We are so grateful for the wonderful work you did for us!

You were an integral part of building our new home and repairing our old one.  On both jobs, you and your crew were extremely professional and a pleasure to work with.  We especially appreciate the fact that you completed each job in a timely manner and kept our job sites exceptionally clean.

The roof on our new home is extremely complex.  It consists of 20 internal roof drains which capture 95% of the moisture that falls on our home and then collect it in a 15,000 gallon cistern.  The roof also includes ducting  which had to be insulated and boxed in for our HRV units. In addition, our roof contains multiple skylights and various roof heights for a total of just under 6,000 square feet.  You and your team integrated all these complexities to allow the structure to drain flawlessly with a very clean and beautiful look.  Thanks to our beautiful foam roof and the batt insulation in the ceiling cavity, our new home earned an R-value of around 60, which helped us qualify for LEED Gold status and a HERS index of 22.

When our 1917 adobe home in South Capitol went under contract, the purchasers’ inspector gave us a bit over a month to fix the spray foam roof.  You and your talented crew were able to finish the job in less than a day, and ahead of schedule.

We appreciate your professionalism and conscientious work, and we’d highly recommend you a thousand times over!

With our gratitude,
Wilson & Jenna Scanlan

When Feran Dancer of Sundancer Creations envisioned creating a home that would create energy rather then use energy, he knew that insulation was a major part of making his idea a reality.

SOLUTION:

Southwest Spray Foam was contracted to install the spray polyurethane roof. SWSF sprayed a minimum of 7” of foam creating slope up to 14” in areas. By using foam Sundancer was able to provide the most possible r-value, in the least amount of space. By using SWSF, Feran also saved on costs by speeding up the project. If conventional insulation and roofing was used it would have delayed the project by over 4 weeks. Today the project is seen as one of the most luxurious energy efficient homes in the Southwest. For more information please visit The Emerald Home.

The Sangre De Cristo Center was a 12,000 sq. foot existing tar and gravel roof with numerous leaks. The main cause of the leaks was lack of slope. The roof had interior drains with poor drainage. After significant rains and snows, water would pond in some cased over 2” thick.

SOLUTION:

Southwest Spray Foam was contracted to provide a new spray polyurethane roof system. For was attractive for three main reasons:

1. Southwest Spray foam can provide slope by building up the thickness of the foam. When the roof was complete the minimum thickness was 2” at the drains and 6” on the ridges. The key to any roof is proper drainage. By creating drainage the roof will continue to perform for many years to come.
2. Insulation was definitely needed. The added foam will provide an additional R-22 average. This will make the conditioned warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
3. Compared to other roof systems, spray foam was less expensive, and faster to install. The whole job was done in two set ups, taking about 4 days per set up.

]]> http://www.southwestsprayfoam.com/featured/sangre-de-cristo-center/feed/ 0 http://www.southwestsprayfoam.com/news/shape-and-carve-that-foam/ http://www.southwestsprayfoam.com/news/shape-and-carve-that-foam/#comments Wed, 17 Nov 2010 02:02:39 +0000 admin http://www.southwestsprayfoam.com/?p=55 By Jessica A. Baris

Michelangelo is famed for painstakingly carving and shaping marble into grand sculptures, such as “David.” Michelangelo may be long gone, but the art of shaping and carving is still useful today, and it’s something that Matt Segura, spray foam contractor in Santa Fe, New Mexico, practices to produce the product his customers want.

Spray polyurethane foam (SPF) is popular among homeowners in Santa Fe for two reasons: It provides excellent insulation, and it’s able to preserve the old hacienda look that so many want for their homes.

“With SPF, we can shape it and mimic the same movement that the walls have prior to insulation,” says Segura of Southwest Spray Foam. “We achieve the insulation value as well as maintain that adobe look that homeowners want.”

Adobe, says Segura, is “unique to Santa Fe. You don’t see people building with adobe anywhere else.”

