R24?

[Miss the Pontiacs]

Maybe you guys know this but it was news to me. It has been awhile since I needed to buy batt insulation. R12 used to be the standard for 2x4 studs and R 20 for 2x6.
I found that there is now R22 and R24. Both are 5.5” or the same thickness as R20. I was told by a wholesaler that R24 will be the new standard possibly in our area only. I found probably close to double in price.
Is it worth the difference in price to you for the additional R4 performance?

 

[The Cobbler]

you pay for insulation once, but every time your heat comes on, you pay
depends on the cost I would say. double the price? meh...

 

[Negen]

Only stuff I seen around me was the pink panther stuff labeled r24 echo touch fiberglass and after that the plastic bag the roll was in said (wood stud) I used it in my garage and shed. This reduced my heater use by 70% or so and bill was about 25$ per month cheaper for electric.

Sent from my G8141 using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Richard Cranium]

put in all the insulation you can afford.

 

[MushCreek]

A couple things- In an efficient building, controlling air infiltration is as important as insulation, so make sure the building is tight.

In stud construction, as much as 25% of the insulation value is lost through the framing. A layer of foam over the sheathing and under the siding breaks the thermal transfer. There are other methods, such as using a 2X6 plate but 2X4 studs, staggered inside and out as a thermal break.

I put a lot of study into this stuff before building our house and went with ICF. Lots of insulation, lots of thermal mass, no heat transfer, very strong and quiet. And expensive. I doubt the savings will pay the cost difference in our house, but it sure is cozy. For a place I live, going all-out is important. For a workshop- not so much, unless I'm using the space to make a living. When I finish out my barn, it will just be ordinary batt insulation between the studs, and a cheap durable inner wall material. As long as I can warm it up a bit for working on projects, that will be good enough.

 

[RWorth]

For the amount of time "I" spend in my garage I don't think I would waste the money. I'm still heating my shop with a portable Mr. Heater propane unit. At 65 I'm thinking I may do some to improve it this year, but I think the most important thing now would be to seal up the garage door. I have 4" insulation in the walls and 6" in the ceiling, and with that I heat my 26x40x12 space in less than 30 minutes. But my big door leaks like a sieve. The thing that made my shop a lot easier and quicker to heat is I installed 2 6" draft inducers in 6" galvy, they start 6" from the ceiling and push air to the floor, one in the front and one in the rear of the shop, and it heats the area 10 times faster.

 

[OccupantRJ]

For the amount of time "I" spend in my garage I don't think I would waste the money. I'm still heating my shop with a portable Mr. Heater propane unit. At 65 I'm thinking I may do some to improve it this year, but I think the most important thing now would be to seal up the garage door. I have 4" insulation in the walls and 6" in the ceiling, and with that I heat my 26x40x12 space in less than 30 minutes. But my big door leaks like a sieve. The thing that made my shop a lot easier and quicker to heat is I installed 2 6" draft inducers in 6" galvy, they start 6" from the ceiling and push air to the floor, one in the front and one in the rear of the shop, and it heats the area 10 times faster.

Can you provide a link to the inducers you used?

 

[stm317]

Overhead insulation is far more important than wall insulation. I consider sealing and blocking wind to be far more important in walls than maximum r value. It doesn't matter what the r value is, fiberglass doesn't prevent air movement, which effectively reduces the R value.

Block the wind with foam in the walls (spray foam or rigid panels), and blow in as much overhead insulation as you can. Anything else is gravy.

Also need to consider the type of building and its use. If this is living space, and you'll own it a long time go ahead and spend the extra to make it a nicer place to spend time. If it's just a detached shop, it sees infrequent use, or you won't own the property very long then it might not make financial sense to get the increased r value.

 

[Voi]

Maybe you guys know this but it was news to me. It has been awhile since I needed to buy batt insulation. R12 used to be the standard for 2x4 studs and R 20 for 2x6.
I found that there is now R22 and R24. Both are 5.5” or the same thickness as R20. I was told by a wholesaler that R24 will be the new standard possibly in our area only. I found probably close to double in price.
Is it worth the difference in price to you for the additional R4 performance?

I would not pay nearly double for R22/24 unless maybe it was mineral wool or a professionally installed BIB system. And even then I'd rather take most of that extra cost and put it into air sealing.

If this is DIY then I'd also be willing to pay more for mineral wool as I just like working with the stuff better.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

I bought the R20. I will be applying acoustical sealant on all studs and top and bottom plate full width so when installing gyproc and 3/4” plywood in power/utility area. This way I will not have screws only going through the vapour barrier. If I remember correctly the vapour barrier is 6 mil. But will check on the vapour barrier thickness.
On the roof I have 2-4” thickness of styro which overlap the seams on the roof. The roof is a torch on with a slight incline for runoff.

My 2 garage doors are equivalent of either R17 or 18.

Mush I like the alternating 2x4 stud on a 2x6 plate. I might look into this more if I do any additional building.
Thanks everyone for you input.