Case in Point: Insulating Metal Buildings

The view of Mt. Washington to the south was awe-inspiring, but inside the roller-skating rink, things were a mess. This particular building in New Hampshire was a corrugated-steel, Quonsethut- type structure that had been sprayed with a 15/8 -inch-thick layer of cellulose adhesive insulation. I was called in to assess the damage and prescribe a cure, and when I arrived on the site in February, most of the insulation was scattered about the hardwood floor. The "chopped newspaper" insulation was saturated with condensation, and it dropped all around me with a splash. The contractor claimed that the problem was caused by oil on the steel. (The contractor's insurance company didn't buy that explanation, either; it paid a large claim to