Leaky Justice - Polk County Court House, Des Moines, Iowa
 | Background Ken Wiggers of Prairie Foam Insulators in Huxley, Iowa sprayed a courthouse annex in Des Moines, Iowa to stop condensation by reducing the air leakage. The Courthouse was 4 years old at the time the work was done. Challenge The Federal District Court judges' offices could not be kept warmer than approximately 30 degrees when it was windy and cold. The first solution was to install auxiliary electric heaters -- however, this was expensive and did not solve the problems of an air leaky building. |
The top floor would get condensate dripping down through the ceiling. The 3 feet high parapet wall around the 600 feet perimeter was faced with glass on the outside with rubber-like roofing running up the inside of the parapet wall. The parapet wall was stuffed with fiberglass batt material. Warm moist air would pass through the fiberglass and condense on the cold glass and form an inch or so of ice. The condensation and ice melt would trickle down through the ceiling. Solution/Results The problem was solved by cutting a 6 inch opening on the entire inside perimeter of the 600 feet of parapet wall, pushing down the fiberglass batt material, and injecting Icynene®. The second stage of the retrofit was to have Prairie Foam Insulators fill the perimeter office walls with Icynene® pour foam. A portion of the building extends over a concrete sidewalk. An access was provided to the area of the building above the sidewalk -- R-38 batts of fiberglass were removed and Icynene® sprayed into the large open areas that had let outside air blow right into the building. Icynene® sealed the air leaks and thus was able to keep the offices warm and alleviated the condensation problem. | |
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