Feel the Warmth

The Kansas snowstorms this week remind us of a story we heard recently about a husband returning home from a hunting trip and bragging to his wife about his adventures, especially going on about the "barn with the foam insulation" the place where the hunters would gather before and after going out.

The metal building's owner, an avid waterfowl hunter, made the decision to provide an air-tight polyurethane foam insulation barrier inside the structure.

"It was amazing," the husband told his wife. "It was so warm inside because of how well it was sealed."

SPF insulation has many uses and many home-owners are finding it more economical in the long run to use it as they build or renovate houses. Steve Thomas, former host of the PBS series, This Old House and Renovation Nation on the Planet Green channel, used spray foam insulation to renovate his 100-year-old home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

"Spray foam insulation is super insulation. It gives superior R-value, conforms to any shape . . . is a water and air barrier, which makes the house healthier, gives the homeowner amazing energy savings, and allows us to maintain the design integrity of the American Southwest," he said.

So what does spray polyurethane foam insulation have in common with snowstorms?

If the snow is the right consistency and drifts up around your building and on your roof, you can actually feel the warm in your home. It provides a wonderful insulation as it nestles into cracks and crevices, keeping the wind out and the heat in. It actually provides a better shelter than if there is no snow at all.

Snow on outside of building during the
February snowstorm in Kansas City.

But then Mother Nature changes direction and the snow melts and the insulation is gone, unless, of course, you have your building insulated with spray polyurethane foam.