Am I the only one who thinks spray foam is overrated for commercial buildings

Used to swear by closed-cell spray foam on every job, but after seeing a 8-year-old roof deck rot out from trapped moisture on a warehouse in Detroit, I switched back to rigid board with proper venting. Who else has dealt with moisture issues from spray foam down the road?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_morgan17d ago

Had a similar mess with a closed cell job on a church roof in Cleveland. The foam trapped moisture against the deck and caused rot in less than 5 years. Rigid board with air channels has been way more forgiving for me since then.

the_jana17d agoTop Commenter

You said the foam trapped moisture against the deck. What kind of deck was it? I've seen plywood decks rot out bad from closed cell, but I'm wondering if it behaves different on concrete or metal. It's weird how some contractors swear by closed cell for everything and never mention the moisture issue until it's too late.