Newbie Insulation Question Existing Metal Building

[TTMotorsports]

OK so I am looking at buying a home with a steel building already on the property. Now it is in the high desert of CA, which gets down into the 30/40s in winter and up to low 100's in summer and the building is uninsulated. My old shop that I built in Phoenix have the 4" wall and 6" roof insulation that was installed between the purlins and the sheet metal siding. Now this doesn't have that, what are my options for cost effective DIY installation myself on this building. I would entertain spray foam but it's not currently in my budget to hire someone to do that. Thanks.

 

[racecougar]

More details or photos would be helpful here. Is it a carport/tubular-framed steel building, stick-built and steel sheeted building, pole barn with steel sheeting, red iron building, or...? Do you intend to sheet the inside? If so, with drywall, corrugated, liner panel, or...? Do you plan to install a flat ceiling that would allow for blown insulation above?

 

[jmdirk]

There's a few companies that do retrofit systems that would be fairly DIY. Silvercote Insulation being one I'm familiar with. they have options for a few different building styles with faced fibreglass or rockwool insulation. You'll have to contact them with the specifics of your building in order to get a quote

 

[dcg9381]

How large is the building?
The easiest DIY way (to me) is to frame in the building. Between the framing and building skin, you can stuff a lot of insulation. Cost effective - maybe used foam panels, backed by standard fiberglass insulation. But total cost is going to be the cost of all of it, probably not insubstantial.

On larger buildings, the roof is the issue. If you have an "attic deck" - or can build one, you can then insulate it DIY that way. But if you have standard steel framed metal building with no "attic option" - Personally, I'd pay someone to shoot foam on it. It's a huge pain in the *** to insulate a roof deck, I'd save my money on the walls and DIY, but have someone foam that roof in a few hours and be done.... There are various blankets and "hang between the purlins" options, but for the labor involved, they're not for me.

 

[My Old Tools]

Steel strapping and install the standard metal building roll insulation. I doubled mine on the roof and cut almost all of the solar gain.

 

[TTMotorsports]

OK building is 30x80 and has steel beams with the purlins welded to them. The other part of this shop is it only has 1 10x10 door with the edge centered on the building so I will add a second door to this thing and maybe even a 3rd door in future if needed. I was planning on using steel straps and then rolls of fiberglass insulation. The larger beams are every 10ft so I am hoping to find rolls of insulation that are wider hoping there is some that are 5ft wide or so.

 

[TTMotorsports]

Also I am planning on sheeting the sides of this up with some plywood up to the roof or at least 8ft up on the sides and nothing up top since I need the height for my 2 post lift since the eves are 12' tall and so is my lift.

 

[racecougar]

For that building structure, rolled fiberglass and strapping is the way to go.

 

[TTMotorsports]

Now I just need to find some rolls of fiberglass that are 5ft wide since it is 9ft 9in between the posts. Luckily it doesn't get over 100 for very many days each year and the low is in the 40s but I got a propane heater for those days.

 

[ZRX61]

Depending on what part of the High Desert, you're gonna love the sonic booms inside that shed

btw, we went pretty much 3 months at 100deg or above this year

 

[TTMotorsports]

This is out in Lucerne Valley so not sure about the sonic booms over in that part

 

[Fasthotrod]

Depending on what part of the High Desert, you're gonna love the sonic booms inside that shed

True... I was working in the attic space of LA ARTCC when a B1-B came in hot just north of us at Edwards. That damned boom shook the building and we saw the dust just '****' from every surface in that space. Thankfully, the military typically does not do this very often, if at all anymore. Check out the story behind, "Operation Bongo II" that took place over OKC in the 60's. That kinda sealed the deal for sonic booms over populated areas.

Oklahoma City sonic boom tests - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This is out in Lucerne Valley so not sure about the sonic booms over in that part

Thankfully, you're south of the R-2508 complex where the Air Force, Navy, and Army do a lot of testing. You might be able to hear something out in the distance, but not likely something close to you.



More info here:

The R-2508 Complex

Mark

 

[ZRX61]

Thankfully, you're south of the R-2508 complex where the Air Force, Navy, and Army do a lot of testing. You might be able to hear something out in the distance, but not likely something close to you.

