Known to many as Michigan's "Little Bavaria," the village of Frankenmuth plays host to over 3 million tourists every year. One of the attractions is a shopping complex built on top of an abandoned brewery. The Frakenmuth Riverplace boasts Bavarian architecture, 35 shops, and heated sidewalks. During the winter, a radiant snowmelt system built into the concrete keeps walkways free of ice and snow, eliminating the need for salt or shoveling. Shoppers are able to stroll through the maze of narrow streets and old-world-looking sidewalks without having to worry about their footing.

In 2001, Walter E. Walter & Company teamed up with Performance Engineering to install the 61,000 square-foot snowmelt system. Insul-Tarp was chosen as the under-slab insulation to ensure the system performed efficiently. Given the size of the job, designer Charlie Dashner of Performance Engineering was also looking for ways to cut labor costs. Large roll sizes (6' x 25') enabled installers to cover large areas quickly. They also found that Insul-Tarp was very easy to cut for the curving contour of the sidewalks.