Insulation question

[mbaranski]

Hi all - insulation question:

I'm building a 40x28 with 2 garage doors, 1 man-door and attic trusses with interior steps going up (L-shaped on the back and side wall with a landing). Will have a toilet/sink under steps downstairs and unfinished upstairs for the near future (several years at least). 12'+ ceilings and a 2-post lift.

I'm going to insulate since I need fixed heat for the water, so question:

If I insulate the ceiling above the garage but not the loft to start, can I add insulation above the loft later to condition that space in the event that we finish it at some future point?

What would you do?

 

[NUTTSGT]

If you're not fixing up the loft space until later on in the future, why not just insulate the floor joists under the loft for now ?

When the time comes, I would insulate the loft separately if it's going to be "conditioned" separately from the rest of the garage.

Another thing to take into consideration is your location, different parts of the country require different things, you might want to add a general location to your profile so your fellow members can help give you the proper advice.

 

[billconner]

I don't disagree with NUTTSGT but you have to look at whether or not you'll condition the attic separately and then the cost of insulating them separately. Also, hard to get much insulation in the bottom chord of attic trusses.

I would come up with a simple plan for both options and compare additional cost to insulate it all as one space versus separate now. And I would always insulate from eave along roof line to attic ceiling, never leaving space behind knee wall outside. Less insulation and less heat loss.

Don't forget temporary insulation in stairway between up and down. (And if following code don't overlook that upper space egress may not be allowed through garage.)

 

[Steve W.]

Your building sounds like a larger version of mine (24 x 30 x 8).

I knew going into the project that I was going to condition the upstairs, or at least moderate it. My trusses have 2x6 upper and lower chords. I used styrofoam baffles in between the trusses on the bottom of the roof, going from the soffits to just about all the way to the top. I then went over the baffles with R-13 batts and 7/16 OSB siding. R-13 is not enough to meet code for home use, but works OK in the shop. I also put R-13 batts between the lower chords, so there is a bit more insulation between the main floor of the shop and the roof.

After using a kerosene-fired torpedo heater for 9 winters, I finally managed to install a mini-split in the lower level last August. Only had a couple weeks of warm weather to check cooling performance, I think it will be doing quite well. So far this winter, it has also been heating quite well. Had about a week when temps were near- or just below-zero, it handled it just fine. Bonus time: with the door at the bottom of the stairway open, enough heat goes upstairs to keep the upstairs quite liveable. Not quite enough to sit in an easy chair to watch TV, but it's definitely shirt-sleeve weather to go up there for a few minutes to rummage around the storage area. I am going to wait and see if the open door trick also works for cooling (maybe with a fan enhancing air flow up the stairway) before adding another mini upstairs.

.

 

[mbaranski]

Thanks - I'm around Raleigh/Durham NC

I will probably insulate above the garage ceiling for now, and then below the roof if/when I finish up there.

I'm mainly concerned about enough heat to keep the water pipes from freezing.