we did not have to acquire new equipment,” says Vandewater.
Weathering the Challenges
The crew went to work in September 2006, and the Iowa weather was rainy with cooler than normal temperatures.
“There was mud everywhere,” Vandewater remembers. “We had a truck and trailer to maneuver around the job site. The construction workers tried to make gravel roadways for us.”
Fortunately, the Sadler Coating Systems’ crew had a custom trailer with all of its necessary gear built in.
“We only had to take about 300 feet of hose out for the job,” says Vandewater. “We can hold up to 5,000 pounds of material, and we made two trips home during the project to refill material.”
 Pool School
Hidden Acres Christian Center employees’ and volunteers’ preparation saved the spray crew a few days of work.
“They did all of the ceiling drywall and all of the masking and taping around the many windows of the pool area,” Vandewater says. “Only a quick air blast to blow away any dust was required for surface prep of the new drywall.”
But, the attic’s tight conditions for crew and equipment were a concern for Vandewater. Though the crew had enough space, Vandewater recalls, “There was more bending over because we were going over the roofing’s cross-bracings.”
The two-man crew worked for four days – two and a half days on the ceiling and one and a half days on the walls from 8am to 5pm daily. Using Sadler’s four-year-old Gusmer 20/35 Pro proportioner, six inches of the two-component, BASF Elastospray 81202 foam (R-37.2) was applied over the 5/8-inch mold-resistant sheet rock on the 1/12-pitch ceiling that spans 60 feet by 120 feet.
Vandewater sprayed too. “Interior foam applications are good learning projects, and we use these to train our employees,” he says.
On the Side
Next, the crew installed four inches of BASF 81202 foam (R-25) on the 3,200 square feet of new steel walls. “We used a faster reacting foam system,” says Vandewater. “Cure time was dry to the touch in 30 seconds. Full cure was in two to three hours.”
“When we did the walls, we sprayed on steel,” says Vandewater. “We had to make a shallow pass initially on the steel to warm the walls as the outside temperatures were cooler than normal for that time of year. Then we could go back and do the required thicknesses.”
Safety Drill
Vandewater and crew kept safety first to ensure success without duress.
The crew was required to have fresh-air, full-face respirators as well as coveralls and gloves. Everyone was fitted, trained, and certified for the respirators, and all of Sadler Coating Systems employees are trained in CPR.
Ceiling work would be some 20 feet in the air, and wall spraying and testing would be at 12 feet above ground level, so the crew was required to have safety harnesses with lanyards while on the catwalks or rolling scaffold.
Reducing worker fatigue is always a goal. “We used one spray gun with two operators trading off,” Vandewater says. “One would spray for as long as he felt comfortable, then he would pass it over to the other sprayer.”
Another critical issue was the quantity of build – an average of six inches on the ceiling and an average of four inches on the walls.
“Foam does generate quite a bit of heat,” says Vandewater. “The interior foam is applied at temperatures between 120ºF and 130ºF. You have to be careful not to get too much build at one time or the sprayed foam could generate enough heat to smolder and possibly create a fire. That is a major concern when applying thick applications of spray polyurethane foam in building interiors. You have to be patient.”
He continues, “We did all three passes for the ceiling at once in sections. We would make a two-inch pass, let it cool, then do another pass. My preference is 20 to 30 minutes for cooling.”
Better Yields
The entire indoor swimming pool project used 14,000 lbs. of spray foam for the 10,400-square-foot total.
“We did about 3,500 pounds of foam a day,” says Vandewater. “We were able to do more as there weren’t many impediments to slow down the spraying. We were pleased we used less [material] than anticipated. When you get the initial one to two inches on, the yield gets a little better with the subsequent passes.”
Reaping Rewards
Vandewater thought this was a unique application and submitted the story to the Spray Foam 2007 contest.
“We did quite well at the Spray Foam convention in Orlando,” he says. “This project took first place for commercial wall foam.”
Sadler Coating Systems also received a first place in tanks and vessels for another project. Along with bragging rights, the company received a trophy and a banner.
Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA) Business Manager, Jessyca Blevins, explains that SPFA does not judge the submissions; rather it contracts a firm that specializes in organizing awards programs. Contest entrants submitted project details to a website specific to the competition.
“We have a blind judging process, and the 10 judges are industry professionals who volunteer their services,” says Blevins.
So, Mr. Vandewater, what was the easiest part of this project?
“Convincing them to use polyurethane foam. After they did their homework, I didn’t have to sell them. I took the owner and one of the construction people up in the ceiling when we were done, and they were amazed at the hardness of the material and how much more strength the foam added.”
Reward enough for a job well done.
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