SEAL Team Fix

Spray Foam Magazine – Jenkinson’s Aquarium is a popular attraction located in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. It is a family-friendly aquarium that features a wide variety of marine life, including sharks, sea turtles, seals, penguins, and many species of fish.

The aquarium opened in 1991 and has since become a beloved destination for visitors to the Jersey Shore. In addition to the animal exhibits, the aquarium also offers educational programs, special events, and a gift shop.

The aquarium was recently in need of some renovations, which were being handled by Krauss Custom Builders (KCB). For the insulation repairs, KCB called upon Seal Team Insulation Specialists from nearby Wall Township, NJ. Seal Team is owned and operated by Jim O’Neill. Prior to starting Seal Team, Jim worked in the spray foam industry for 10 years gaining experience with other insulation companies. Depending on the volume of work at any given time, Jim and his Operations Manager, Paul (PJ) Brown, oversee a staff of roughly 10 employees. Jim and his team bring over 25 years of combined insulation and construction experience to every insulation job.

Seal Team took on this project excited to be a part of improving this iconic local venue. The work was to be done on the aquarium’s second level. Special care and attention to detail was necessary in order for the facility to remain open during the renovations.

“We were asked to foam the underside steel deck in a drop ceiling,” Jim explains. “The sheetrock and old insulation had already been removed.”

To get started, a lot of prep work had to be done. To protect the public, everything on the second floor was covered with plastic–including the walls, floors, as well as entry ways and exits. For access to the aquarium, the Seal Team crew avoided the public entrance on the beach side of the building and used the back parking lot as its staging area. Equipment and hoses were fed through the back window of the building.

Once the spray crew suited up in Uline Deluxe Coveralls and North 5400 full mask respirators, and turned on the exhaust fans to air out the building, they were ready to start the project. They used PMC AP Xtreme guns to spray 5,700 sq.ft. with four and a quarter inches of SES Nexseal HFO two component, closed-cell spray foam, resulting in an R-value of 30. To meet code, they then applied No-Burn Plus ThB intumescent coating over the foam.

In the end, Seal Team was on site for four days. “It was a good project. Everybody was happy with it. And we were very satisfied with the job we did,” Jim recalls. “We were conditioning the space with a much better insulation product than fiberglass laid on a drop ceiling. On a steel deck, if you don’t have the proper insulation, it can cause condensation. The foam has a moisture barrier to it. It’s solid and it’ll keep the steel at the temperature it’s supposed to be at and the dew point where it doesn’t cause condensation.”

Jenkinson’s Aquarium is continuing to update existing exhibits, as well as surprising visitors with new attractions. Details on the new attractions won’t be disclosed until the grand reveal of the renovated second floor scheduled for Memorial Day, 2023. Each exhibit is designed to promote conservation, awareness of the animals, and their habitats. The facility is open year-round and is a great place to visit for families, school groups, and anyone who loves marine life, so make sure to visit the next time you are at the Jersey Shore.  

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