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Best way to insulate a garage ceiling

billd6

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Sep 18, 2014
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I'm having a 24' x 40' garage built. 24' will be a 2 car garage with the remaining 16' partitioned off to create a small workshop. I want to insulate the workshop. The trusses are 2 x 4's on 4' centers. What's the best way to insulate those 4' spans? Any ideas on ceiling material - drywall, OSB, corrugated pole barn siding?

Bill
 
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DEnd

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Oct 25, 2008
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The simplest way is to put up OSB, and primer and tape the seams, including where the sheathing meets the wall. For tape use a product like siga wigluv. Then blow in cellulose on top. This give you a good air seal for relatively cheap, and inexpensive insulation that has decent properties. If you want to put up lights and drywall then put in 2" sleeper strips on the bottom side of the OSB and attach your drywall to that. This gives you a good wiring chase, and you don't have to cut holes in your air barrier for your electrical boxes.

How far along in the build process are you? If you haven't started framing yet you should stop and get your insulation and air sealing details decided before you proceed. It is much cheaper to get those details right than it is to either pay for the energy cost do to mistakes or to fix them later.

Is this an Attached Garage? What are the uses for the work shop going to be? Since you are wanting to insulate I am assuming you will want to heat and cool the space. If so and you wish to have good cheap to run climate control then insulation and air sealing details are important. Just as important, however, is ensuring you have proper ventilation. Which ventilation scheme you chose is a matter of the use and design of the space, and personal preference.
 
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James-W

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A 4 foot span is quite a bit of space to span with OSB unless it is some pretty thick stuff, especially if you put a bunch of insulation on top of it.
 

rancherbill

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Blown insulation is the cheapest. Get the pink stuff and you get the machine for free to install it.

As the previous poster said PLAN PLAN PLAN. For example you need baffles installed. They are really easy to install prior to the roof sheeting.
 

DEnd

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A 4 foot span is quite a bit of space to span with OSB unless it is some pretty thick stuff, especially if you put a bunch of insulation on top of it.

It only has to hold up about 75 lbs (at most) for a 4'x4' section with ~r-38 insulation and drywall. It's simple enough to test what thickness he will need. If he doesn't feel comfortable with a 4 foot span, he can easily add purlins at 24" O.C. at the ceiling level of the trusses. He may need to get his truss manufacturer to sign off on that, but it shouldn't be a problem.
 
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James-W

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A friend of mine has 7/16 OSB for the ceiling on his garage and his trusses are 2 foot apart. He has fiberglass insulation on top of the OSB which was put up there as soon as the ceiling was up. This was done about 3 years ago and you can actually see a little sag from the OSB in places. That's why I mentioned about the 4 foot span possibly being a problem unless the OSB was pretty thick stuff.
 

Falcon67

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A friend of mine has 7/16 OSB for the ceiling on his garage and his trusses are 2 foot apart. He has fiberglass insulation on top of the OSB which was put up there as soon as the ceiling was up. This was done about 3 years ago and you can actually see a little sag from the OSB in places. That's why I mentioned about the 4 foot span possibly being a problem unless the OSB was pretty thick stuff.

I have 7/16 OSB on 24" centers with R13 on top - no sag at all, anywhere. Up there going on 3 years. If using OSB I would not even try it on 48" centers, I would use 2x6 blocking between the trusses to maximize ceiling height and provide a fastener surface at 24" intervals. Run the OSB perpendicular to the trusses.
 

CWO4GUNNER

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Aug 17, 2014
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BHC AZ
Here in SW AZ the trusses are 2 x 4's on 2' centers, strong enough to climb on to service or install unities with nothing but drywall for ceiling material and the blown pink fluff for insulation. No way I would trust 4' spans though.
 
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billd6

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Sep 18, 2014
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Thanks for all the comments. I'm going to nail 2 x 4's on 2 foot centers as purloins along the bottom of the trusses perpendicularly to their line of travel. The ceiling will be 4 x 8' sections of pole barn siding. It comes in a ton of different colors and is more than strong enough to support 20 - 30 inches of blown insulation. The truss manufacturer says the trusses will easily handle the load.
 
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