In fact, SPF application to adobe is unique, too. Just in the past year, an International Code Council Evaluation Services (ICC-ES) report was released, approving the use of spray foam on exterior adobe walls with a three-coat stucco on top. Segura is finding that more homeowners are choosing SPF for their homes, and he’s getting business left and right.

One particular homeowner in northeast Santa Fe was on a mission to bring to fruition a custom adobe home with SPF to insulate it. He hired Anderson and Associates to build it, and Southwest Spray Foam was contracted to apply the spray foam insulation. The Southwest Spray Foam crew’s spray skills—and their carving and shaping skills—would soon be on demand.

The Artist’s Touch

It happened over four days in August. Segura and his seven-man crew prepared to apply foam to the 7,000 square feet of adobe walls and rooftop by covering windows, doors, landscaping, and yard walls with 4-mil plastic.

“Luckily, the job site was out in the country, so we didn’t have a whole lot to worry about protecting,” says Segura.

Segura is quite familiar with the adobe homes, having grown up in Santa Fe. When they arrived on site, the crew cleared the roof and walls of loose dirt. Equipped with full-body protective suits, respirators, gloves, and foot protection, the applicators and helpers fired up their Graco H-20/35, Graco Reactor H-40, and GX-7 spray guns to begin foaming.

The exterior walls—which are made of stacked adobe with cement mortar joints between—were sprayed with approximately 2 inches of NCFI’s InsulStar closed-cell foam.

Once the foam cured, eight crewmen helped to smooth out the foam using knives and blades as their shaping tools to form the round walls the owner had specified.

“We did some shaping with the house because it’s a square house,” says Segura. “We wanted to make it more round, so we shaped the foam.”

Up Next, the Roof!

Even after every last bit of square shape was smoothed down to soft flowing curves for the home’s exterior, the crew still had one part of the house left to go—the roof.

“This owner has done a lot of research,” says Segura. “He had an SPF roof in the past. He wanted the best insulation he could get. The foam provides slope, R-value, and the roof, all in one shot, which you cannot do with conventional roofing.

“SPF is popular in Santa Fe because a lot of homes have exposed ceilings and don’t have manufactured tresses on the roofs. They use wood vigas and wood beams as the supports for the roof. The decking goes on top of that, and the foam is sprayed directly on top of the decking.”

The crew sprayed the roof’s tongue-and-groove decking with NCFI’s 2.8-pound foam.

“We sprayed a minimum of 6 inches to create drainage and slope,” says Segura. “We achieved an R-value of 38.4. That meets the local building code.”

Atop the roof foam went NCFI’s Endurarock roof coating system. “The coating on the edges is a minimum of 40 mils. It required gravel covering on the horizontal surfaces and UV coating on vertical surfaces,” explains Segura. “The gravel is approximately 1.5 inches thick, and it’s ¾ Santa Fe brown gravel from a local Santa Fe gravel pit.”

Michelangelos or SPF Pros?

“It takes time,” says Segura of the whole process. “We had about two full days of spraying and one full day of trimming and shaping.”

But it’s worth the time. Segura said that he and co-owner Aaron Lewis, the applicator on this job, care most about delivering exactly what the customer wants. Lewis has been spraying foam for more than 30 years. He knows foam, and he knows how to build strong business relationships.

“Aaron works hand-in-hand with the contractors and the homeowner,” says Segura. “He really listens to what they want. He’s hands-on, which is key to our success. He’s not behind the desk. He gets out and sprays.”

The Southwest Spray Foam crewmen may not be Michelangelos, but they sure are SPF pros who know how to work foam with an artistic touch!

Source: http://www.sprayfoam-mag.com/articles/shape-and-carve-that-foam.aspx

Qualifying for the tax deduction or credit is dependent on the level of energy efficiency you choose. Items that can be modified or installed to qualify for the savings include: installation of energy efficient interior lighting, building envelope, or heating, cooling, ventilation, or hot water systems. An excellent choice in reducing energy costs is NCFI High Performance Spray Foam Insulation which is available in InsulStar®, Sealite™, InsulQuiet™, and InsulStar® Plus. NCFI High Performance Spray Foam Insulation products are excellent choices for the builder who wants to maximize energy efficiency.

