insulating walls with drywall

[fdtrucks]

I am looking at options for adding insulation to my garage walls. The shared wall with the rest of the house has insulation. The other walls do not. They are all drywalled already and I am looking at a few options. 1. Cut holes in top between each bay and fill with cellulose, 2. Cut holes in each bay and use a slow rise foam, 3. take down drywall, insulate, replace drywall. I am leaning towards option 1 or 2. I know cellulose can settle if not densely packed, and foam can get expensive. Looking for guys that have done either and their experiences.
I did get lucky and already have an insulated garage door and the ceiling is insulated.

 

[The Cobbler]

most economical IMO would be blow in cellulose and repair the drywall. be sure to see if there is any fire-blocking or braces that won't allow the cellulose in the entire cavity. if there is, you need to drill addt'l holes

 

[thammel]

I had the same situation. I opted to rip down the drywall and insulate the re-drywall. This gave me the opportunity to do some wiring runs and other things. Also, I wanted to be sure that the insulation was done well and couldn't be sure about blown insulation. And I didn't like the way 2 windows were done so I re-trimmed them. All worked out well and the job was not terrible.

Tom

 

[Musicinabottle]

Since you're only talking about 2.25 walls, I'd remove the drywall and insulate it conventionally, especially if it's an older house.

 

[Bamafan]

You can also drill and fill fiberglass. Less stress on the walls.

 

[Dragfluid]

Dense pack cellulose, no question about it. More R value per inch than bats, plus the dense pack stops air travel.

 

[JimNC]

In this situation, how do you add a vapor barrier without taking the drywall down? Not an issue for foam, but it is for cellulose.

 

[Jess]

I had the same issue and after looking at all the options, pulled down the old drywall, fixed a few electrical runs and insulated with Roxul. Once I was finished, I had a local drywall crew come in and hang the new 5/8 drywall and tape it all for less than I could purchase the material myself. They make people for drywall, and its not me.

 

[larry4406]

Same conundrum here. I removed the drywall, furred the studs to 2x6 depth, added R21, new outlets, etc. Also fire stopped all of the holes in plates from original construction that were never properly addressed. While it was opened I also added a hose bib.

 

[PCMusicGuy]

I am in this exact situation right now. I have 1.5 walls that need insulation and then the ceiling on top of the garage. If you are like me, and you already have stuff in your garage, drilling the holes and adding blowing in cellulose will be the easiest option. Down here, we don't have to worry about vapor barriers because they are on the outside of the home.

 

[ford33]

For only a couple of walls I would remove the drywall.

Add additional outlets and some speaker wires and then the insulation and finish the drywall. Drywall installation, taping and mudding is not difficult to do. To do it well takes practice but you can do it easily. Just take your time and don't put too much mud on the drywall at one time. Many light coats works better and you will have less sanding to do.

 

[Shott8283]

I took down drywall and insulated it. Then plywood the walls.

 

[fdtrucks]

Sorry for the no response, was away at a class for a few weeks.

So I am going to do a hybrid out in the garage. One wall that needs insulation has plenty of outlets already so no need other than insulation to tear out the drywall. I plan to fill the voids with cellulose. The opposite wall where I keep my tools, and spend most of my time has 1 outlet. That drywall is coming down. I'll wire in another circuit and add outlets, insulate, and re-drywall. I am also doing this on the front of the garage with the door as well.

 

[75gmck25]

One other consideration is that you can get a lot of mileage out of just sealing all wall penetrations, even if you don't insulate. Then spend your left over time and money on insulating the ceiling.

Make sure that all receptacles and switches have drywall tight up around the boxes, and use seals between the covers and the boxes. Then look for gaps where the drywall meets the stem wall or other surfaces and caulk all those areas. Then finally paint with a good quality paint that provides air/moisture barrier. If you can stop all air infiltration it will help considerably to control the temps in the garage.

Bruce

 

[fdtrucks]

I already have an insulated ceiling, but one thing I was going to address when the drywall was down was any sources of air movement. That wall that Ill be taking the drywall down happens to be the NW wall.

 

[txvwnut]

Remove the drywall insutlate and hang new drywall. My house was insulated with blown in many years after it was built by the poke hole method and blow. As I have been doing remodeling I’ve found that as soon as the insulation met resistance it built up and and filled the remaining cavity. I had some walls that only had insulation half way down and some that the insulation had gone all the way down but had voids in along the way so they too were only partially insulated.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Sorry for the no response, was away at a class for a few weeks.

So I am going to do a hybrid out in the garage. One wall that needs insulation has plenty of outlets already so no need other than insulation to tear out the drywall. I plan to fill the voids with cellulose. The opposite wall where I keep my tools, and spend most of my time has 1 outlet. That drywall is coming down. I'll wire in another circuit and add outlets, insulate, and re-drywall. I am also doing this on the front of the garage with the door as well.

Sounds like you have a good plan.

That wall that is coming down, if you'll be hanging some tools on it, maybe hang some OSB first then drywall over it. It'll allow you to hang stuff without needing to find a stud, give the drywall some strength against holes and still have the fire rating. You will have to adjust the wall boxes out the proper distance.

 

[ddawg16]

How about a hybrid approach to your hybrid approach?

Cut out a strip about 1' wide the length of your wall right down the middle where you want outlets. Push bats up and down through the opening...run your new wires, put the cut out section back in. Taping and mudding that portion will be a lot easier.

If you have blocking....do it on top of the blocking.

Make sure your outlets are about 50" or higher. It lets you lean a 4x8 sheet against the wall and not block them.

 

[bad_idea]

One more vote for remove drywall, install insulation, then put up plywood (or OSB). That is what I did. It has been great having the plywood. I can hang anything on the wall, wherever I want.

As far as fire rating, it is my understanding that you are only required to have the fire rating on walls that adjoin living space. On an exterior wall, fire rating is not required. Correct me if I am wrong please.

 

[rburke65]

Well I think I would tear it out and get a better idea of what you are working with and go from there.