I am not first but next. Insulating Garage.

[buzzdemon]

I am looking at options to insulate my attached garage ceiling but need a little assitance. The garage is 1000sq ft with 10ft walls. the walls are insulated but above the trusses it is not. I am trying to heat to my garage but too much uninsulated areas. I would like to leave the trusses open for light storage and access to some wiring.
I am trying to do this as cheap at possible but I also know to save money sometimes you need to spend it. Spraying any kind of insulation is something I am trying to stay away from. Fiberglass batts is an option but I understand that I need a ventilation channel for that. and Foam insulation is flammable and would need to be covered with drywall. Would a radiant barrier work or would that be too light. Any help or corrections to my knowledge would be appreciated. Thanks. hope these pics work and prove to be an assistance.

 

[Kevin54]

I am looking at options to insulate my attached garage ceiling but need a little assitance. The garage is 1000sq ft with 10ft walls. the walls are insulated but above the trusses it is not. I am trying to heat to my garage but too much uninsulated areas. I would like to leave the trusses open for light storage and access to some wiring.
I am trying to do this as cheap at possible but I also know to save money sometimes you need to spend it. Spraying any kind of insulation is something I am trying to stay away from. Fiberglass batts is an option but I understand that I need a ventilation channel for that. and Foam insulation is flammable and would need to be covered with drywall. Would a radiant barrier work or would that be too light. Any help or corrections to my knowledge would be appreciated. Thanks. hope these pics work and prove to be an assistance.

As Ddawg stated about his garage, if the flames are reaching the ceiling, you don't have to worry about the foam burning anyways. The garage and framing is all 2x wood anyways, so a little more combustible material will not stop from losing it in the event of a fire. If you don't want insulation below on the flat portion, and you don't want foam, you don't have a lot of options. If it were mine, I would insulate the flat portion and add a ceiling and an attic door. Your trusses are not really designed for storage anyways, but if you do plan on storing items, access the attic through a door. The ceiling will help keep heating / cooling cost down. If you don't want to go that route, I'd get some rigid foam panels and cut to go against the ceiling between the joist. Some 2" panels should insulate it fairly well. 2" high density would give you an R10 factor. Not a lot but better than nothing.

 

[jklingel]

u r rite about not being first, or last. did you search here yet? lots of posts on this. nice shop!

 

[mobetta]

I'd do a vapor barrier and 5/8" drywall on the ceiling, then blow in cellulose. build a trap door for access for any wiring. forget storage and build some shelving.


also that seemingly tiny gap at the top of the fiberglas batts in pic one will be a weak point.

 

[v7guy]

I have 1 inch foam on the ceiling it's r 5 and it helps a bit and have r 30 batts waiting to go up. I have r13 in the walls with 5/8ths greenboard. I can heat the space to be almost comfy with a space heater. I assume the ceiling insulation will provide more warmth. I'd toss up some foam and some batts and call it good.use some sheetrock if you're paranoid

 

[FThera]

First...Sheetrock the ceiling, then add some insulation. R30 minimum. You'll get a payback in the first year. I'm in minnesota and keep my garage at 45 unless im working in there. In the last 30 days I've spent less than $45 heating my 3 car garage. Without the ceiling insulation $$$$$$$$! I have a separate meter for the garage so I know!

 

[buzzdemon]

Thanks everybody for their posts. I have decided to sheetrock my ceiling and put r30 insulation up. I though have been tossing the idea around of putting a radiant barrier up just to see if that makes a difference. Once again thanks for the input I do apperciate it.

 

[SARG]

Just a thought to consider ........ a local lad used white metal roofing / siding for his garage ceiling. He stated it was cheaper and I have to admit it really looks good.

 

[LEVE]

I have almost the same size garage. I was not going to insulate or sheet-rock... and a couple of my friends talked me into it. They were right, I'm very, very glad I did I used fiberglass in the walls and sheet-rocked. I did lay down insulation batting in the ceiling laying on the sheet-rock. The cost was minimal to what it brought to the build. The work added about 2 weeks to the build, as I did the stuff myself.

The garage stays 20* cooler in the summer than outside, and rarely ever drops below freezing in the deep of winter. I heat with a pellet stove and it's warm enough to work in comfortably within a half and hour.

For the cost, it was one of the best "upgrades" I did when I built the garage. I don't regret a dime spent for the sheet-rock or the insulation.