Franz©
Banned
After all these years I have a few things I want to say about insulation, and I have seen and crawled thru tons of it.
The absolute best insulation system for a metal and even wood building is sprayed in place foam aplied by a contractor who knows what he's doing with the product. It is NOT a DIY project. It is expensive to place, but has the quickest return on investment of any form of insulation.
Fiberglass bats- good product in the place it was designed to be put, but that place ain't anywhere fiberglass can come into contact with water. Glass in a steel sided building are going to wick condensation from the steel, and retain the water. Bats in contact with concrete will wick and retain water from the concrete, and bats in contact with a foundation WILL wick and hold water. I've seen enough fiberglass bats ripped out that were sturated, and the insulation value of wet fiberglass is ZERO. It is also a great support mechanism for mold, and will shorten the life of steel walls.
Enveloped fiberglass bats- generally used in steel buildings
At best a poor insulation system, not enough fiberglass to really make a difference enveloped in a giant drycleaning bag. The best thing about this system is that it minimizes condensation in the building by minimizing air contact direct to the steel.
This material came out in the 60s, and many insurance carriers freaked by 1970 when they discovered how it performs in a fire situation. A lot of buildings had their skins removed and the insulation replaced in the 70s because carriers would no longer write coverage.
Blown in products- don't much matter if it's rock wool, fiberglass, or ground up newspaper with borax added, any blown in product will compact. The actual insulation value of all insulation systems is trapped air pockets in the insulation, not the insulation material. Gravity still works the same way it did when AlGore was walking behind the mule plowing tobacco, and gravity will continue to operate on insulation. Even fiberglass bats suffer from gravity, people just don't notice it. Blown in products require some knowledge to place properly.
NO blown in product should ever be placed where it can come into contact with moisture. If youcan't figure out why, stick the edge of a newspaper in a dish of water and watch the water wick. Water is not an insulator.
Blown on wet celulose - Paper Machet is a good product, but must be placed by somebody who knows what they are doing. It ain't a miracle, it's just ground up newspaper with glue. The product MUST also thoroughly dry before the insulation is covered, or there will be serious problems downline. Blowing this material directly onto roof boards is an invitation to disaster, especially in a house. Atic spaces generally have 2 to 3 times the humidity of the living space below.
Foam board- when placed properly is second only to sprayed in place foam. It is probably the most user friendly form of insulation. Attention MUST be paid to all joynts in the board because voids will become problems downline.
The white styrofoam pebble version is not equal to the blue or green product, but does make a fairly decent ceiling if you don't have anything else.
Bubble Wrap- really handy for wrapping and packing things in a box for storage or shipping. Damn little value as an insulator unless you're hanging it 2" inside a window. At best it's a minimal trapped air system.
This **** evolved around 1990 when some huckster got a quick buck idea. He made his money and bailed, and a boatload of other husckters followed.
You need to remember Insulation does NOT stop heat transfer, insulation retards heat transfer. Insulation also retains a hell of a lot of latent heat performing this function, and needs to shed the latent heat. When insulation becomes saturated with latent heat, the heat will be reradiated, generally as long wave infrared energy. If you are in a warm climate you can feel the infrared being radiated from your ceiling.
Foil faced products- there are a boatload of foil faced products, and they are all promoted as radiation killers. Bullsnott! If the foil were directly exposed to the heat sourse the idea would work. Foil buried inside a wall or ceiling ain't doing a damn thing. Reflection energy transfer only works in direct exposure. Inside of a wall or ceiling foil becomes a contact heat conductor. In a ceiling foil becomes a conductive heat transfer mechanism. Foil is generally a waste of money in insulation systems.
Reflective only works in direct exposure situations. Refelctive curtains work because they bounce the sun's heat. A reflective curtain behind a cardboard sign in a window does NOTHING!
The absolute best insulation system for a metal and even wood building is sprayed in place foam aplied by a contractor who knows what he's doing with the product. It is NOT a DIY project. It is expensive to place, but has the quickest return on investment of any form of insulation.
Fiberglass bats- good product in the place it was designed to be put, but that place ain't anywhere fiberglass can come into contact with water. Glass in a steel sided building are going to wick condensation from the steel, and retain the water. Bats in contact with concrete will wick and retain water from the concrete, and bats in contact with a foundation WILL wick and hold water. I've seen enough fiberglass bats ripped out that were sturated, and the insulation value of wet fiberglass is ZERO. It is also a great support mechanism for mold, and will shorten the life of steel walls.
Enveloped fiberglass bats- generally used in steel buildings
At best a poor insulation system, not enough fiberglass to really make a difference enveloped in a giant drycleaning bag. The best thing about this system is that it minimizes condensation in the building by minimizing air contact direct to the steel.
This material came out in the 60s, and many insurance carriers freaked by 1970 when they discovered how it performs in a fire situation. A lot of buildings had their skins removed and the insulation replaced in the 70s because carriers would no longer write coverage.
Blown in products- don't much matter if it's rock wool, fiberglass, or ground up newspaper with borax added, any blown in product will compact. The actual insulation value of all insulation systems is trapped air pockets in the insulation, not the insulation material. Gravity still works the same way it did when AlGore was walking behind the mule plowing tobacco, and gravity will continue to operate on insulation. Even fiberglass bats suffer from gravity, people just don't notice it. Blown in products require some knowledge to place properly.
NO blown in product should ever be placed where it can come into contact with moisture. If youcan't figure out why, stick the edge of a newspaper in a dish of water and watch the water wick. Water is not an insulator.
Blown on wet celulose - Paper Machet is a good product, but must be placed by somebody who knows what they are doing. It ain't a miracle, it's just ground up newspaper with glue. The product MUST also thoroughly dry before the insulation is covered, or there will be serious problems downline. Blowing this material directly onto roof boards is an invitation to disaster, especially in a house. Atic spaces generally have 2 to 3 times the humidity of the living space below.
Foam board- when placed properly is second only to sprayed in place foam. It is probably the most user friendly form of insulation. Attention MUST be paid to all joynts in the board because voids will become problems downline.
The white styrofoam pebble version is not equal to the blue or green product, but does make a fairly decent ceiling if you don't have anything else.
Bubble Wrap- really handy for wrapping and packing things in a box for storage or shipping. Damn little value as an insulator unless you're hanging it 2" inside a window. At best it's a minimal trapped air system.
This **** evolved around 1990 when some huckster got a quick buck idea. He made his money and bailed, and a boatload of other husckters followed.
You need to remember Insulation does NOT stop heat transfer, insulation retards heat transfer. Insulation also retains a hell of a lot of latent heat performing this function, and needs to shed the latent heat. When insulation becomes saturated with latent heat, the heat will be reradiated, generally as long wave infrared energy. If you are in a warm climate you can feel the infrared being radiated from your ceiling.
Foil faced products- there are a boatload of foil faced products, and they are all promoted as radiation killers. Bullsnott! If the foil were directly exposed to the heat sourse the idea would work. Foil buried inside a wall or ceiling ain't doing a damn thing. Reflection energy transfer only works in direct exposure. Inside of a wall or ceiling foil becomes a contact heat conductor. In a ceiling foil becomes a conductive heat transfer mechanism. Foil is generally a waste of money in insulation systems.
Reflective only works in direct exposure situations. Refelctive curtains work because they bounce the sun's heat. A reflective curtain behind a cardboard sign in a window does NOTHING!