Before calling an architect or general contractor, Automation Controls president Bob Lambert called RPC Industries, Inc. to discuss if the building could be effectively roofed and sealed. Over the prior 36 years of industrial spray foam experience, RPC had tackled countless examples of this hard to seal building design on Government facilities and Bob had heard about their success. RPC Vice President, Bryan Heldreth, met with Bob and hatched a plan to create the most energy efficient Quonset hut possible. The final design featured over 35,000 board feet of sprayed polyurethane foam. In the end, the project was a stunning success and a testament to the many advantages of SPF. Not only did this total encapsulation design seal the building with incredible results, it also stiffened the structure to the point where the Quonset hut could be safely walked on for the first time in 50 years.
The long-term energy impact of the spray foam installed on this project will be realized for decades to come. On this project, however, there was a bigger, more immediate environmental impact seen. The main reason the owner was able to renovate the building instead of demolishing it to build new was the characteristics of spray foam. This significantly reduced the environmental impact; reduced landfill waste, reduced disposal trucking, reduced construction equipment, reduced need for newly manufactured building components, and reduced shipping of those products all contributed to a significantly smaller carbon footprint and waste production. In addition, the useful life of the structure was more than doubled by this project and it ensures these benefits will be captured well into the future.