The school district’s roofs were metal, wood, built-up, or covered in spray polyurethane foam (SPF), and they were leaking. The crew had little time and lots to cover.

The building, which is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, includes offices leased to companies such as Kaiser Permanente. After a pre-inspection, the foam experts determined that the best solution for the leaky cap sheet roof was to apply a coated spray polyurethane foam (SPF) system.

Over the years since, many patching solutions were tried, but nothing ever completely stopped the leaks. As a result, ARCTEC and the U.S. Air Force contacted regional contractor Polyseal Insulation to develop a spray polyurethane foam (SPF) system for the entire 44,000-square-foot roofing area.

Not only did the three-person United Thermal crew need to go out on a limb, aka man lift to get this job done, but the project itself was for Sunset Fruit & Vegetable Company.

For many, Belize is a place to rest and relax. It’s a small country, and a place where cultures and languages mix. It’s also a place where beans and rice are food staples, which explains why a new facility was being built and why a crew came down not for vacation but to apply spray polyurethane foam (SPF) and coatings on seven bean-holding bins.

When Dixie Safe and Lock Inc. in Houston realized their 25-year-old corrugated metal roof was beginning to rust and leak into their building, they felt anything but secure.

Not only did the crew have to contend with inclement weather, overspray, and working at heights, but they also had to come up with a solution to stop the condensation from “raining” on the inside of the building.

No longer do painters — or in this case spray polyurethane foam (SPF) and intumescent coating crews — have to work nearly upside down on scaffolds. Now, they’re able to use lifts that are not only easier to move but offer a safe option.

When Owatonna, Minnesota, suffered a major flood in September 2010, the historic Owatonna Power Plant — home to a couple of Owatonna Public Utilities (OPU) and water utility offices — was right in the path of the watery destruction.

It’s “raining on the inside” is never a phrase you want to hear (unless you’re an Amy Grant fan). But that was the message coming from an owner, who wishes to remain unnamed. Under two steep-slope roofs in Louisville, Kentucky, condensation was raining down on the warehouse below.

The original applicator was basically just applying the foam to the surface and not with the intent of allowing the roof to drain properly,” he said. “And so my crew came in and we corrected all of the ponding issues, repaired all of the delaminated foam, and pretty much renewed the roofing system to our standards.”

The building had metal walls that were not insulated and there was no functional heating system. That was not going to work, so the company looked into its options and ultimately settled on spray polyurethane foam (SPF), also referred to as spray foam, and intumescent coatings.

While Arizona may be known for its intense sun and scorching temperatures, everything from monsoon rains to gale-force winds can endanger a project at any point from the early application stages to years into a coating’s maturity.

The Smith Robertson School was the first public school ever built for African Americans in Jackson, Miss. The two-story wood school first opened in 1894 and was a place of teaching and learning for almost 200 years

Recoating the Superdome’s 450,000 square feet (41,806.4 m²) with 14 crew members required meticulous planning upfront. We had a set amount of time, money, and materials, so our strategy behind the coating really needed to help us stay within the goal posts.