Spray Foam Roof Restoration Project Provides Owners With Energy Savings and Incentives

MERRITT ISLAND, FL - May 28, 2013 - Not only does the application of spray foam provide its clients with solidified structures and pristine insulation yielding to low energy consumption, it can also generate remarkable financial benefits.

Such was the case during the development of a new Sports Authority at Merritt Square Mall, where a simple suggestion saved the mall owners thousands of dollars as well as provided them with incentives from Florida Power & Light (FPL), the local power company.

To satisfy their new customer, the owners of the mall decided to revitalize the roof of the building where the space leased by the sports store was. The roof of this particular building contained a division of two materials: a single-ply thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) roofing membrane on one side and spray foam on the other. Both the mall and the Sports Authority owners decided that the TPO roofing system was more aesthetically pleasing to the eye and contracted All Florida Urethane to restore the other side of the roof with it.

Don Smith, President of All Florida Urethane (AFU), had a different idea. He suggested to the owners of both entities that keeping the foam that was in place and applying SPF as well as coating to the rest of the roof was the way to go.

"Not a lot of people are up to speed with the quality system that is spray foam and the benefits it provides," said Smith. "In fact, most Sports Authority locations around the country have TPO roofs because a lot people who work on them are simply not familiar with the foam."

Smith explained that SPF application gives watertight protection and longevity to roofs without having to replace the material in short periods of time. Even though the existing foam had been there for nearly 12 years, it still met the requirements of the store.

"We would've had to tear the foam off from the roof if we restored with the sheath system," explained Smith. "By choosing a spray foam application, we were going to be able to revitalize the existing system without exposing the store by tearing part of the roof off and, also, making the building much more energy efficient."

Smith said that by choosing the spray foam roofing system application, the owners saved 70% of the cost that the TPO implementation required.

Prior to the restoration application, Smith contacted FPL seeking the qualification of the client for incentives, which are given based on the magnitude of energy-efficient improvements. He explained that the aim of local energy companies when giving out these incentives to business owners is to reduce the power load during peak demand.

"That was a big selling point for me," said Smith. "Their power draw on the grid was enough to warrant incentive for reflective roof coating."

After that, an FPL inspector came on site and did a pre-inspection, which involved checking square footage and R-value. Having met their demands, FPL rewarded the owners with a considerable energy subsidy.

In addition to the incentive, Smith said that AFU offered the site five-year warranty which stipulates that if any damage befalls the roofing application, it gets fixed free of charge.

"It's a win-win situation," said Smith.

While on-site, the AFU team found themselves in the company of as many as eight different crews all working together to put the new location of the famous sports store together. The construction company built a 15-foot wall around the roof during the project; ultimately, those walls were sprayed as well by the AFU team. Smith noted that they helped out some of the other crews at the site.

"They were glad we were there," said Smith. "We actually prepped some things for the steel workers and the plumbers."

Smith said that his crew found several penetrations of 4 by 4 feet on the roof. Because the holes dropped straight into the building, the crew added 22-gauge metal decking to the holes and then installed new air conditioning curbs that acted as parapet walls. The crew power-washed the substrate with chlorine and then proceeded to apply a Gaco Western E5320 primer to facilitate the SPF's adhesion to the substrate.

The crew all wore proper PPE and, outfitted with harnesses, tied off to the A.C. curbs while the spraying and coating installations unfolded. Smith remarked that once the walls went up, the crew was closed in and fall protection was no longer required.

The AFU team had one rig at the site and it was equipped with a Graco Reactor H-40 proportioner. Using a Graco GX-7 plural-component spray gun attached to the proportioner, the crew installed 2 inches of foam on the roof and 4 inches when they sprayed against walls. The crew used 4 sets of 2.7 lb. GacoRoofFoam during the applications.

During the coating application, the crew installed two 45-mil coats of GacoFlex S2000 Solvent-Free 100% Silicone Coating to cover the foam. Both coats, applied at 2.7 gallons per square., were sprayed with a Graco GH 833 sprayer and a Graco Silver Gun. The crew later back-rolled the coatings to avoid seams.

AFU's team, which consisted of five people, took two months to finish the job; this was in part because they had to wait for the other crews to finish their own projects before they could coat the roof.

"We are used to going in there and moving," said Smith. "We could've finished a job like that in two or three weeks, but we had to wait also and help out with things they needed done so as to appease the whole situation."

For Smith and his crew, the biggest advantage the application provided is that it made the roof strong and waterproofed. In Florida, leakage caused by rain can be a big issue, but not when you have a closed-cell spray foam roofing system protecting your roof.

"Spray foam accomplished long-term watertight integrity," said Smith. "You can't get that with any other method and, not to mention, have it be cost-efficient."

The mall owners were so pleased with AFU's work that they decided to hire them for another job: to restore the roof of the JC Penney across the way...same mall, different building. Smith understands that he won't need to convince the owners about using spray foam this time around.

About All Florida Urethane: All Florida Urethane is a premier provider of quality building insulation, commercial reroofing, foam roof insulation and water barrier products for commercial, industrial and residential applications. An expert in local power company and tax incentives, the company is a certified contractor for GE, Dow Corning, Gaco Western, and is state certified and insured. For more information, please use the contact details and links provided below.