Stephani Stephenson on tue 8 mar 11
my shop is a corrugated steel building. 3 sides are steel over wood frame=
=3D
while the north side has a wood exterior. it is a well built old shop and=
=3D
has big windows and good air circulation.=3D20
from fall through spring the building is pretty nice. even a little sun
warms it up for a nice working temperature and cracking a window cools it=
=3D
down. in the long summer, from May -august or sept, I anticipate it will=
=3D
be
pretty hot in there. i know last august it was, the metal gets pretty hot=
=3D
,
so i just worked outside in the shade.=3D20
To extend its seasonal comfort i am considering insulating it and i wonde=
=3D
r
if any of you have done this and would have any advice as to whether it i=
=3D
s
worth it.=3D20
the building will never be airtight, in fact i don't think it is suppose =
=3D
to
be. air enters from where the corrugation meets the concrete slab foundat=
=3D
ion
and also under the eaves. right now there is no opening in the roof, lik=
=3D
e a
turbine fan to exhaust that hot air, but i am sort of reluctant to pierce=
=3D
the very sold steel skin, unless i am sure it is the right thing to do..
it has a pitched roof , the rafters are 2X6 at about 2' centers...wall po=
=3D
sts
are 4X4s every 8-10 feet with horizontal 2X4s . the main thing i want to =
=3D
do
is keep the heat transmitted through those metal walls from radiating int=
=3D
o
the shop as much as possible.
it seems there are a couple of ways to approach it. from all i have read,=
=3D
i
need to leave an airspace between any insulation and the steel skin...at
least one inch. i figure i could do that by running wire or something to
hold the insulation away from the surface.
haven't decided whether to use roll ,or sheet insulation either. i'll
probably use sheet foam on the walls, because of ease of install and al=
=3D
so
i can, make the inner surface nicer to look at.
i am wondering if it is worth it to try and add a reflective barrier onto=
=3D
that side of the insulation, even if it is aluminum foil?
the other approach is to use a radiant barrier, which is thinner than
insulation and attached perpendicular to the direction of the rafters ,
rather than being placed parallel , in between rafters like regular
insulation. it has a reflective side and utilizes the air pocket rather
than physical insulation...
cost is a factor, s i am weighing the cost v. the benefits.=3D20
i know this isn't a construction forum, but thought some of you might hav=
=3D
e
similar shop
situations and some valuable before and after stories or pertinent info!
thanks much
Stephani Stephenson=3D20
http://www.revivaltileworks.com
revival arts studio
Doug Trott on tue 8 mar 11
Steph -
I just finished building an insulated room inside of a pole building for
starting seeds, and am now starting two more rooms - one for processing and
one as a cooler. I don't insulate the pole building as much a I build a roo=
m
within it, minimally framed, just enough to attach wiring and rigid foam
insulation.
The challenge with a cooled space is that one really needs to insulate the
floor, which implies that you'll need to build a floor. Sealing gaps with
spray foam makes a big difference too.
Doug
http://www.prairie-garden.com
Starbuck, Minnesota
Snail Scott on wed 9 mar 11
On Mar 8, 2011, at 8:28 AM, Stephani Stephenson wrote:
> my shop is a corrugated steel building...
> To extend its seasonal comfort i am considering insulating it...
I work in a wood-framed steel pole barn.
I insulated the stud-framed front wall and
interior partitions in regular fiberglass batt,
which was the most cost-effective per R-unit.
As the steel roof occasionally springs leaks
in unexpected places, though, I didn't want
any absorbent materials in the ceiling. So,
I sheathed the ceiling and gappy barn walls
with blue foamboard. (I picked blue because
it looked sky-like, and less likely than pink to
skew my color perceptions while working.)
I used one-inch board, as I could not afford
more at the time, but even this had a dramatic
effect on insulation. I installed it in the summer,
when the steel roof was so hot that it burned
my knuckles badly when I'd brush up against it.
Every board that went up felt like a 5 degree
drop in interior temperature - very noticeable!
I left a 4" air gap, as this was the depth of the
rafters that I attached it to between the trusses.
(Less is indeed optimum for thermal purposes,
as larger gaps allow for convection movement
of air.) The foamboard was very easy and more
pleasant than fiberglass. It needs to be covered
or it will not meet fire code, but it's up to you to
determine the importance of that.
Ceiling insulation has the largest effect for both
heat retention in winter and heat exclusion in
the summer. Doing the ceiling alone will be a
huge improvement even without doing the walls,
and extra insulation in the ceiling will be worth it.
Its benefit in the walls is far less dramatic, so I'd
prioritize the ceiling above all else.
I am very pleased with my blue foam ceiling, and
plan to install another layer over the present one
when time and money allow. If your resources
allow for it, I'd get the 2 inch board from the start.
-Snail
Snail Scott on wed 9 mar 11
On Mar 8, 2011, at 8:28 AM, Stephani Stephenson wrote:
> my shop is a corrugated steel building...
> To extend its seasonal comfort i am considering insulating it...
I work in a wood-framed steel pole barn.
I insulated the stud-framed front wall and
interior partitions in regular fiberglass batt,
which was the most cost-effective per R-unit.
As the steel roof occasionally springs leaks
in unexpected places, though, I didn't want
any absorbent materials in the ceiling. So,
I sheathed the ceiling and gappy barn walls
with blue foamboard. (I picked blue because
it looked sky-like, and less likely than pink to
skew my color perceptions while working.)
I used one-inch board, as I could not afford
more at the time, but even this had a dramatic
effect on insulation. I installed it in the summer,
when the steel roof was so hot that it burned
my knuckles badly when I'd brush up against it.
Every board that went up felt like a 5 degree
drop in interior temperature - very noticeable!
I left a 4" air gap, as this was the depth of the
rafters that I attached it to between the trusses.
(Less is indeed optimum for thermal purposes,
as larger gaps allow for convection movement
of air.) The foamboard was very easy and more
pleasant than fiberglass. It needs to be covered
or it will not meet fire code, but it's up to you to
determine the importance of that.
Ceiling insulation has the largest effect for both
heat retention in winter and heat exclusion in
the summer. Doing the ceiling alone will be a
huge improvement even without doing the walls,
and extra insulation in the ceiling will be worth it.
Its benefit in the walls is far less dramatic, so I'd
prioritize the ceiling above all else.
I am very pleased with my blue foam ceiling, and
plan to install another layer over the present one
when time and money allow. If your resources
allow for it, I'd get the 2 inch board from the start.
-Snail
Stephani Stephenson on sun 13 mar 11
Thanks so much to those who posted on and off line to me about this. i
really got some valuable feedback from those who have both insulated and=
=3D
used a radiant barrier type .
i also want to put up some trellises on the south side and plant some vin=
=3D
es.
to help shade from the outside.=3D20
i should probably call this the desert tortoise studio. ain't no jackrabb=
=3D
it,
but the desert tortoise is up and ...moving!!!!
Stephani S.
| |
|
