Roof deck and upper wall panels being sprayed in a north Houston shop. Doors open, plastic down, work continuing in the next bay.
What a metal building does in a Houston summer
Uninsulated steel is a heat exchanger. The roof panel hits 160 degrees on a clear July afternoon and radiates it straight down onto your slab, your inventory and your people. Then the sun goes down, the panel cools faster than the air inside, and water condenses on the underside. That is the drip that ruins cardboard, rusts tooling and shows up on your floor as a puddle nobody can explain.
Two inches of closed cell on the underside of the deck and the walls ends both problems in a single pass. The R value cuts the heat gain. The vapor retarder and the seal stop condensation from forming on the steel, because the steel is no longer the coldest surface exposed to interior air. There is no liner to hang, no fasteners to work loose, and nothing for birds to tear open.
Buildings we work in
Warehouses and distribution space
Ceiling first, walls where it matters. In a non conditioned warehouse the goal is usually to knock the peak temperature down and stop condensation, and two inches on the deck does most of that work. In a conditioned warehouse we spec by the load calculation and go thicker.
Shops, service bays and hangars
Big doors open and close all day, which means you are never going to hold a tight temperature. Foam still changes the space, because it removes the radiant heat coming off the roof. Techs stop working under a heater.
Cold storage and coolers
Closed cell only, sprayed thick, with the vapor drive taken seriously. We have built out box coolers inside existing buildings and insulated refrigerated container conversions. This is precision work and we quote it with the operating temperature in hand.
Shipping containers and container offices
A specialty for us. Container walls are corrugated steel with no cavity, and closed cell is the only material that makes sense. We mask hardware, spray walls and ceiling, trim around boxes and vents, and hand it back ready for framing or use. Fleets are welcome and get a volume number.
Barns, equipment sheds and ag buildings
Out toward Katy, Waller and Hockley we spray a lot of barns. Roof deck foam keeps hay and equipment out of the wet and makes the difference between a shop you can use in August and one you cannot.
Two inches of closed cell on a metal roof deck is the standard we quote for condensation control. Three inches or more when the space is conditioned.
Working around your operation
Nobody wants to shut a building down to insulate it. We plan around that.
Codes, ignition barriers and inspections
Exposed foam in an occupied commercial space usually needs a thermal or ignition barrier depending on occupancy and use. Some products carry an approval for exposed application in specific assemblies. We tell you which category your building is in during the estimate, coordinate with your architect or GC, and price any coating required so it does not become a change order after inspection.
For projects with a construction manager, we work off the plan set and the spec section, submit product data, and attend the coordination call. For an owner who just needs a shop insulated, we skip all of that and keep it simple.
Budget and payback
Commercial foam is quoted by square foot of surface area, foam type, thickness and access. Height drives labor: a 30 foot ceiling means lifts and more setup than a 16 foot ceiling. We handle our own access equipment.
The payback conversation for conditioned space is straightforward, because cooling a Houston warehouse is expensive and the load drop is significant. For non conditioned space the return is different: less damaged product, less rust, less heat stress and a building your people can work in through the summer. Both are worth putting numbers to, and we will help you build them out of your own utility history rather than a brochure figure.
Talk to us about your building
Send the address, the square footage of roof and wall area, the ceiling height, and what the space is used for. If you have a plan set, even better. We will walk it, spec it and give you a written scope with the thickness and R value on the page. Most commercial estimates go out within two business days of the walk.
Call (713) 281-9585 or email tenergyfoam.av@gmail.com. Our shop is at 6522 Lozano St, Houston, TX 77041.
Free estimates across Harris County
Most site visits take under half an hour and you get the number in writing the same day. Square footage, foam type, thickness, R value, prep and cleanup, all on one page.