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Dripstop® is a condensation control membrane made from a nonwoven fabric that has an adhesive backing. It comes pre-applied directly to the bottom of metal roofing panels for easy installation. Therefore, it can ONLY be used on new construction.

How does it work? First of all, it is NOT a vapor barrier. Dripstop® works like a sponge, so the metal will still get cold and wet. The DripStop® absorbs condensation (like a sponge) to keep it from dripping overnight, and then it dries out during day. It repeats this pattern over and over - absorbing and drying out. But, like a sponge, you have to have a method to dry it out.

This is the main disadvantage to Dripstop®; you MUST have a well-ventilated building for it to dry out. Which is fine, except if you're in a cold climate and you want to keep your building warmer than the outside temperature - then what? If you're in a cold climate and have to fully ventilate the building, your building interior will be RIPPING COLD. Period. While that may be fine for applications like cold storage, most buildings don't want a super-cold interior when it's cold out. Spaces being used for garages, sheds, barns, workshops or airplane hangars, want SOMETHING to keep it warmer (or cooler) than the outside temperature. So, this wouldn't be a good fit for those applications.

Another disadvantage of Dripstop® is that it offers no heat control (no radiant barrier is used in the product). Your building is still going to be HOT in the summer since it’s just a big bare metal box sitting in the sun.

Let us be clear, we don't think Dripstop® is a bad product, but we do think you can do better and we'll explain how below.   

BlueTex™ insulation has the advantage of being able to be used in any building - both new construction and existing buildings so anyone can use it at anytime.

Furthermore, BlueTex™ insulation offers superior heat control in metal buildings compared to DripStop®, especially non-conditioned buildings. There's nothing better than a radiant barrier to take the edge off being inside a metal building in summer. Our pure aluminum layer will reflect 97% of the radiant heat coming off the roof and walls inside your building and redirect that heat back out. The end result is a cooler interior, even without A/C! The building will FEEL like it’s in the shade or it’s a cloudy day. If you're going to go through the process of installing insulation, why not use an insulation that has a radiant barrier too? You have nothing to lose by adding foil insulation to your building, and once you feel the difference, you'll agree. When it comes to condensation control, heat control plays a big part too, so a radiant barrier is a good option to include in your metal building insulation.

Even if you only plan to heat or cool the building occasionally, as needed, to take the edge off, BlueTex™ for metal buildings is still PERFECT for these “semi-conditioned” buildings (buildings that are heated or cooled every now and then). Think of BlueTex™ as a light jacket or a sweatshirt. It’s all you need to keep the building workable when it’s really hot or cold.

One more point about BlueTex™ being a better option than Dripstop® for condensation control. We tackle condensation from a different direction than Dripstop®. Rather than allow condensation to perpetuate daily and just catch and release it, BlueTex™ aims to actually stop the condensation process from happening at all. In our Guide to Moisture Management, we discuss how condensation forms in metal buildings (on metal surfaces) and how to use BlueTex™ insulation to stop condensation from forming on your metal surfaces. We want you to be confident that you can stop condensation from consistently raining inside your building with just a few supplies and a careful installation. 

If you'd like more information on how BlueTex™ can help you stop heat gain, help you retain heat in winter, and be a solution to condensation problems in your building, contact us today.

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Spray foam is great for metal buildings. This especially true If you are creating a “fully-conditioned” building, meaning a building that you are going to be heating or cooling on a continuous basis. 

From a building science standpoint, the absolute best way to approach insulating a steel building is to think of it as one giant refrigerator. That’s basically what it is: a big metal box you're trying to keep cool. The difference is, for a metal building, you’re just keeping relatively cool (maybe 75 degrees) compared to a refrigerator's cool, which is around 40 degrees.

Benefits of Spray Foam in Metal Buildings

To successfully insulate your metal building, you want both a well-insulated and air-tight box, just like a refrigerator. This will provide the highest level of energy efficiency in your barndominium or metal building.

Here are some reasons why spray foam insulation is best for metal buildings.