I heard three this morning, but I'm closer to Edwards etc than Lucerne Valley

 

[DeeDubz]

This is out in Lucerne Valley so not sure about the sonic booms over in that part

You won't have to worry about that. Ive spent many days and nights in that town and have never heard any sonic booms. The only thing you ll have to worry about is the buzz worms. Good looking shop OP. Im in the same county out by redlands.

 

[Fasthotrod]

I heard three this morning, but I'm closer to Edwards etc than Lucerne Valley

I bet! I lived in Palmdale from '97 - 2002, and did some work up there in the AV and beyond. Good times.

 

[My Old Tools]

Now I just need to find some rolls of fiberglass that are 5ft wide since it is 9ft 9in between the posts. Luckily it doesn't get over 100 for very many days each year and the low is in the 40s but I got a propane heater for those days.

Its available pretty much everywhere. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Metal-buil...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

 

[TTMotorsports]

Ok I got the keys to this place and am looking to get some wall sheeting and inculation done in the next month or so. Now the big thing that I can see about the insulation is that the ridge cap is set off the roof by enough that small birds can fly in and built nests ontop of the main beam junctions.

Now should I cover those gaps with something, and if so with what?
OR should I just insulate up to the ridge and leave the gap to let the shop breathe?
My only shop that I had experience with was a metal building I built and it had rolls of insulation put on before the side panels were screwed down, had base and eve trim under the panels/insulation and it was completely sealed, roof cap had sticky tar tape stuff on the edges to keep it all water tight. I will be back out there again this weekend so I can take more photos if someone wants to see something specifically as well. Thanks.

 

[bradpac]

If it's not climate controlled, I would let it vent. Use some wire mesh to keep the birds out. My buddy's building has a vented ridge, he put some bent sheetmetal that hooks in the purlins on either side of the ridge and slides them open during the summer, but closed in the winter when he runs a heater.

In my building the roof is insulated with strapping and tyvek with fiberglass batts laid inside between the purlins, on the walls I am doing rigid polyiso boards I found cheap on marketplace. I might put some of the rigid boards on the ceiling as well just to keep the fiberglass from sagging over time.

 

[ycgoat]

I just got a large un-insulated metal building, but I am in Va. So far I have put in a double sided foil radiant barrier on the ceiling to hopefully keep it at ambient temp in the summer. I will likely have to do the front of the 30'x80'. Yes the cost of having a comfortable 2400 sqft building is beyond my budget. I plan to add a large ventilation fan on one end and air intake vent on the other. Then use floor fans where I will be working and a wood stove for winter. It is not ideal but it fits my budget.

 

[Slowbuilder]

Glad to see you are back in the game, and looking forward to your next fab projects.

I'd +1 on Silvercote, they provided the insulation for my shop, and were very easy to work with - shipped out an additional roll n/c when we came up short on the install.

My walls and ceiling use the fabric-and-steel-bands approach with rockwool bats. The ceiling insulation went on first (straps, fabric, batts between the purlins, batts over the purlins, then steel), you don't have that option unless you want to take the roof off, and I'm sure you don't. It will be more work to hang the straps, then put the fabric up, and then stuff the batts between the fabric and the roof steel, but I'm sure it's do-able. And my walls were insulated after the sheathing was on anyway - install the batts resting on the girts, hang the fabric, install the straps. Your girts don't look as wide as mine are (8"), but it should still work.

 

[TTMotorsports]

So I have a large evap cooler in the shop and I am planning on running the steel straps then fiberglass insulation between those and the roof, just like the retrofit fiberglass insulation does. Now on the edge of the roof to side walls I can see light in there as well in a few spots because the builder didn't put the Panel Inside Closure Foam in some spots. I will put those in the seal it up to not see any more light through and then roll the fiberglass batts between the steel straps that will do between the beams and the outside sheet metal

 

[TTMotorsports]

What is a good source to get 4 or 6ft wide fiberglass insulation rolls? I would want them long as possible so I can cut them to length myself.

 

[kbeefy]

I seem to recall them available up to 10' wide, and was instructed to check with building erectors for a source. I need the same thing, but I have 15' between uprights.

 

[TTMotorsports]

No idea on who built this building so looking for a supplier I can contact to buy it myself. In cali would be great