Opinion please: Insulate Metal Building in South Texas or not?

[heitjer]

Guys,
please provide some guidance. I am about to sign for delivery of my metal building. It will be 40 x 44 x 17, metal frame and 26 gauge metal. Walls are rustic red, roof is white.

One bay will be framed in for a workshop, rest room and kitchen. This will be standard wood framing and I will use insulation on this. An AC will cool these rooms.

For the rest - I have two opposing 10 x 10 roll up doors and one 10 x 14 for the Travel Trailer.

Should I insulate the walls and the roof in South Texas? The company recommended 4" wall and 6" insulation. It is about $7,800 more and I could use the money somewhere else.

(Drawing still shows a 14' door in the center, this is actually now 10')

 

[Bigfoot62]

Just my :2cents:, but insulating the roof will help with the heat in the summer, walls not as much. If you're going to be spending a lot of daytime hours in there, it would be worth it.
Also, insulation prevents the metal from "sweating." Without insulation, some das you will get enough condensation on the underside of the roof panels to drip.

BTW, if you don't choose to insulate now, you can always have a spray-on foam applied later.

 

[WM75Guy]

I insulated mine in East Texas and put in a pop up roof vent. It does help keep it cooler when closed up in the summer. Skylights are also a good investment.

 

[TheGoose]

Absolutely you should insulate.

Mind if I ask what the set-up is costing you turn-key? I'm looking to do something similar in the near future.

 

[heitjer]

I have a quote now for the entire building (incl. roll up doors, man doors, windows, insulation, gutters & downspouts) for $25k. I already have the slab for $13k.

 

[texasjohn]

here is a thread regarding my building
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/91587-shop-light-decision-thanks.html

bubble insulation with radiant barrier was defective, plastic disintegrated after a couple of years.... Mueller building made it right with a refund to me...

I have doors on all sides for thru breeze.... a must have
I have peak roof vents, passive....a must have.
Unless you have some really wonderful way of stopping air from coming in around roll up doors there is tremendous air infiltration there.

I use a 48 inch "portacool" swamp cooler (actually two) when working in summer....under dry conditions it really helps....I think fans are a better way to go than lots of insulation. I have severall regular fans pointed into various corners not reached by the big cooler fans.

Heating is not actually a problem...I use a single forced air diesel heater on the few winter days where it's nice to have a spot to warm up. Typically, am dressed for the cold and being out of the wind makes working in the building very comfortable.

My net.... a radiant barrier is good, regular insulation not particularly useful, fans are very useful, reasonably cheap, small heater handy. You'll never heat or AC that entire space unless great expense to do so, make draft proof.

 

[ustmd]

I second the radiant barrier.

Unless you are actively cooling, the batt insulation is a waste of money and a perfect habitat for vermin.

We have the radiant barrier in our metal barn and it helps.

The neighbor has batts in his. His gets just as hot, it just takes two or three days more.

Of course, once we are in high summer, his building and mine are the same

 

[RJD2516]

No Brainer..........Insulate.

I have a 40x40x17. Two 14' roll-ups (not insulated). Had it built last year.

I put 6 inch on the top (my roof is the galvanized), and 3 inch on the walls. Makes a HUGE difference. My weather is similar to yours. Gets as hot as 110F here. We had 31 days in a row over 100F last year. You can't even touch the walls on the outside of the building they get so hot. But inside will be 25 to 30 degrees cooler. Now by 5pm it will get pretty warm inside. Mainly because the doors aren't insulated. But it is at least manageable inside. In the mornings, it will make your nipples hard it gets so cold.

The roof dormers were a good idea as well. I did two, 14 footers. And I roll up both doors about 2 feet, and run a fan in each door, one blowing in, one blowing out. Makes a great breeze inside.

I am wondering, why would you do any 10 foot doors? Why not go 14? extra cost is minimal, and the doors will be more useful, especially if you sell your place sometime in the future.

Also, I watched them put up the insulation. Quite a job. I am glad someone else did that job.

 

[heitjer]

The reason why I decided for two 10 foot doors in the drive-through bay is that I may want to add some storage later on top. If you look at the design I have a 14 ft door on the left for the RV, two 10 ft doors in the drive through bay and will have storage on top of the shop (right), rest room and kitchen. I may later want to add more storage on top of the drive through bay accessible from the first floor on the right.

Some great posts here, keep them coming. I appreciated the link to the lighting thread. Thanks!

 

[TheGoose]

I'm not sure but I don't think "swamp coolers" will work very well here in the Houston area.

The biggest reason I see for the insulation is to keep the scorching heat from the roof metal from cooking the inside of the building. Regardless of what you choose you're inside/outside temps will eventually be the same. I have a patio metal cover and it easily will burn your hand even on a medium sunny day. Without insulation your inside temps will be hotter than the outside temps.

here is a thread regarding my building
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/91587-shop-light-decision-thanks.html

bubble insulation with radiant barrier was defective, plastic disintegrated after a couple of years.... Mueller building made it right with a refund to me...

I have doors on all sides for thru breeze.... a must have
I have peak roof vents, passive....a must have.
Unless you have some really wonderful way of stopping air from coming in around roll up doors there is tremendous air infiltration there.

I use a 48 inch "portacool" swamp cooler (actually two) when working in summer....under dry conditions it really helps....I think fans are a better way to go than lots of insulation. I have severall regular fans pointed into various corners not reached by the big cooler fans.

Heating is not actually a problem...I use a single forced air diesel heater on the few winter days where it's nice to have a spot to warm up. Typically, am dressed for the cold and being out of the wind makes working in the building very comfortable.

My net.... a radiant barrier is good, regular insulation not particularly useful, fans are very useful, reasonably cheap, small heater handy. You'll never heat or AC that entire space unless great expense to do so, make draft proof.