• It’s continuous. The spray foam, when properly applied, creates a continuous “thermal envelope” just like a refrigerator. There are very few places that the heat can easily get in or out on a spray foamed building.
• It's durable. Traditional fiberglass insulation with a vinyl covering will eventually get torn, deteriorate, and become brittle. When this happens, warm air from inside the building can go through the fiberglass and create condensation on the metal turning into liquid water. This water ends up causing the insulation to get wet, stained, and moldy. Closed cell spray foam is hard and durable, and won’t tear or rip under normal conditions.
• Spray foam is also a vapor barrier.  You want the inside of your metal building to have a vapor barrier if you are fully heating/cooling it.  You want the relatively warm-moist air to be stopped before it can get to the cold metal and condense.
• It's easier to install. Traditional fiberglass batt insulation is installed when the exterior metal is put on. If it’s windy, or wet, the insulation is hard to handle and you must hang and cut every piece as you go. Plus, it’s not uncommon for the insulation to get wet or damaged before it’s ever installed. Spray foam insulation is installed after the building walls and roof are done. It’s sprayed from the inside, and can be installed in pretty much any weather conditions.
• Spray foam reduces thermal bypass. With traditional fiberglass insulation the fiberglass batt is installed between the purlin and the metal skin. At this connection point the fiberglass is compressed down to almost nothing.  This allows what is called “thermal bypass” and causes the purlin to get cold which results in interior condensation. Spray foam insulation fixes this since the purlin is sprayed from the inside.

Will Spray Foam Alone Get the Job Done?

Now think about this: would you agree a refrigerator in the shade will be easier to cool and be more efficient than one in the sun? The reason you agree to that statement illustrates the concept of radiant heat. Now, think of how much bigger a metal building is than a refrigerator and you can see how big of an impact insulation has on how much heat enters the building. In fact, when the sun is shining on a metal building it can easily have double the amount of heat entering compared to when a building is in the shade, or on a cloudy day. So, ideally you want to combine spray foam insulation with a radiant barrier layer for maximum efficiency and comfort.

What about buildings that you are not heating and cooling all the time, or just occasionally adding heat and cooling to?

These are called non-conditioned or semi-conditioned buildings. Since you are not continuously heating and cooling, you really don’t build a refrigerator, you need something more like a light jacket just to take the edge off. This is exactly what BlueTex™ Insulation is designed for. 

Metal buildings that you will want the shade effect for, like garages, airplane hangars, workshops, storage facilities, etc. and buildings that need to control condensation, but don’t want to pay the high price of spray foam insulation, will benefit most from BlueTex™ foil foam products.

Condensation. Sweating. Raining inside... All of these terms are used to describe a common concern with metal buildings. What do you do to get rid of the moisture build up inside a metal building? 

First let's clear up a common misconception. Moisture is not a bad thing, it's a natural part of our environment - lots of things get wet and dry out every single day, including metal buildings. The issues arise when things get wet and stay wet for extended periods of time. 

If you have a metal building that is continuously accumulating moisture inside faster than it can dry out, or it is producing so much condensation that it appears to be raining inside and damaging your property, then it's time to decide what to do.

At a simplistic level, there's really only two options for dealing with moisture in metal buildings:

1) Dry the building out quickly with ventilation whenever condensation occurs.

2) Seal the building up air tight and and create conditions that impede/prevent condensation from happening in the first place.

We discuss the basic metal building insulation guide on our site and we also have an in-depth page about Moisture in Metal Buildings, but this page is meant to be a quick summary of how to address this problem.

Dry the Building Out

Using either active or passive ventilation, move air from outside through your building to keep things dry. You can use fans or just open windows and doors, but you should have enough outside air moving into the interior of the building, which pushes relatively warm-moist air inside the building to the outside. When the interior air temp of the building is equalized (or close to) ambient temp, it will be almost impossible for condensation to occur with less than 100% relative humidity.

Pros of this approach: it's simple to do (opening doors/windows) and is low (zero) cost.

Cons of this approach: the building could be hot inside (ambient during summer) or super cold inside (during winter) with this approach, so it may not be usable on some days.

Add a Vapor Barrier and Seal The Building Up

As we discuss on our Moisture in Metal Buildings Guide, if you can seal up the metal building and create a new, interior layer that can stay warmer than the dew point, you can stop condensation from forming inside your building. In this method you use BlueTex™ insulation as your new interior (instead of the inside surface of the exterior sheet metal) and you install it according to our instructions, sealing up the seams air tight. This new layer is a different temp than the exterior metal so it reduces the chance of moisture forming in the first place when you are are occasionally heating/cooling the space in semi-conditioned buildings. 

Pros of this approach: You can use heating/cooling in your building on those days when you need it, no matter what the temp is outside. This means your building can be used year round.

Cons of this approach: It's more labor intensive and requires an investment, but both pay off almost immediately when you consider the comfort and usability of the space. 

No matter which way you go (option 1 or option 2), you can reduce or stop moisture in a metal building with a few simple steps and a little building science knowledge. If you still have more questions, check out our Ultimate Guide to Moisture in Metal Buildings.