ceiling insulation...

[evilstevie]

I've got a 30x30 detached garage in upstate NY, stick built, shingles and vinyl siding, but completely open on the inside. No insulation or sheet rock, etc.
The attic will be used for random storage, nothing heaving. I'll have a few 4x8's nailed down and some pull down stairs, at some future point.
I do plan on putting drywall up on the ceiling, and then adding insulation, but am not ready to do that yet, and am looking for a way to seal off the open ceiling to some extent at least, to keep 90% of the heat that I'm putting in from going up into the open attic.
Someone suggested putting plastic sheeting up, which would probably help.
Maybe a better idea is to buy that insulation that i'm going to be using anyway in the future, and stapling that up and leaving the insulation exposed until I'm ready to get the drywall up on the ceiling. The insulation would be easy to work around for the remaining wiring and fixturing that I need to do. And it won't be wasted work as I would have had to do it anyway?
Good idea or dumb idea, or is there a better way? thanks

 

[racecougar]

First off, does the building even have attic trusses rated for the loading you're describing? What is the bottom chord composed of? What roof venting exists? Are you looking at faced insulation?

 

[danfromsyr]

you could seal it up with plastic sheeting vapor barrier.
cheap and pull it back out when you insulate

but many garages are just insulated with the paper facing exposed.
it's a tad of a fire hazard so evaluate your risks accordingly.

could also put a quick foamboard ceiling up.. seal that with tape..
take it back down later to do other improvements.

 

[PoorUB]

I had a shop area I tied to heat. I hung plastic and it helped, but not much. The next year I enclosed a shop area about he same size that I had tried to heat the year before, only this time I used insulation and sheetrock. I went from needed 15KW in heat to 5 KW.

It is damned hard to beat insulation.

 

[jonshonda]

Just do it in the order the tradesmen would, you will thank yourself later. Wiring, baffles, sheetrock, blown/batt insulation. Plastic sheeting has an R value next to 0, and will only be a waste of your time.