Sunset Fruits Vegetable Cooler Insulation, Buffalo, NY
Sunset Fruits of Buffalo, one of the areas largest supplier of fruits and vegetables to grocery stores and restaurants needed to expand due to growth of their business. An old structure was purchased and was being retrofitted to accommodate their needs. One of the major areas they had to concentrate on was the expansion of a cooler to keep their product from spoiling.
They investigated insulated panels and several other methods to build a 38 degree F cooler and found the most economical solution without losing any space was to spray the walls and ceiling of the cooler with spray foam and coatings.
It was a multi-step process to complete this project. All of the walls and ceiling were pressure washed to remove 40+ years of dirt. The broken fiberglass wall panels were replaced with metal panels, and any other holes were sealed. Once cleaned, the walls, ceiling, and structural steel was primed with a water based epoxy primer. Three inch thick Class A rated closed-cell spray foam was applied to the walls and ceiling to provide an R-21 insulation as well as a monolitihic Air Barrier. Upon completion of the foam application, an Intumescent Thermal Barrier coating was applied over the exposed foam to meet NYS Building Codes.
Due to the area having food product exposed and USDA requirements to keep the area clean, the Walls, Ceiling and all Structural Steel received a 10 Mil coat of USDA approved Sherwin Williams semi-gloss coating. This coating provides the owner with the ability to pressure wash their walls and to prevent mold growth as well as a brighter work / storage area for its employees.
The owners are completing the construction of the facility and are looking forward to continued growth with this larger facility. They were pleased with the outcome of the insulation project as well as the crews that performed the work for United Thermal Systems.