Residential – Builders

Builders of residential properties are eligible for a $2,000 tax credit for homes that are deemed energy efficient by reaching a 50% energy savings for heating and cooling beyond the 2004 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). This credit also applies to manufacturers of manufactured homes; and in addition these manufacturers are also eligible for a tax credit of $1,000 for homes that reach a 30% energy savings for heating and cooling beyond the 2004 IECC. Residential builders will need to file IRS form 8908.pdfin order to receive the tax credit.

Commercial – Builders

Builders (owners or designers) of commercial properties are eligible for up to $1.80 per square foot tax deduction for new or existing commercial buildings if they save at least 50% on heating and cooling energy. Builders and owners are also eligible for a $.60 per square foot deduction if a building is modified to affect the energy rating of the building envelope, lighting, or heating and cooling systems.

Additional information for commercial & residential builders:

• The deductions are available for commercial buildings placed in service from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2013.
• Improvements to the property must reduce the energy and power costs by 50% or more in comparison to buildings with minimum requirements.
• Tenants are also eligible for the tax savings if they are responsible for the installation of the products or construction of the building.
• Energy savings must be calculated using approved software which is available at the U.S. Department of Energy website.
• To learn more about what opportunities are available for commercial builders who are interested in government contracts, visit Recovery.gov.
• For more information, please contact your NCFI Account Manager >

American Libraries Magazine Chooses NCFI Spray Foam Insulation as a Must-Have for Green Libraries
Insulation for any building type appropriately selected and installed is the best investment a community can make in a building’s infrastructure.

Mount Airy, N.C., May 20, 2009—American Libraries magazine, a publication of the American Library Association, names NCFI high performance spray foam insulation one their 10 Eco-Friendly Products for 2009.

According to the spring issue of the magazine the selection process included, “architects, interior designers and vendors across the nation.” The products are what the ALA believes libraries will “want to consider in their quest to save energy, improve indoor air quality and become better environmental stewards.”

Wanda Urbanska, host of the popular PBS show, Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska and author of the accompanying article, What Are Vendors Doing to Help Libraries Go Green? A Lot, says, “Many believe that it is incumbent upon libraries to show leadership with environmental innovation and education, serving in their traditional role as beacons of the community.” NCFI Sr. Vice President, Nelson Clark, agrees, “We make products designed to last for the lifetime of the building and libraries are the type of community center that should last 100 years. You really can’t build a high-performance building without high-performance products, and NCFI’s spray foam insulation is the highest-performing insulation you can use.”

Clark says the company is “honored by the selection.” He adds, “The ALA is a thought-leader in the system approach to sustainable building in the educational sector. We are thrilled they’ve chosen our high-performance spray foam insulation as the ideal product to help institutional buildings, like libraries, realize substantial savings on energy costs, and help eliminate dangerous problems like mold while improving air quality.” Clark adds, “Our goal is to continue working with the ALA and others to create and provide the future of American sustainable building.”

According to the top ten listing, NCFI’s insulation is what “Green building consultant David Johnston calls best of class. [Johnson] says, ‘Insulation for any building type appropriately selected and installed is the best investment a community can make in a building’s infrastructure. Most people don’t think of insulation as an investment but as a cost. In fact, this is an investment in a building’s long-term operations.’ As energy costs spiral, high performance spray foam insulation is becoming increasingly popular, not only for its insulating properties but because it resists mold and moisture and promotes healthful indoor air quality.’”

NCFI’s high-performance spray foam insulation joins a diverse list of innovative products including floor coverings made from recycled wood dust, cork, and linseed oil, reusable hemp tote bags, dual flush toilets that reduce water consumption and roofing membrane with a reflective surface that helps create an energy- saving “cool roof.”

NCFI is a leading U.S. manufacturing company specializing in sustainable spray foam insulation. Some of their industry-leading brands include: Sealite™, InsulStar®, and InsulBloc®.

To arrange an interview about this subject, please call Dale McGlothlin (202) 341-8615

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