How would you insulate this garage/workshop?

[lhfarm]

The garage has vertical cedar siding, so inside I have a bunch of 24" x 16" (on-center) boxes. Anyone have a suggestion or two of how to attack this? Do I need to just get rolls of insulation and start cutting them to fit the "boxes"?

You can see by the date stamp that we built this in 1996. Every winter I swear I'll insulate next year. I'm thinking maybe if I just start on one wall I might get it done some day.

Thanks for the help,

 

[Travelover]

Generally, when you try to stop heat loss, you first work on air leaks, then ceiling insulation, then wall insulation, in that order.

You can get fiberglass roll insulation of the right width and just cut it to length to fit the boxes.

 

[Tig]

I agree with Travelover.
Be sure to cover insulated areas with vapour barrier.

 

[RonMar]

Yep, work from the top down. Closing in and insulating the ceiling will make the most noticeable difference. When you close up the ceiling, don't forget to vent the new attic space you are creating, both at the peak and down at the eves. This helps keep condensation from forming inside the roof area. Does this shed have a ceiling, or is it just roof studs?

The horizontal studs in the walls are a little unusual in my experience. How thick is that OSB skin? If they went with the real thin OSB, I guess that would explain the horizontals as they didn't want the thin OSB to wrinkle/warp between the studs. This of course will make your job a little more difficult.

I just finished insulating my garage. I started part of it several years ago when I put up two inner walls to install work benches and cabinets. At that time I got the Kraft faced rolls of insulation for the wall cavities. The kraft paper facing is your vapor barrier and it has strips on the edge to staple to the studs to hold it in place. This paper backing overlapping at the studs, go a long way to sealing up the space also. this keeps the moisture in the space, and helps keep condensation from forming on the inside surface of the outer wall. When I started spooling up again this summer to finish this project, I couldn't find roll insulation anywhere. It was now a special order item with ALL my local suppliers. Everyone has gone to the pre-cut batts of insulation to fit the standard 8' wall cavities.
If I was doing your type wall, I would cut and remove the insulation from the backing where the studs are located and try and kep the kraft backing in place to cover over those studs.

 

[denmansoft]

You are going to lose a lot of 'storage shelves' but it will be worth it to have a warm place to work in the winter.
Normally the roof is area of most heat loss. If you have a prevailing wind that is cooling things down you may want to seal and insulate that side sooner.

 

[kenmac]

I just insulated mine between the 2x4 wall studs. Then covered the inside walls with 1/4 osb. For some they put all those ( 2x4 cross braces ?) between your wall studs. Just cut the insulation (R 19 )& stuff it in there

 

[LBrown59]

foam it

The garage has vertical cedar siding, so inside I have a bunch of 24" x 16" (on-center) boxes. Anyone have a suggestion or two of how to attack this? Do I need to just get rolls of insulation and start cutting them to fit the "boxes"?

You can see by the date stamp that we built this in 1996. Every winter I swear I'll insulate next year. I'm thinking maybe if I just start on one wall I might get it done some day.

Thanks for the help,

 

[lhfarm]

Yep, work from the top down. Closing in and insulating the ceiling will make the most noticeable difference. When you close up the ceiling, don't forget to vent the new attic space you are creating, both at the peak and down at the eves. This helps keep condensation from forming inside the roof area. Does this shed have a ceiling, or is it just roof studs?

The horizontal studs in the walls are a little unusual in my experience. How thick is that OSB skin? If they went with the real thin OSB, I guess that would explain the horizontals as they didn't want the thin OSB to wrinkle/warp between the studs. This of course will make your job a little more difficult.

I just finished insulating my garage. I started part of it several years ago when I put up two inner walls to install work benches and cabinets. At that time I got the Kraft faced rolls of insulation for the wall cavities. The kraft paper facing is your vapor barrier and it has strips on the edge to staple to the studs to hold it in place. This paper backing overlapping at the studs, go a long way to sealing up the space also. this keeps the moisture in the space, and helps keep condensation from forming on the inside surface of the outer wall. When I started spooling up again this summer to finish this project, I couldn't find roll insulation anywhere. It was now a special order item with ALL my local suppliers. Everyone has gone to the pre-cut batts of insulation to fit the standard 8' wall cavities.
If I was doing your type wall, I would cut and remove the insulation from the backing where the studs are located and try and kep the kraft backing in place to cover over those studs.

I do have a ceiling and that should probably be the first task. The vertical studs are the nailers for the siding. I guess I could make a template to mark the points to remove the insulation for the vertical studs.

Would another option be to just cut 24" sections and cover everthing with another vapor layer?

I may also check out the cost of foam. I was hoping to save some money doing it myself, but it sure was cold working in there this weekend.

Thanks,

 

[MarkV]

You might consider cutting and filling the stud bays with fiber glass insulation and then nail foam board over all of it. The foam would help seal all of the thermal breaks that the 2x4 nailers for the siding create. OSB or whatever you prefer could then be screwed to the studs on top of the foam. That would give you a good tight envelope with a good R factor.

MarkV

 

[lhfarm]

You might consider cutting and filling the stud bays with fiber glass insulation and then nail foam board over all of it. The foam would help seal all of the thermal breaks that the 2x4 nailers for the siding create. OSB or whatever you prefer could then be screwed to the studs on top of the foam. That would give you a good tight envelope with a good R factor.

MarkV

Sounds like a good idea and something I could handle.

Thanks!