SWD Urethane Successful Partnerships
Keeping Warm in the Frigid Tundra
Cold-Temperature Formulated Spray Foam Seals and Insulates Right for Arctic Housing
to spray the underside of the building, the
walls, and the underside of the roof deck.
In the far reaches of northern Alaska,
off the Arctic Ocean, lies the tiny village
of Point Lay. Its population of fewer
than 300 keeps itself busy by hunting
caribou, observing walrus migrations,
and staying warm. Caribou is a very
important game animal to the villagers,
and everyone typically hunts enough
caribou to have meat for the entire winter.
So many caribou, in fact, that their frozen
carcasses litter the streets in various
stages of processing. The surrounding
land is barren, frozen tundra—even in
the summer—and the remoteness of the
village makes it difficult to get supplies or
for outsiders to travel there. According to
the 2010 Census, 59.8% of the population
in Point Lay is under the age of 18. That
means the village needs school teachers
to teach all these kids. However, drawing
on the local talent is a challenge, so they
imported 5 teachers to come up to the
frozen middle of nowhere.
Naturally, you need somewhere to house
these out-of-town teachers, so the North
Slope Borough had a two-story residential
housing unit built for them. This housing
had to be expertly insulated, especially
because in the frigid tundra, winter lows
can get in the negative 70s—even without
the wind chill. That’s so cold that if you
threw a bucketful of boiling water into
the air, it would freeze before it hits the
ground. Fiberglass batts or cellulose are
not options in the Polar Regions because
1
condensation will build up and fill the
attics with ice, which will then melt in
the summer and cause it to “rain” in the
building. Then, the occupants can get
mold, rot, and all kinds of problems. Only
closed cell spray foam, with its superior
insulation and air and vapor sealing
abilities, can handle the task of insulating
an Arctic home.
Polyseal Insulation, LLC was chosen as
the spray foam contractor because they
have a solid reputation in northern Alaska
and they are experienced at challenging
assignments such as this.
For the underside of the house, Polyseal
set up tarps and heaters in order
to properly warm up the substrate.
Unfortunately, doing so also caused the
ground to thaw, and the applicators
had to lie down in the mud in order to
spray. They sprayed the underside of
the floor with 7 inches of foam in 2 inch
lifts. It was difficult because of the mud,
and the cramped space only afforded
limited movement. The applicators could
only spray a small area before having to
slide through the muck over to the next
section. After the foam was sprayed,
another contractor came and sheeted the
underside with plywood, encapsulating
the foam.
The interior walls were wood 2 x 6
construction, so they got 5 inches of
foam—just under a full cavity fill. Polyseal
also sprayed 8 inches of foam under the
roofline for superior R-value.
Logistics was an issue for Polyseal because
of the remoteness of the area. In order for
them to get the sets of foam they needed
on time, they had to ship them by barge, 6
months in advance, from Seattle to Point
Lay. Polyseal also brought more foam than
they needed, just in case—18 sets, when
they needed only 15. They then flew
the reactors and other equipment up by
plane closer to the work date. In addition,
Polyseal had to bring a slew of spare
parts—practically enough to build a whole
new reactor. Otherwise, if anything broke,
they would have to wait weeks to get
replacements because they would have to
be flown out to them.
Due to the polar climate, it was especially
important to seal the entire building
envelope. In order to do this, Polyseal had
Cold temperatures can cause issues with expansion and
adhesion in ordinary foam. However, Quik-Shield 112XC is
specially formulated for cold-climate usage and has none
of these issues.
SWD Urethane • 800-828-1394 • swdurethane.com
SWD Urethane Successful Partnerships
Spraying foam in cold temperatures is
always difficult. In these conditions, it
almost always requires preheating the
buildings to warm the substrates before
the application takes place. In addition,
the foam Polyseal used was Quik-Shield
112XC, a cold-temperature blend designed
specifically for applications such as this.
Other foams risk cracking and popping
when sprayed to a cold substrate, but
Quik-Shield 112XC is specially formulated
with higher catalyst action to adhere and
expand properly, even at temperatures as
low as 15°F.
About halfway through the project, the
applicators ran out of disposable eye
goggles. The ones they had were so
crusted over with overspray that they
were useless. So, the applicators called
the home office requesting some new
ones, which were sent out Priority Air. In
the meantime, they had to MacGyver new
goggles out of the 6”x8” glass lenses from
some of their spare halogen lights and
clean them with a razor blade when they
got full of overspray. The replacements did
eventually arrive, however—six days later,
just as the applicators were getting ready
to leave.
Due to its high latitude, the Arctic Circle
experiences a polar climate, with winter
temperatures plunging down to a bonechilling -70°F. When a cold spell moves in,
freezing temperatures can be punishing,
8 inches of closed cell foam were applied to the underside
of the roof deck. Not only does closed cell spray foam
provide superior R-value, but it seals out air and water
vapor and prevents condensation from forming.
2
were used on this project. Polyseal’s crew
completed the 6,000 sq. ft. multiplex in
only ten days, much to the satisfaction
of “Sarge”, the superintendent. He noted
that Polyseal had been “the hardest
working and most professional outfit that
had been on the job site so far.”
Spray foam creates a seamless air barrier that keeps out
the cold and the Arctic winds. This enables the residents
to realize up to 40% savings on their heating costs.
turning even antifreeze into a solid block
of ice!
At Polyseal Insulation, LLC, we work with
architects, builders, developers,
municipalities, and individuals who
In any case, the people of Point Lay
recognize the value and importance of
currently rely primarily on diesel fuel to
maintaining a healthy indoor environment
run generators and heat homes. Fuel
shipments are very expensive to transport for the residents and appreciate the
opportunity to save environmental
and store, with diesel fuel deliveries
resources. We work with each client to
coming by boat typically only during the
ascertain their particular needs while
summer. Heating homes and buildings in
listening to all our clients in an effort to
the Arctic with diesel fuel is very costly,
locate and assess products that may
typically upwards of $10 per gallon. This
makes energy-efficiency designs extremely benefit future projects and/or address a
current need.
important.
Energy modeling was done on the house
to determine the differences between
fiberglass and spray foam. The teachers
living in this spray foamed building will
experience an incredible 49.3% savings
on their heating bills when compared to a
similar building insulated with fiberglass.
The entire living unit was looking at a
yearly heating energy consumption of
675.1 MMBtu/yr with fiberglass. The air
sealing and insulation properties of spray
foam decreases that number by almost
half to 342.3 MMBtu/yr. Since the fuel
costs in Point Lay are extremely high, the
units in this building will see a combined
cost savings of $24,208 per year on their
heating bill!
The Quik-Shield brand is owned and
operated by SWD Urethane (www.
swdurethane.com) and represents over 40
years of spray foam experience in the
construction industry.
In all, 15,000 lbs. of closed cell foam
SWD Urethane • 800-828-1394 • swdurethane.com