Phenolic foam insulation was a short-lived innovation developed in the early 80s. It was a response to the energy-crisis, which called for greater insulation efficiency. As regulations required higher R-value insulation in roofs, a demand arose for material which offered both fire resistance and high R-value, while not requiring a full roofing re-build to accommodate its thickness.
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This seemingly cost-effective solution turned out to have major problems that manifested in less than ten years time, resulting in one of the largest class-action settlements in the history of the roofing industry, filed in .
Phenolic foam insulation is usually found in conjunction with built-up roof membranes, also known as BUR and commonly referred to as &#;tar and gravel&#; roofs. They are generally found on low-slope commercial buildings. It was manufactured in board form in thicknesses ranging from 1&#; to 3 3/5&#;.
Installed in at least 6,000 roof systems, it was most popular in the Midwest, East Coast and Texas. Hundreds of systems were installed in Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.
Over time, however, the critical flaw was obvious: when the compound got wet, it broke down, creating a corrosive acid that damaged the metal deck. Damage ranged from severe surface rust to large holes. The corrosion created the potential for equipment or people to fall through compromised areas.
While roof systems containing phenolic foam roof insulation may be in good shape, it's important to repair and remediate decks, as soon as possible. Once a property is identified as part of the class-action lawsuit, it becomes an issue should the owner sell the building. While the lawsuit will cover some remediation costs, the owner will be liable for expenses, as well.
The remediation project is more complicated than a typical roofing project, because of structural issues, as well as legal conditions demanded by the class action lawsuit. Extra training, safety measures and documentation are necessary.
Briefly, a phenolic foam remediation project demands these essential steps:
Removal of existing roofing materials and insulation down to the deck.
Only a day&#;s worth of work should be undertaken to avoid leaving the building vulnerable to the elements.
Remove all corrosion from the deck by wire brushing.
Compare deck condition to the standard expressed in the lawsuit, determining remediation needed: painting, over laying, or removing and replacing the decking.
Remediate the deck according to the determination. Critical during this phase: worker safety; interior protection; and maintaining protection from the elements.
At each step, extensive documentation of the condition and work done.
At All Elements, Inc., we&#;re experienced in phenolic foam remediation, which means you can count on us for a simple, effective solution.
Contact us to talk about the condition of your roof, and we&#;ll help you understand your options and help you plan the next steps!
A particularly well thought-out and thorough question from longtime GBA reader Aaron Birkland on the pH of phenolic foam and its possible corrosive nature prompted me to follow up my original blog on Kingspan&#;s Kooltherm rigid insulation.
Aaron has two main questions:
Phenolic foam rigid insulation was introduced in the U.S. in the s and sold by Beazer East and Johns Manville, but serious corrosion problems resulted in legal action and both companies ceased production in .
Kingspan, an Irish company with a completely new formulation for its phenolic foam insulation, has been producing and selling Kooltherm in Europe since , introducing it in the U.S. in .
In , Dow Building Solutions introduced a white paper, &#;Rigid Polymeric Foam Boardstock Technical Assessment,&#; at a Society of Plastics Engineers conference. This paper compares certain performance properties of two types of phenolic foam, one type of polyisocyanurate, and one type of extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation. Here are the most important points from this paper:
Dr. Jan Kosny of Fraunhofer Institute (see last section of blog) is a widely respected building scientist and materials expert; Kosny characterized this Dow report as &#;marketing material.&#;
Kingspan provided me with a third-party pH test of their Kooltherm insulation conducted by Cardiff University, dated July 21, , following the test method for EN: &#;Thermal insulating products for building equipment and industrial installations &#; Determination of trace quantities of water soluble chloride, fluoride, silicate, and sodium ions and pH.&#; Two samples of the insulation yielded pH test results of 6.51 and 6.49.
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Kingspan shared a test report with me prepared by BDA Keuringsinstituut (a division of Kiwa NV, a Netherlands-based testing laboratory), dated January 22, . I do not have permission to copy or post this full report, but below is information from the report.
For the BDA Keuringsinstituut tests, four types of rigid insulation &#; mineral wool, Kingspan phenolic foam, polyurethane (PUR), and expanded polystyrene (EPS) &#; were fastened with washers and screws to a profiled steel deck (see Image #1, above) and the insulation then covered with an EPDM roof membrane (see Image #2, below). These assemblies were then placed over a heated water tank such that the assemblies were subjected to 70°C (158°F) and 95% relative humidity for 28 days.
To see the condition of the fasteners after testing was complete, see Images #3, #4, and #5 below (all photos taken from the report).
From the &#;Results&#; section of the report: &#;&#;.[I]t appears as though there is no structural difference in the amount of corrosion after the test. All screws show on average the same amount of corrosion on the part of the screw that has been turned through the profiled steel deck. On that part that has not been turned through the profiled steel deck and therefore was in direct contact with the insulation material no corrosion was found.&#;
I tried to contact Dow Building Solutions to get their response to the above BDA Keuringsinstituut report on Kingspan&#;s Kooltherm, but did not hear back.
It dawned on me that I could go to the Kooltherm project right here in Brattleboro, climb into the unfinished attic, and back out some screws to see if there was any corrosion (see Images #6 and #7). The only problem is that those big bad-boy screws were protected by a baked enamel finish, and they have only been in place about 4 or 5 months.
I also remembered that for my blog on the X-Floc cellulose insulation installation system, we used Kooltherm in a wall mockup installed with plain old interior drywall screws (see Images #8 and #9). This wall mockup has been sitting in my quite damp garage for the last three months. There is still no fastener corrosion, so I decided to fill the drywall screw holes with water and put the screws back in (see Image #10). Image #11 shows the same screw a week later: no corrosion, for what it&#;s worth.
I was not aware of the DOE Buildings Technology Office project until Aaron let me know about it: Development of a Bio-based, Inexpensive, Noncorrosive, and Nonflammable Phenolic Foam for Building Insulation (see Image #12). I checked in with the project partner, Atlas Roofing. They reported that there has been no commercialization of this work, either on their part or as evidenced by any new patents they could find based on this project (a key indicator of any project commercialization).
Just before completing this blog, however, I did reach Dr. Jan Kosny, Director of Building Enclosures and Materials at the Fraunhofer Institute U.S.A. Kosny reports:
Not surprisingly, these images (and the testing they represent) put my &#;Wingnut-testing&#; to shame.
Kooltherm remains the &#;real McCoy&#; of currently available phenolic foam rigid insulation in the U.S.
Acidity concerns and corrosion issues have been resolved with Kooltherm phenolic foam rigid insulation. And while competitors to Kooltherm insulation may be several years out, Fraunhofer-led research and development could well mean serious competition in the years to come.
In addition to acting as GBA&#;s technical director, Peter Yost is the Vice President for Technical Services at BuildingGreen in Brattleboro, Vermont. He has been building, researching, teaching, writing, and consulting on high-performance homes for more than twenty years. An experienced trainer and consultant, he&#;s been recognized as NAHB Educator of the Year. Do you have a building science puzzle? Contact Pete here. You can also sign up for BuildingGreen&#;s newsletter to get a free report on insulation, as well as regular posts from Peter.
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