Pole barn blow in wall insulation?

[harleyvet02]

A couple of questions before I finish up specs on a build. I am planning a 36x54x12 shop/garage. I plan to have radiant floor heat and keep it around 50 in the winter. Walls and ceiling will likely be covered in interior steel panel. Ceiling insulation will be blow in cellulose.

1) Several builders are offering "ply foil", "moisture loc", or other condensation control for walls. Are these needed if I plan to insulate and put a vapor barrier on the inside? I know the vapor barrier needs to be on the warm moist side, but will I gain anything from an outer barrier?

2) I am pricing spray foam insulation right now. The company who did my home addition is working on a bid for the garage, so that is a possibility. But what about sealing areas of air infiltration along walls with a DIY Dow froth pack or even Great Stuff and putting up insulweb and interior girts and then filling with dense pack. It could be filled in "stages" of 3-4 feet if necessary, the apply vapor barrier and cover walls with whatever method you like.

3) Is wet cellulose application a possible option in a heated and wall covered pole barn? Can a DIYer even do this with available rental equipment? I would assume you would need to block wall cavities between foundation posts into smaller sections than normal 8-9' OC.

Sorry for the long post, but I just want to find a good solution and I hate messing with fiberglass .

 

[Flexia]

I have seen it done with a plastic stapled to the wall and then blown in behind the plastic. It would give you the vapor barrier you need and hold the insulation. The only thing is I'm unsure about the space size that they blew in.

For me I'm building a pole building with "self girts" inside the post on 2ft centers which will give me a nice space for insulation. Its a little more work then slapping 2x4 on the outside of the post but in the long run I think it makes a better structure. Look at http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=157864 for an example.

 

[harleyvet02]

Fleixa,
Thanks for the reply. I may go the shelf girt route. Your garage looks great. I like the loft area and really like the lift. Well done.

 

[Flexia]

Your welcome. That ones not mine just a example on how its built. Unfortunately mine is not up yet and I'll get to build it in the cold weather....

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

 

[bullnerd]

I wouldnt want anything up against the steel on the inside, I like air space.

If you go with the foam make sure they've done metal buildings before, I've read that it can distort the metal.

I know you said no fiberglass...but here's how I did mine, FWIW.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=169738

 

[harleyvet02]

Fleixa, I saw that it wasn't yours after I posted. I hope your build goes well.

Bullner, Are you active on the minibuggy site also? I think the 8' fiberglass is the way to go. Is air infiltration a problem? What steps did you take to prevent it? $150 a roll is worth me being a little itchy.

ETA Nice shop by the way. Any thoughts on my proposed layout? http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=222850

 

[bullnerd]

Bullner, Are you active on the minibuggy site also? I think the 8' fiberglass is the way to go. Is air infiltration a problem? What steps did you take to prevent it? $150 a roll is worth me being a little itchy.

ETA Nice shop by the way. Any thoughts on my proposed layout? http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=222850[/QUOTE]

Yes, on MBN a lot.

If you look at my pics, I will be puting vapor barrier over those horizontal purlins,then steel panels. I'll try to seal it up the best I can.

I wore long sleeves,gloves and a cheap mask. The way I hung them, not really handling them much.

Also, you have to see what you can get the rolls for, may be different in your area. Morton buys them by the rail car load.

 

[smokem2020]

I blew my 30x60x8 with cellulose. I installed both inside and outside steel panels then blew it in from the top before adding ceiling steel.. Its not only warm but also quite. I liked that all the space was filled. I'd do it again. Its been done for 6 years and I've not seen any side affects.

Not sure about 12' high walls tho. I didn't like the 8' wide rolls. Mine were 6" thick and the poles plus 2x4s were 9". Mine was so drafty. Maybe if I had installed it myself It might have been different.

good luck On your barn. sounds like a nice one

 

[harleyvet02]

Smokem2020,
Did you use any kind of vapor barrier, either inside or out? How did you blow in from the top with steel installed? Do you have any pics? What type of a setup did you use for blowing in? Thanks for the help.

 

[bullnerd]

I blew my 30x60x8 with cellulose. I installed both inside and outside steel panels then blew it in from the top before adding ceiling steel.. Its not only warm but also quite. I liked that all the space was filled. I'd do it again. Its been done for 6 years and I've not seen any side affects.

Not sure about 12' high walls tho. I didn't like the 8' wide rolls. Mine were 6" thick and the poles plus 2x4s were 9". Mine was so drafty. Maybe if I had installed it myself It might have been different.

good luck On your barn. sounds like a nice one

That sounds like a nice setup.

 

[smokem2020]

There is space above the walls before you install the ceiling tin. The trusses get close, but there's enough room for the hose. I used plastic and house wrap. Also put three layers of 2" blue Styrofoam on the concrete, thinking that if I washed the floor it wouldn't wick up to the cellulose. The blower was regular rental from Menards. I pushed the hose down as far as I could, pulling it up as the cavity filled. Really simple. Like I said, I'd do it again.

 

[oilslick]

I used the froth pack from menards, it worked awesome for my house project and had I tried it before I insulated my shop I damn sure would have air sealed it with foam before fiberglassing and blowing in ceiling. I was quoted 8k to spray 2" closed cell on my similar sized shop as yours.

 

[harleyvet02]

Smokem2020, Did you put up house wrap on outside before putting up tin and plastic on the inside? Do you remember an approx cost for insulation?

I got a quote for about $4500 for walls and $4000 to spray the roof. Higher than the CFO (wife) will sing off on for now. I don't think I will spray the roof anyway, but put up tin and blow in insulation. The icynene guys did a great job on my the house though.

 

[smokem2020]

Its been a while ago.. 22 bucks a bag I think, I bought extra and used it in ceiling after I got tin installed. Part of my barn is wrapped around my house and a existing garage so not sure how many bags I used. sorry I couldn't help on cost