How Much Does It Cost To Spray Foam A Pole Building?

You have a pole building that needs to be insulated. It might be sitting on your property, or you may be planning things out before construction. You’re considering spray foam insulation as an option, but you aren’t sure about the cost. How expensive will it be to install spray foam in your pole building?

South Central Services has insulated hundreds of structures with spray foam. In our service area, pole buildings range widely in size. Calculating the cost of spray foam is simply a matter of estimating the price per square foot and applying that to your structure.

By the end of this article, you will understand:

• How much closed cell spray foam costs per board foot
• How many inches of closed cell are needed for a pole building
• Where spray foam insulation can be installed in your pole building

Don't have time to read right now? Check out everything you need to know at a glance.

Insulating Your Pole Building With Spray Foam Is An Investment

Spray foam insulation is expensive. That is no secret. But how much of an investment would insulating with spray foam be?

Around Franklin County, PA, no two pole buildings are the same. These structures have different dimensions and are used for various purposes. Depending on the size of the pole building, spray foam could cost anywhere between $4,000 and $70,000–or even more. This is a vast range, but it accounts for the considerable differences in pole buildings.

As long as you know the dimensions of your pole building, you can narrow down this range to something more specific.

In a following section, we will calculate a sample estimate. You can apply these numbers to your own dimensions to estimate a rough investment cost.

How To Calculate The Cost Of Spray Foam For Pole Buildings

Our rates for spray foam are per board foot, rather than per square foot. This can be confusing for homeowners when they are researching. But the good news is that board feet are easy to calculate, as long as you know your square footage!

A board foot is a three-dimensional measurement of a square foot.

To find board feet, you’ll simply multiply your square footage by how many inches of spray foam you need. Once you have your board feet, you can apply the rate per board foot.

Pole buildings are metal structures that must be insulated with closed cell spray foam. In our climate zone, open cell spray foam is unsuitable for metal substrates.

Closed cell spray foam insulation costs between $1.15 and $1.75 per board foot.

How Much It Costs To Spray Foam A 30x40x12 Pole Building

Most homeowners who put up 30x40x12 pole buildings intend to use them as garages. Your pole building may be smaller or significantly larger. Regardless, you can walk through this section to learn how to calculate the cost of spray foam for your pole building.

Based on the board feet of a 30x40x12 pole building, we can estimate the total cost of spray foam to range between $4,209 and $13,125. But how did we calculate that estimate?

There are two areas where a pole building can be insulated: the walls and the underside of the roof. We’ll walk through these areas individually before summarizing the total cost.

Cost To Insulate Pole Building Roof With Closed Cell Spray Foam

Pole building roofs are insulated with 2 to 4 inches of closed cell spray foam. 3 inches of closed cell is most common for roof applications, so we will use 3 inches to calculate board feet.

Our structure is 30 feet by 40 feet. Let’s assume that the 2 sides of the roof are each 40 feet by 16 feet. If each side of the roof is 640 square feet, the total square footage of the roof is 1,280 square feet.

[16 ft x 40 ft x 2 = 1,280 sq ft]

To find our board feet, we multiply 1,280 square feet by 3 inches of insulation. The board feet of this pole building roof is 3,840 board feet.

Now that we have our board feet, we can calculate the lowest, average, and highest cost of insulating the underside of the roof with closed cell spray foam.

• Lowest Cost: $4,416 at 3 inches [3,840 board feet x $1.15 per board foot]
• Average Cost: $5,568 at 3 inches [3,840 board feet x $1.45 per board foot]
• Highest Cost: $6,720 at 3 inches [3,840 board feet x $1.75 per board foot]

The cost of insulating a 30x40x12 pole building’s roof with closed cell spray foam is somewhere between $4,416 and $6,720.

Cost To Insulate Pole Building Walls With Closed Cell Spray Foam

Pole building walls are also insulated with 2 to 4 inches of closed cell spray foam. However, 2 inches of closed cell is most common for wall applications, so we will use 2 inches to calculate board feet.

We know that our structure is 30 ft wide by 40 ft deep by 12 ft tall. Our pole building has 2 different sections of wall.

1. Four walls (two 30 ft by 12 ft, two 40 ft by 12 ft)
2. Two 30 ft by 5 ft triangular gables

Our total square footage of the walls is 1,830 square feet.

[(30 ft + 30 ft + 40 ft + 40 ft) x 12 ft = 1,680 sq ft]
[(30 ft x 5 ft) / 2 x 2 gables = 150 sq ft]
[1,680 sq ft + 150 sq ft = 1,830 sq ft]

We multiply 1,830 square feet by 2 inches of insulation to find our board feet. The board feet of these pole building walls is 3,660 board feet.

Now that we have our board feet, we can calculate the lowest, average, and highest cost of insulating the walls with closed cell spray foam.

• Lowest Cost: $4,209 at 2 inches [3,660 board feet x $1.15 per board foot]
• Average Cost: $5,307 at 2 inches [3,660 board feet x $1.45 per board foot]
• Highest Cost: $6,405 at 2 inches [3,660 board feet x $1.75 per board foot]

The cost of insulating a 30x40x12 pole building’s walls and gables with closed cell spray foam is somewhere between $4,209 and $6,405.

Total Cost To Insulate 30x40x12 Pole Building With Spray Foam

If we add together the costs in our roof and wall sections, we get the following lowest, average, and highest costs to insulate this structure.

• Lowest Total Cost: $8,625
• Average Total Cost: $10,875
• Highest Total Cost: $13,125

You can use these same principles to calculate a rough estimate for your pole building, no matter its dimensions.

The Bottom Line About How Much Spray Foaming Your Pole Building Will Cost

Every pole building is different. Your spray foam costs will vary depending on where you are insulating, the size of your structure, and the rate you are charged by your installer.

For a pole building that is 30 feet deep, 40 feet wide, and 12 feet tall, the maximum cost is approximately $14,000. A smaller structure will cost less to insulate, while a larger structure will incur more material costs due to its size.

Now that you know how much spray foaming your pole building will cost, your next step is to:

• Learn what to expect when hiring a professional to insulate your pole building
• Discover why others choose South Central Services to insulate pole buildings