From FRP Frustration to a Floral Walk-In Cooler That Lasts

The Goal: To Build a Bigger, Better Floral Cooler

When Melinda Borczuch, owner of Precious Petals, moved her floral design business to her home property, she knew the existing detached garage needed a serious transformation to keep up with operations.

“When we moved our business to our home we had a detached garage at the back of our property. We remodeled the garage, removed the garage doors, added windows [to turn it into] our floral shop and workspace,” she recalls.

The remodeled garage quickly became the creative hub of Precious Petals — a space to consult with brides, showcase arrangements, and craft designs for weddings and events. But the business also needed something bigger behind the scenes: Reliable cold storage to keep flowers at their best.

“We had Amish construction workers come in and add on to the backside of the existing garage, building a much larger and taller building that was 36' wide and 40' long. In this space, we constructed the 8' x 36' walk-in cooler.”

The Challenge: Precious Petals Learned From Past Mistakes with FRP

This wasn’t Precious Petals’ first time building a cooler. At their previous location, Melinda and her husband constructed a smaller 8' x 10' space lined with fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP). While it seemed like a cost-effective option at first, the reality was far from ideal.

“The walls of the cooler were constructed with 2" x 6" boards and R19 insulation, then sealed off with FRP board and siliconed all joints. Moisture [from the AC unit and Coolbot] was an issue, and it was hard to clean the FRP panels especially once the mildew set in. There was no way to easily seal it completely and eventually the FRP panels warped.”

After years of fighting mildew, cleaning headaches, and warped panels, the couple knew FRP wasn’t the right solution for their expanded cooler. They needed something far more durable, easy to maintain, and resistant to moisture.

“When researching ideas, my husband came across Trusscore. We read reviews, watched videos and started pricing it out. We reached out to Trusscore directly and were recommended a dealer in our area. A few phone calls later, they gave us an inventory list of what we needed to complete the cooler.”

The Solution: Trusscore Performance Stands the Test of Time

Melinda and her husband installed Trusscore Wall&CeilingBoard themselves, taking their time to make sure the job was done right.

“We have done all the work ourselves, saving us money but taking time to do the work right,” Melinda explains. “We insulated the walls with R19 and R23, then added a vapor barrier. Installation was easy. The interlocking tongue and groove system made it a breeze for both my husband and I to install, and it required less labor than the FRP board. Everything was sealed off at the ground level with silicone.”

Three years later, the 8' x 36' cooler is still performing flawlessly.

“It’s been amazing. We always maintain the temps 38 to 44 degrees Fahrenheit, and it really only fluctuates when we are going in and out of the cooler. Coolbot recommended we use two AC units (15,000 BTUs and up) to maintain a correct temperature. We have only used 1 unit at a time, rotating the use of them every 6 months. I believe this is a result of the insulation and the Trusscore — it holds in the temps and acts as an insulator. Even when we have a full cooler of flowers, the temps never drop.”

Precious Petals has even become a word-of-mouth advocate for Trusscore.

“We had a local floral company who has a floral farm come to visit us. They also went with our suggestion and built their cooler with Trusscore. They use it in the summer to store their flowers and in the winter months, they use it to start seedlings with grow lights.”

For Melinda and her team, the investment has been worth every penny.