Shop Insulation Opinions Needed

[bigvic]

I am starting to get into the final stages of construction of my 30' x 40' x12' workshop, and as everyone else has probably done I am running over budget and behind schedule. Therefore I am looking for places to cut costs.

The area that keeps jumping out at me is the insulation. The shop is a metal building located in central Texas. It rarely gets and stays cold here during the winters, so I am not concerned about the cold. However, it gets pretty dang hot during the summer months where the insulation would come in handy. One thing that makes me think that I could do without it is the fact that the shop is on a hill in the country where there is a southern breeze pretty much year round. I am going to have doors on the southwestern side as well as the northeastern side which would allow the breeze to flow through the shop.

That being said, should I go deeper in debt and pay the $1200 to add insulation or should I tough it out? I think I have already made up my mind to not get the insul., but I am interested to hear your opinions and reasons why I should or shouldn't get it.

 

[PatrickW]

It rarely gets and stays cold here during the winters, so I am not concerned about the cold. However, it gets pretty dang hot during the summer months where the insulation would come in handy.

Maybe one of those "turbo" vents that draw the hot attic air up and out would help you?

Also, since heat is an issue, is it possible to give your metal roof a light color of paint? I don't know anything about metal roofs, but I'd think a white roof would not be as hot as a black roof.

- Patrick

 

[Charles (in GA)]

If you don't insulate a metal building, you will regret it. The airport I used to work at (Columbus, GA) had a number of hangars of varying sizes without insulation. They were standard type metal structures. One which I worked in had an east facing wall and it was like being in an oven in the mornings. This was a high building, 19 ft eave (100x100 building) and could be opened on the north and south ends, yet the heat radiating thru the steel was unreal.

When I built my 60x60x16 metal building, I insulated it and it really makes a big difference. My regret....... I didn't investigate the differences in the quality of the vinyl and plastic backed insulations used on metal buildings. I ended up with some stuff that had what looked like fiber reinforcement in the plastic coating, but now, 6 years later the stuff is so brittle that if you touch it, it will fall apart, and now I'm faced with the worry that someday I will have to unskin the building and replace it or skin over the inside the cover it up, as it falls apart.

Beg borrow or steal, but get a good quality insulation. Esp on a metal building where the bats are put up and the steel sheet is screwed on top ot it, making replacment or removal impossible without lots of expense.

Charles

 

[atch]

if you don't do it now you'll always regret it. (my opinion based on my experience)

 

[AndrewM]

My metal 30x30 shop is insulated... It still gets hot inside, but if you stand outside the shop you can feel the heat radiating off of the metal... inside the shop, you don't. Vic, we have way more "hot" days than cold 'round here. I say do it. As a bonus, on the "cold" days, it doesn't take more than a small electric bathroom heater and my shop is very livable / pleasant to work in during the winter. Until you open the door and the wind kicks thru tho...

 

[tubeman]

My shop is in Florida so I have similar concerns as you. I used the sprayed on type which is working very well for now. It is a huge mess however. I don't recommend doing it after the equipment is in place as I did. A two inch coating of the stuff is equal to 4-6 inches of fiberglass since it is basically a solid coat. It fills all the cracks and seams, etc.

http://www.k-13.net/specpage.htm

 

[bigvic]

Alright, thanks for the replies guys...I think you have convinced me to go ahead and insulate. I have found some insulation suppliers online that are considerably less than the building supplier's prices. However, now I don't know which type to get. I have narrowed it down to a foil/fiberglass/white poly insul with a R of 10.3 or a foil/bubble/white poly with a R of 7.3. Obviously the 7.3 R is quite a bit cheaper than the 10.3 (about $50 per 500 sq ft cheaper). Appearance is the same so basically I would just be paying extra for the increased R. Which way would you guys go?

 

[boiler7904]

If you have any thoughts of future heating or air conditioning, I would go with the R10.3. From the dimensions you gave, I figure you have about 1700 sf of wall (no deductions for doors/windows) and 1200 sf of roof. At the $50/500sf difference, the upcharge is less than $300. With fuel costs the way they are now, that would take no time at all to recoup in heating costs.

Another point; Which material looks easier to work with if you're doing the work yourself?

 

[bilede]

I just installed the foil,double bubble,white poly in my 50x75 garage which has 12 foot walls and up to 20 foot ceiling in center. I hung it on the trusses to create a nice white ceiling in the building and I used to walk in during the day to an oven hotter than it was outside here in phoenix area. After putting this up today I was 82 inside the closed building when I got home at 3pm and it was 103 outside. My building is masonry and 2x6 construction so not exactly the same as metal building but I am impressed so far..

good luck with the build!!

Bill.

 

[bigvic]

Alright, I broke down and ordered the R 7.3 foil/bubble/poly. I know that the R 10.3 would have been a bit better, but I compromised between having or not having insulation. Also, the white poly layer that will be seen from inside the shop will allow me to use less lighting than I would have had to use without the insulation. Plus since I am mostly interested in keeping the heat out of the building instead of keeping it in, I think the radiant barrier that the foil layer provides will outperform the small additional R value that the R 10.3 provides.

Thanks again for your responses, and if anyone is interested I was able to get the above mentioned insulation for the entire shop minus the door opening square footage shipped to my door for $730. That sure beats the $1200 (without sales tax) that my building supplier was quoting me for basically the same stuff.