Most are familiar the facility as the setting for the Kevin Costner movie The Guardian. Others know it as United States Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City (ASEC), the largest Coast Guard Air Station on the East Coast. To Keane Insulation, it was another facility in need of spray foam.
As a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, US Coast Guard facilities were allotted $98 million for construction and maintenance. ASEC, being one such facility, was a beneficiary of the funding and elected to use its share to, among other things, improve the energy efficiency of the base's Building 35, which is the premier structure at the air station.
"It's the Commander's building, where all the administrative and command offices are located," said Neil Keane, owner of Keane Insulation. "The second floor is the main event hall, where they hold events like retirements and formals."
While the structure hadn't been facing any immanent issues, ASEC looked to upgrade the facilities to a more energy efficient level of operation and realize a return on investment. This proactive approach to efficiency involved the implementation of spray foam insulation as a key element, with SPF being applied to the walls and structural ceiling of the event hall.
The building, the construction of which Keane pegged around the 50's or 60's, had been outfitted with a dropped ceiling that was removed before the structural ceiling could be sprayed. The previous insulation consisted of fiberglass batts, which were stripped from the walls and removed along with the dropped ceiling during the prep process. The walls of the building were sprayed out to a thickness of 3", while the underside of the roof decking received a layer of 5".
"I told them you could land pretty much every helicopter they had on it," Keane said, only half-joking, about the roof's increased structural integrity.
Keane utilized 2 lb. Foamsulate material from Premium Spray Products to insulate the building. What's more, Premium's representative on the project, Vincent Majewski, actually helped Keane spray some of the substrate.
"Vinnie jumped into a suit and sprayed a set or two," said Keane. "But that's why I like Premium. One, the quality of the product; two, they know how to deliver on the service end."
Keane also said his relationship with Premium was crucial to providing ASEC with a competitive proposal for the project.
"I couldn't spray fast enough," he said. "As soon as I told them what we were going to do, they were like, 'Can you start tomorrow?'"
With that sentiment, Keane started ASAP, although the project's spray schedule was a bit tricky. In order to spray the space without interfering with day-to-day operations, Keane came in after hours.
"Once they were done for the day, I was able to get in there and start spraying," he said. "I was in there many nights working until 11 or 12 o'clock," Keane said.
One might pause at such a open schedule at a military base, but security considerations were actually not an issue for Keane, as he's active duty and has security clearance. Moreover, his relationship to the military and previous experience in government projects were a major asset in sealing the deal at ASEC.
After all was said and done, the base was pleased with the project's outcome.
"It was a great project," Keane said. "They were really happy with the results; they were very impressed."