Insulation - Do I need it?

[Harley Monster]

Hey guys,

I live in Southern Californina near the coast, probably the most moderate climate in the country. Our highs in the summer are in the 90's occasionally we see a few days over 100...the winters usually in the 50's and 60's with occasional cold spells into the high 30's and 40's.

I am planning a rather large garage 50 X 96. It is going to have to be a simple structure or I will not be able to build it this large because of the $$'s.

It is going to be stick construction with wooden trusses. I would REALLY like to sheetrock it for a cleaner look inside. I have priced out the sheetrock and was fairly pleased with the cost of the sheetrock...BUT OMG! the price of insulation is just crazy.

The outside of the building is going to be stucco, the roof clay tile to match my house. My question is, if I sheetrock this place do I need to insulate the walls?

We get a great sea breeze every afternoon, hardly ever run the A/C in the house, the walls are going to be 16' high...I am thinking by the time the building heats up opening a door in the front and a door or window in the back mother nature will A/C the building. In the winter perhaps a catalytic heater would take the chill off.

The insulation costs way more than the sheetrock...do I need it?

 

[IDASHO]

At the very least, use a radiant shield wrap. This will help reflect most of the heat during the summer.

And if you do go without insulation, be sure to install a few ceiling fans. Again, for the summer.

That said, an insulated building will feel SO much better than non.

 

[petty4243]

what kind of insulation have you priced? contractor installed or you??

personnaly, I recommend insulation...

 

[sam 8]

I agree, do the insulation. It will make the building feel tighter, and will make keeping the temps in moderation much easier. When I did my shp last summer insluation was much cheaper than sheetrock, I don't know what is going on out there right now.

 

[Harley Monster]

What is radiant shield wrap? I am not aware of this.

I know they use a radiant shield on metal buildings, but this will be stick built then OSB then an 1" of three step stucco.

Having 16' walls the studs will be 2X8's so I have been thinking that 8" of dead airspace, plus the 1" stucco plus the 5/8" sheetrock would be plenty of insulation for the weather conditions.

But I want to hear what others have to say about it...

 

[lilcuda]

Insulate!! Don't skimp now. You'll be sorry later if you don't insulate.

My garage is insulated with R13 in the walls and R19 in the attic. On 100 degree days, it stays around 80 degrees inside.

 

[ket-tek]

When I was building mine I was gonna buy insulation from lowe's and put it in myself, but thought it did seem kind of expensive. I called around to some insulation contractors and got it Delivered and Installed for HALF the price I could have only bought it for at the store.

Call around just to check, once you sheetrock it's a big deal if you decide to you want it later.

 

[Harley Monster]

I was just checking the raw material price for insulation at both HD and Lowes and I was planning on doing the sheet rock myself with the help of a guy that used to be in the business. This guy did a friends shop and you can't see a seam anywhere and the walls were not textured. He didn't to his ceiling though, it was a metal building...looks great!

I know insulation is a nasty job and the pros are very fast, I didn't know they were cheaper than the raw material....thanks for the recommendations.

 

[Harley Monster]

OK, if I hire a pro to do the walls, would you blow in insulation above the sheetrock ceiling or use bats?

 

[Subpuppy2926]

Blow in insulation is much easier. Just got done adding addtional 12" to the already 4", live in Wyoming. I puchased materials from Home Depot and the machine was free to use. I have about 1800sft and it took me and one other person 3 hours.

 

[Scotto]

In your climate and with your size garage, I wouldn't insulate it. If you're sheetrocking, you could also blow in some insulation later if you wanted. I'd just install some ceiling fans and/or roof fans and be done with it.

 

[Harley Monster]

Ket-tek - I spoke to my framers yesterday and told them your story and they said the aame thing happened to them on a project for themselves. They priced out the insulation at HD and were going to put it in themselves. They called a insulation contractor and the same thing happened to them...they got the whole job done less than they could buy the raw material.

The pros must have a way to buy the insulation really cheap.

I had a real small job done here this last winter...just a 20' X 20' addition and those guys were in and out of here so fast I couldn't believe it. They caulked all areas needing it around doors and windows, top plate, etc. before they put the bats in. They were very efficient.

Installing that stuff is a nasty job as you know, if it can be done that inexpensively it sounds like you would be a fool to do it yourself.

 

[JB740i]

We just moved into our house with a detached garage in October so I don't have any experience with the insulation in the summer heat yet. However I'm certainly glad I had it this winter. The short spurts of freezing weather had little effect on the detached garage. It was comfortable with a long sleeve shirt all the time.

Insulation is money well spent.

If you're just going to leave the floors bare, mark along the floor where the studs are before they're covered up by the sheetrock. Would make hanging things on the walls much easier.