So from what I've read spray foam is the best but it is also very expensive I'm trying to figure out what to get for my 40x48 14ft ceilings with 16ft of it vaulted it's a pole building it has 6in of concrete and has in floor heat ran by natural gas boiler. My neighbor just got his 30x30 spray foam and was just under 4k that included ceiling. Being that my building is almost twice the size I don't think I'll wanna spend that kind of money. My friend got reclaimed foam insulation real cheap so I thought about doing that. Or could always go with fiberglass insulation I did have them put the bookshelveing in it. I live in pa so Winters we see negative temperatures. Looking to be efficient but not break the check book to bad. I have free gas but still doesn't mean I wanna waste it.
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Best insulation for the price
- Thread starter bmxer883
- Start date
dcg9381
Well-known member
Get bids. It varies. Open cell / Closed cell - big price change.
From what I saw, they basically brought out 50 gallon drums of foam and used it. I'm unsure if they can use what's left over from a 900 sqft job vs an 1800 sqft job...
Or stop by residential construction where you see the guys doing the work.
From what I saw, they basically brought out 50 gallon drums of foam and used it. I'm unsure if they can use what's left over from a 900 sqft job vs an 1800 sqft job...
Or stop by residential construction where you see the guys doing the work.
Just did my 40x60 12' walls spent about 1100$on Owings cornering r19 at lowe's doing blown in in the attic if i recall is going to be around another 1000$ and you get the machine rental for a huge discount if you buy enough. I will be less than 2500$total for walls and attic. But i did it all myself
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
Spray foam (closed cell) is a big win because you do not need a vapor barrier or building wrap. It does a great job of sealing small cracks.
Many people do 2" (nominal) of spray foam followed by fiberglass. If you apply scrim to the walls after the spray foam, you can blow in fiberglass. Faster so less $$. Can be DIY. You can also do "wet" cellulose (no scrim required), do that is not a DIY.
Reclaimed poly-iso is great, but you need to haul it yourself from where ever and cut and fit it.
I sure hope you put insulation in the floor. If not, dig around the outside foundation down to about the frost line and apply at least 2" of solid foam. You would be surprised at how much heat you are losing through that foundation.
Many people do 2" (nominal) of spray foam followed by fiberglass. If you apply scrim to the walls after the spray foam, you can blow in fiberglass. Faster so less $$. Can be DIY. You can also do "wet" cellulose (no scrim required), do that is not a DIY.
Reclaimed poly-iso is great, but you need to haul it yourself from where ever and cut and fit it.
I sure hope you put insulation in the floor. If not, dig around the outside foundation down to about the frost line and apply at least 2" of solid foam. You would be surprised at how much heat you are losing through that foundation.
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consti2tion
Well-known member
I don’t have anything to add to the insulation but I am curious how you have free gas?
Ron_J
Well-known member
I don’t have anything to add to the insulation but I am curious how you have free gas?
There are a lot of shallow wells around here and a lot of the property owners worked deals for free gas. Some unlimited, and some get the first "X" amount free.
I was looking at the reclaimed foam but what I was seeing was pretty low R value compared to the rolled fiberglass. Is that common?
kj_mustang
Well-known member
Is the bookshelving 2"x4" or 2"x6" and is it even to the inside edge of the posts?
B.C.Biker
Well-known member
If the book shelving is even with the the edge of the posts then reclaimed foam sheets continuous will save a lot of heat that goes through the studs.
When doing a reno on my house (part of it was changing to hardi siding) I was debating on doing out side foam in addition to the traditional fiberglass between the studs.
One morning the weather was just the right conditions to have frost on the outside walls. It was very obvious the difference between the insulation and where the 2x6 studs were. They melted the frost before the rising sun could. Did the continuous outside reclaimed foam on all exterior walls and fiberglass between studs. Was able to find reclaimed for all of it. Done with attention to detail it is every bit as good as spray foam at fraction of cost. Takes more time though. I have more time then money.
When doing a reno on my house (part of it was changing to hardi siding) I was debating on doing out side foam in addition to the traditional fiberglass between the studs.
One morning the weather was just the right conditions to have frost on the outside walls. It was very obvious the difference between the insulation and where the 2x6 studs were. They melted the frost before the rising sun could. Did the continuous outside reclaimed foam on all exterior walls and fiberglass between studs. Was able to find reclaimed for all of it. Done with attention to detail it is every bit as good as spray foam at fraction of cost. Takes more time though. I have more time then money.
I will be calling soon to get quotes just not sure how much is open due to virus stuff.. but the book shelf is a 2x6 that runs post to post it does stick out little further than post. And yes I insulated 1in foam board for slap and 2in just on edge I will have a excavator here to put in some outside drains should I dig the out side and also put foam board there? And like Ron said we have a well on property so we get so much gas then just pay well head price witch is barely anything and have never had to do that. I also noticed foam has a lot lower r value so it's about 5r per inch so would I need to put in 4 in of it? Or would just 2 be fine.
4theDogs
Member
This coming week, I am getting 3" of closed cell spray foam for my 24x30' with a 16'x8' door. One other man door and 3 small windows. Walls are 10' high. $2800 not including the ceiling.
Toomanytools?
Well-known member
Blow in is pretty cost effective for the ceiling if you have a lid in place. A 30 pound bag is around $14 which covers 60sqft at R19. In your 40x48 you would be around $450 for R19, $900 for R38 which would be better. Rental is free for machine if DIY and for Cellulose you don't need a vapor barrier unless your in a high moisture area or very cold. Get a bid though you would be surprised that a company may come in and do it for $1000-$1200
cosmopedro
Well-known member
I will be calling soon to get quotes just not sure how much is open due to virus stuff.. but the book shelf is a 2x6 that runs post to post it does stick out little further than post. And yes I insulated 1in foam board for slap and 2in just on edge I will have a excavator here to put in some outside drains should I dig the out side and also put foam board there? And like Ron said we have a well on property so we get so much gas then just pay well head price witch is barely anything and have never had to do that. I also noticed foam has a lot lower r value so it's about 5r per inch so would I need to put in 4 in of it? Or would just 2 be fine.
Why not spray as much foam as you can afford on ceiling, and use reclaimed on walls? For the ceiling, closed cell is an outstanding choice...
If you have an excavator coming anyway, wouldn’t hurt to drop 2” in all way around perimeter - slabs lose almost as much through the edges as they do straight down. No sense wasting gas even if it’s free...
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doughpat
Active member
Spray foam to air seal, then backfill with blown-in fiberglass. Thats what I'm doing after lots of discussion and research. 3.5" of foam + the remainder "Blown In Blanket System" ("BIBS").
cosmopedro
Well-known member
Spray foam to air seal, then backfill with blown-in fiberglass. Thats what I'm doing after lots of discussion and research. 3.5" of foam + the remainder "Blown In Blanket System" ("BIBS").
just be careful to never puncture the diaper (blanket) or you'll have a heckuva mess on hand...
nadogail
Well-known member
IMHO, the best for the price is cellulose fiber. I can be really cheap if you use recycled newspaper that has been run through a hammer mill and treated with boric acid or sawdust also treated with boric.