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SPF Saves Taxpayers a Few Bucks
New York State Bridge Authority chooses spray foam to insulate old maintenance shop
By Jessica A. Baris
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VENDOR TEAM
American Insulation Applicators
SPF contractor
7 Charles Street
P.O. Box 215
Rhinecliff, NY 12574
www.aiafoam.com
Urethane Technology Company (UTC)
SPF Manufacturer
59-77 Temple Ave
Newburgh, NY 12550
(845) 561-5500
www.urethanetechnology.com
Allegro Industries
Respirators
7221 Orangewood Ave.
Garden Grove, CA 92841
(800) 622-3530
www.allegrosafety.com
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Taxes have never been popular among American citizens. It’s safe enough to say that today’s Americans don’t enjoy paying taxes just as much as the colonists didn’t like it when they first established the United States. So it sure was a bright July day just this past summer when the New York State (NYS) Bridge Authority decided to try to save taxpayers some of their hard-earned dollars.
 It all started with an old, run-down maintenance shop. NYS Bridge Authority workers use the shop to do repair work for the Hudson River bridges. It came to a point where the old shop needed some fixing up itself. The building was losing too much heat, and the NYS Bridge Authority needed an insulation that would save energy. Spray foam was the choice, and the agency hired American Insulation Applicators to spray the shop’s 38,000 board feet.
The general manager of that company, Tim O’Brien, gives readers a description of just where that shop is stationed. “It’s a mechanic shop in Ulster County and near Kingston–Rhinecliff Bridge,” he said. “It’s big enough to drive a truck into it and to perform maintenance—they do everything from welding, mechanical work, and sign repair.”
Over the course of one week, American Insulation Applicators would put the insulation plan into action.
Spray to Save Energy
Early in the mornings before the sun burned too hotly over the Hudson Valley, the American Insulation Applicators three-man crew sprayed the walls and ceiling of the maintenance shop.
“ The Bridge Authority is trying to do energy conservation,” said O’Brien. “They approached us, and we jumped at the chance. They cover five different bridges in Hudson River County, and they all have maintenance buildings. They want to be energy-conscious. They were looking to do something proactive, and we were willing to help.”
O’Brien said that this spray foam project was the prototype. Of the five maintenance buildings, the shop that has been described here was the first one to receive spray foam. If spray foam could solve the energy loss of that woebegone building, it could do it for the rest of them.
To help the Bridge Authority in its endeavor, the American Insulation Applicators sprayed ½-pound, open-cell foam from Urethane Technology Company. The crew started by tearing off the old vinyl insulation. Underneath it, the metal substrate was clean and ready for foam application.
 “We sprayed a test spot, and everything seemed to adhere to the fresh metal,” said O’Brien.
The area was prepped so that foam would not stick to any of the shop’s equipment.
“They accommodated us,” said O’Brien of the maintenance shop workers. “They moved their equipment for us, and anything that was left, we covered with plastic. We sprayed half the building, then they took a day to move their equipment to the other side, and then the next day, we sprayed the other half.”
The crew applied 3 inches of foam on 3,000 square feet of wall space and 6 inches on the 5,000-square-foot ceiling. All the while, the sprayers wore full body suits, gloves, and supplied-air respirators to protect themselves from exposure to the SPF.
Will SPF Perform?
Once all the foam was in place, the crew took a step back to look at their work. Their part was done. Later, the foam was covered with plywood. Then the true test began.
 “They indicated that if the SPF proves itself, they’d do it for the other buildings,” said O’Brien, referring to the Bridge Authority’s future plans. “If this pans out, there are other buildings in their jurisdiction they will use foam for.
“Taxpayers are the ones who are paying for the energy loss,” O’Brien went on to say. “I thought they should be commended for taking the initiative to explore energy-saving applications for a state agency. I was willing to help them with price to keep it in something that was enticing to them that they could present to their board members. This is good for the SPF industry because it could lead the way for other state agencies to do the same.”
Now that’s something that both American taxpayers and insulation contractors would appreciate!
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