Good news becomes great news when it benefits everyone involved financially. Most of the time, product innovations are small changes that make life easier, give you back time, or provide financial benefits like savings.
In business, innovations that gain even 2-3% back in one of these categories can provide huge benefits that can immediately impact your bottom line.
Well, in the world of spray foam insulation, one of those innovations has happened, and it’s far more than 2-3%. If you haven’t heard about the new changes to DC315 by now, boy do we have good news for you.
DC315 Coverage Rates
In a bold move that required a huge investment, International Fireproof Technology Inc. retested DC315 Thermal Barrier Coating over all of the major foams in the industry, and the results paid off. DC315 passed all tests at 14 mils wet film thickness. For anyone that is not familiar with the coverage rates of intumescent coatings — this a big deal.
Coverage rates traditionally ranged from roughly 60-90 square feet per gallon depending on the foam being covered. That’s an average reduction of 35%. And while that reduction certainly makes the contractor using DC315 more competitive, there is more to factor into this than just the increase in coverage.
First off, the old coverage rates not only required contractors to purchase large amounts of coatings to complete a project, they also generally required them to apply the products in two coats when spraying overhead. This was done to avoid pooling or dripping.
For DC315 users, those days are over. Spraying 14 mils to a ceiling in one coat is a breeze. Not only are there savings on the labor with just one coat on the ceiling, there’s also time saved on the walls. If my sprayer’s output is three-quarter gallons per minute and a gallon covers more square footage, simply put, I’m going faster. Then there’s the fact that I am buying, shipping, storing, and carrying fewer buckets to the job site. Even inventory costs go down. As you can see, these new rates of 115 square feet per gallon are huge.
How did this happen? Why didn’t they do it before? The answer is actually very simple.
The DC315 Improvements
Every ingredient and product involved has improved over the past few years. Nothing has changed in terms of the blends, liquids, or solids involved, but in the same way IFTI wants to make their customers happy, the suppliers of raw materials have made constant improvements to make their customers happy as well. Even the foams DC315 is applied to have made improvements. All of this combined over the years to make this innovation a reality.
The Best Part
That may be one of the greatest things about this innovation. This isn’t an innovation that requires you to use up your old product and go buy the new one. The product you have right now, the product that we have at IDI’s branches right now, is the same product that complies at these rates. That means projects you already bid with DC315 can be applied at the new rate and benefit from the difference.
DC315 has always been a leader and one of the most tested products in our industry. With this new spread rate DC315 is now the most cost-effective solution available. When speaking about their new testing, Executive Vice President Gary Wolfe stated, “IFTI isn’t done, we’ve just begun.”
No doubt that is true, and we at IDI look forward to their next market-changing innovation.
More Information on DC315
Even with these changes, intumescent coatings are much more than paint, and knowing the tips and application techniques can save you a lot of time and money. For more information, please be sure to reach out to your local branch or give us a call.