The 150' high concrete silo's at St. Mary's Cement in the Historic Grain Silo District of Buffalo were cracking and allowing water to get to the dry powdered cement stored within the silo's destroying product and it's processing equipment.

Many repairs had been performed in the past using a myriad of materials but the repairs either didn't last, and/or new cracks continued to form.  The cracks were allowing moisture into the interior of the silo's forming cement chunks causing damage to the dispersing equipment, destroying the powdered cement materials, and adding considerable amounts of labor costs to repair the equipment. 

St. Mary's Cement had  successfully used spray foam roofing for the top of the silos and for their dust collectors in the past, but had never considered using it to seal the silo's until the terminal manager suggested its use.  

A 185' tall man-lift was used to reach all sides of the silo's to spray the foam and coatings.  A seamless layer of 1.5" thick foam was used to seal the concrete sides, and two coats of Elastomeric Acrylic coatings were applied to protect the foam.

Since the completion of the foam application, all water infiltration has stopped and no further damage to the stored products has occurred.  St. Mary's Cement is very pleased with the completed project and are now investigating the use of spray foam and coatings use at their other facilities throughout the United States.