insulation

[jack707]

I going to insulate the walls and roof of my pole barn my question is-what should I go with foam boards 2" thick or R19 batts?.The foam boards would be a better choice since they wont have fibers in the air when I cut it. This is also going to be used as storage also so I want to get the best way to keep the heat in.

 

[jack707]

104 and no answers man this sucks!

 

[JimRB]

Foam. Now you have one answer.

 

[dragoneggs]

Don't know the details of your construction so hard to make suggestions. I will say that moisture barriers and sealing off gaps are important to consider.

 

[DJ54]

I used 1-1/2 foam on my walls, and between the trusses, then covered with white steel siding. Here is a pic when I was doing the ceiling. This is what they call cover sheet, or liner panel. Last I got ws $1.72 Ln. ft., which is a dab over $57.00 per square. You can't buy 3/4" plywood, and paint it for that. I did put 3/4" plywood in some spots, so as to put hooks on the wall to hang tools.

 

[jack707]

I'm not going to put a ceiling in just put foam between the purling's and walls.

 

[Mike from MI]

If you have steel siding you'll need to go with foam sheets on walls. If you use fiberglass insulation you'll have condensation problems.
I like drywall ceilings instead of steel less noise rebound better cell service . In your area I would put as much blown in insulation as I could.

 

[Mike from MI]

Your wasting your time and money if only doing walls. All your heat will just go out your eves.

 

[LD1]

Ditto what mike said. Doing walls and not the ceiling is pointless.

R19 will likely be cheaper than 2" foam. And better r-value too. That's what I would do.

 

[KennyG]

Your wasting your time and money if only doing walls. All your heat will just go out your eves.

I think the original post indicated he would insulate the roof and not put in a ceiling. I like ceilings because it reduces the volume you heat and makes it easy to blow in insulation which is much more cost effective, but insulating the roof will work fine also.

 

[PILOON]

It all depends on how many cats you have.

Batts in barns were invented to be rodent condos.
Those little critters just love tunneling and nesting in that nice cozy wool batting.

 

[DJ54]

Last winter, I was running some wiring across the ceiling, they are 12'. I had it a comfy 68º @ eye level according to a digital thermometer I have hanging on the wall above the bench. I noticed it was quite a bit warmer up top, so hung the thermometer up there to check. It was 90º up there.

Long term plan is to get a couple ceiling fans, and have them thermostatically controlled by a snap switch. Being for now, I heat with a coal stove, and eventually get my waste oil furnace set up, it should save quite a bit on fuel either way.

 

[jack707]

Its going to be storage and a work shop so I will use 2" pink boards thru out, as far as building a ceiling I don't think I wanna spend more money on osb for the ceiling panels. The heat source will be wood and yes I was thinking of ceiling fans also.

Thanks a lot for telling me about the batts because my walls outside are metal now do I have to use a vapor barrier?.

 

[SPIKER]

Its going to be storage and a work shop so I will use 2" pink boards thru out, as far as building a ceiling I don't think I wanna spend more money on osb for the ceiling panels. The heat source will be wood and yes I was thinking of ceiling fans also.

Thanks a lot for telling me about the batts because my walls outside are metal now do I have to use a vapor barrier?.

Condensation is a major issue between cold metal and warm interior space. The insulation prevents heat loss but often lets moisture penetrate to the metal condense and freeze/rust in those areas. In cold climates the recommendation for vapor barrier is on the inside of the building.

One mentioned foam (Spray Foam) is best but very expensive. If you go that direction then use closed cell foam on the metal side (when metal is warm and dry, outside above 50ish.)

I am in similar spot, (wood t1-11 tho.)
What I did was use 1.5" ISO/STYRO foam boards between the 2x girts on sidewalls to flush out the 2x4 girts. Then I used foil bubble bubble poly insulation over that as a both radiant barrier and as a vapor barrier (I have lots extra from pouring the concrete floor which was done also in a laminated design.) Over that I used fiberglass bats with paper (additional vapor barrier style R19) on the small enclosed room. In the rest of the building on 1st floor I am thinking I may end up going spray foam out to the level of the 2x6 vertical studs I installed on top of the girts & between the 6x6 posts when I get the $.

M

 

[Pete6114]

Insulate everything or nothing. Not insulating the ceiling and only the walls is wasting your money.
I used Rock Wool on the walls and blown in insulation in the ceiling. Plus vapor barrier of course....then drywalled everything
The reason i used rockwall is that, it's fire resistant and rodents dont like it. Also easy to install and less particles to breath in. (masks are cheap)

 

[M5farms]

You get an r factor of 5.5 per inch of poly ISO. 2" runs about .65 cent a sq ft.

 

[KennyG]

Then I used foil bubble bubble poly insulation over that as a both radiant barrier and as a vapor barrier (I have lots extra from pouring the concrete floor which was done also in a laminated design.) Over that I used fiberglass bats with paper (additional vapor barrier style R19) on the small enclosed room.

M

Be careful with this. I've always heard that having more than one vapor barrier is a problem. If you already have one vapor barrier in the system, use unfaced insulation. Also for the Original Poster, I would not consider OSB/wallboard ceiling in a pole barn either, but when you look at the cost and advantages of a metal ceiling with vapor barrier and blown in insulation vs. insulating under the roof, I think the ceiling makes sense.

 

[ksluy]

My building and every metal building i have looked at around here has eather 3inch or 6inch fiberglass with vinyl on the inside. Mine works fine no problem.

 

[Papasmirf]

3" walls and ceiling...closed cell foam

 

[EddieWalker]

Heat rises. This simple fact is why insulating the ceiling is 90 percent of what keeps the heat in the room. With a metal roof, this is even more important because of condensation forming on the underside of the metal. You need really good airflow under a metal roof to keep it dry. If your building is well built, there will be a lot of venting at the eaves and the peak for the air to move.

It is a total waste of time and money to address the walls, where you will never notice anything and not do the ceiling. If you do the ceiling, then doing the walls makes sense.

Eddie