Let's talk insulation in non-climate controlled shops

[jetranger]

I have seen numerous posts on this in various threads, but I think it would be interesting to get some different points of view on the subject.

While I do see both points of view, I feel like it depends greatly on climate and shop type.

For example - I am in Las Vegas. I am just finishing a 35x50 stick built with stucco. My neighbor has a 50x80 steel building with 4" of insulation. In the summer when it's 110 outside, it's considerably cooler in his shop than mine, yet neither of us are running coolers.

Obviously, in the winter when it's in the 40's and 50's here, it's warmer in my shop than his. So maybe it comes down to if you live in a really warm or really cool climate, what season would you'd rather be more comfortable in...

I am getting ready to drywall and keep going back and forth on insulation. I do think insulating the attic is the best thing to do though. In the summer, it will keep the hot air in the attic up there (while having all 3 doors open for cross flow). In the winter, it should retain some heat from the sun warming the stucco.

Anyway, would love to hear some other's points of view on the subject. Thanks in advance!

 

[rayra]

What's your use case? I mean if you intend to work out in that shop in the summer heat, I'd insulate it as much as I could.

we just bought a house in NLV, 3car attached and I'm turning one stall into my workshop / woodshop etc. There's no insulation in the garage attic that I can see, despite having a drywall ceiling on 2' center joists. I've intending to improve attic venting and put a lot of blow-in up there.
I also took some effort in picking the house, which faces almost due north. The sun will never shine directly on my garage doors or into my garage. The two-car door isn't insulated and I will be doing so soon. The house is 25yrs old and was pretty beat up when we bought it. I'm working steadily to rectify everything. New laminate flooring, refreshing paint, fixing all the dents and damage in the drywall and doors, already have travertine for the entryway and kitchen floor, etc etc. I do almost all of my trades work.
Anyway, I'm working hard to seal up gaps, install door sweeps, hang roman shades on the south eaves to shield large windows, and insulate my garage and close gaps in doors etc. I am racing to get these things done before the summer heat comes. I want to be able to work in the garage in the summer, automotive, furniture making etc.
So your question about should you insulate the walls of a free-standing structure seems to be an obvious YES! to me. At the very least the south and west aspects. Whatever is exposed to that big ball of fire in the sky.

 

[Lucid Moments]

I have 4" of closed cell foam on the roof of my 50 X 60 shop in Georgia. Stick built but steel siding and roof. It was expensive as hell but well worth it. It is totally workable in the hot as hell summers we have. Our winters get colder than I guess yours do but then I just put a torpedo heater in there. I wouldn't do it any different.

 

[ambenz]

Oh, we are comparing Apples to Oranges! I get it...Duh!
Really....let me just say insulate your stuccoed digs with a the same insulation value and you'll be cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
Steel conducts FAST! Stucco, not so much....in the end, your gonna climate control it IF you constantly feel unconfortable...might as well insulate it first to manage temp swings.

 

[TwoToque]

I will second the add insulation vote. Insulation is a thermal barrier that will resist a temperature change. Keeps the heat you have in during the winter and keeps the heat out during the summer months.

 

[karoc]

Go ahead insulate cause once rock it up your committed to heat. Winter times you can help keep warm with clothing but summer time there is only so much can take off. Dang 110 that is hot

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Oh, we are comparing Apples to Oranges! I get it...Duh!
Really....let me just say insulate your stuccoed digs with a the same insulation value and you'll be cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
Steel conducts FAST! Stucco, not so much....in the end, your gonna climate control it IF you constantly feel unconfortable...might as well insulate it first to manage temp swings.

Don't forget that color also has a huge impact. The sun will heat a dark building more than it will a light colored building.
I lived in an older home with single pane windows I put up dark blinds and curtains in the winter. Swapped them for lighter colors in the summer.

 

[bigdav160]

My shops are uninsulated. Meh, they mirror the ambient temperature.

My father's shop was insulated and sheet rocked with no climate control. In the summer it was unbearably hot. Like an oven

 

[shopnut]

I have a post frame steel building and at first, it was not insulated. It got extremely hot inside during the summers here in FL and every sprinkle sounded like a downpour. Insulation helped dramatically on both accounts. I would not consider insulation-less again.

 

[Brent T]

I'm in Phoenix and have been in this house for 16 years. Last summer I finally insulated the garage in preparation for a mini-split. I can say that the temp swings are reduced with the insulation even without A/C installed. In the winter months, the garage is not as cold first thing in the morning as it used to be. In the summer months, it's later in the day before it gets unbearably hot. I'm in the middle of installing a mini-split now so we'll see how it goes this summer. I can say that even without A/C, the garage is much more comfortable most of the time than it was before and much quieter as well.

 

[Vacek]

Not from a "warm" climate but here in New England the summers get hot and sticky the winters are cold. I have a 1000 sq ft footprint unheated garage with a workshop above. Insulated. The insulation slows down the interior temperature changes. If it's 40f inside and outside in the evening and by morning it has dropped to 20f outside I can expect the downstairs with leaky garage doors to still be above freezing and the upstairs shop to be about 35f to 37f. However if the next day the late afternoon temp has risen to 45f inside it will be barely reaching 40.
When the minisplits are hooked up upstairs it will go a long way to keeping the utility bills reasonable.

 

[nadogail]

IMHO, I have yet to hear anyone complain because their shop was over insulated, on the other hand I can't count (not enough fingers and toes) those who complained about being under insulated.

 

[teal95]

Even if you don't plan on climate control now the insulation is cheap to install now and very expensive to install later. And if you do install it a mini split is pretty easy to add later.

 

[slow84lx]

My attached 2-car garage with west facing door was miserable in the summer before insulation. Still no climate control, but with R50 in the ceiling & R23 in the exterior walls (mineral wool) it never gets above 80* during the summer. The record cold temps recently with below freezing for 9 days down to 0* it never got cooler than 42*. A very small space heater had it at 62* in a couple of hours.

On a hot summer day before insulation I was wrapping up what I was doing by 12:30 After insulation it is bearable all day if the door stays closed.

I would insulate again, even without climate control.

 

[LeeG]

If you ever plan on insulating, do it at the build stage. It's relatively cheap.

For a non climate controlled building here in the southwest, the insulation will perform in a similar manner to a large shade tree that covers the structure. The radiant heat from the sun will not transfer directly to your interior. If the building is air sealed also, then your interior temperature would be a weighted average of your max and min shade temperatures.

I don't know about Vegas, but in Phoenix in the summer, the overnight lows can be as high as 100. In these situations, it will still be uncomfortably hot without some cooling, but having insulation will keep the temps closer to a baseline.

 

[Jeff]

I turned by garage into my shop. I added blown-in insulation above the garage when renewing the house insulation. Then I added reflective bubble insulation to the inner garage door panels. In the summer heat I open the garage door enough to accommodate a 16" high speed/power fan for circulation.

 

[BumperWeightDad]

Not from a "warm" climate but here in New England the summers get hot and sticky the winters are cold. I have a 1000 sq ft footprint unheated garage with a workshop above. Insulated. The insulation slows down the interior temperature changes. If it's 40f inside and outside in the evening and by morning it has dropped to 20f outside I can expect the downstairs with leaky garage doors to still be above freezing and the upstairs shop to be about 35f to 37f. However if the next day the late afternoon temp has risen to 45f inside it will be barely reaching 40.
When the minisplits are hooked up upstairs it will go a long way to keeping the utility bills reasonable.

Thinking about a very similar setup for new garage, also in New England. But upstairs will be my office, downstairs will be garage/workshop/gym. Have you ever used a stove to heat your upstairs: wood, propane, etc.?