Insulating a metal building...options?

[MotorSeven]

I've read that spray foam gives off toxic fumes in enclosed areas and needs to be sealed or well ventilated. Maybe the new stuff is better than the old. I like fiberglass bats and a second interior wall. Figure out you vapor barrier situation to avoid condensation inside the wall area.

Not so with the newer stuff.

Iowa, I know spray foam is pricey, but it really is a great product that does a fantastic job. I had it sprayed on the apartment side of my Quonset Hut. The area sprayed was 30x14' and we used a single cube heater each winter for 5 years to keep us warm. Looking back I wish I had gone ahead and sprayed the shop side & some day I will. It is still bare metal and takes a lot of wood to heat it to "working temps".

 

[iowa]

so can you put up board insulation across the bottom of the trusses before the walls are sprayed in? Or is it worth the additional cost to spray everything?

I'm not quite following you. There is a ceiling in the building. I would put board insulation on the attic-side of the ceiling.

After you get it " sprayed" do some research on infrared heating, with those tall ceilings most of your heat will be over your head.
Infared is fueled by lp or nat gas in long tubes and warms objects not the surrounding air, just like the sun does.

Thanks for the reminder about infrared heat. I had read a bit about it a few years ago. I've never seen it 'in action' so I have been skeptical of the claims.

Iowa, I know spray foam is pricey, but it really is a great product that does a fantastic job. I had it sprayed on the apartment side of my Quonset Hut. The area sprayed was 30x14' and we used a single cube heater each winter for 5 years to keep us warm. Looking back I wish I had gone ahead and sprayed the shop side & some day I will. It is still bare metal and takes a lot of wood to heat it to "working temps".

How tall was this portion of your Quonset Hut? Is a cube heater different than a space heater that has coils that heat up with electricity?

 

[Dr Dave]

The ceiling is the easy part, just get a blower from Menards or lumberyard and blow in fiberglass. You want a min or R38.
Be sure the atic space is vented

For the walls you can get fiberglass in 150ft roles in widths up to 8 ft, it has a white plastic on both sides. It is fire rated and can be left exposed. R19 would be the min.

Dave

 

[Dr Dave]

As for heating, infloor heat is the best. The radiant tube heaters work great also, I have worked in both, far better than forced air.
Radiant tube heaters heat the objects in the room, if you open a door, the recovery time is much quicker than forced air.

Dave

 

[iowa]

The ceiling is the easy part, just get a blower from Menards or lumberyard and blow in fiberglass. You want a min or R38.
Be sure the atic space is vented

That's exactly what I had planned doing myself in the ceiling...until the spray foam contractors told me that they would only do both the walls and ceiling. The attic does have soffit vents and a cupola and ridge vent.

For the walls you can get fiberglass in 150ft roles in widths up to 8 ft, it has a white plastic on both sides. It is fire rated and can be left exposed. R19 would be the min.

Dave

I did not know that I could get 8ft wide fiberglass bats. Thanks for the info.

Do you think there would be an advantage of fiberglass bats over foam board for the walls?

 

[iowa]

As for heating, infloor heat is the best. The radiant tube heaters work great also, I have worked in both, far better than forced air.
Radiant tube heaters heat the objects in the room, if you open a door, the recovery time is much quicker than forced air.

Dave

Are radiant tube heaters typically hung from the ceiling or are they mounted closer to the floor?

 

[Danno1]

Are radiant tube heaters typically hung from the ceiling or are they mounted closer to the floor?

Around here the HD's and Lowes have radiant heaters up by the ceiling over the cashiers. Maybe 15-20 feet up. Even with the entry/exit doors opening and closing constantly, you can feel them when you're checking out. And we get plenty of single digit winter temps here.



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[medic0648]

The fiberglass is fire rated, the foam board is a serious fire hazard unless covered by something fire rated.

 

[jwstewar]

Keep the thoughts coming guys. I'm watching this thread with great interest. We are getting ready to build a pole barn (hopefully starting next Thursday) for our goats. It will have the "bubble wrap" insulation under the metal roof, but it will also have soffit vents and ridge vents. Eventually I may look at ceiling for it, but at the same time that is the point of the soffit and ridge vents to vent the animal "fumes" I'm actually a bit more worried about heat build up in the summer than I am cold in the winter.

 

[JerryK]

You have to sit down and have some serious thoughts about how critter proof you are going to keep your barn first. Any critters, and some insulation types just provide nesting and tunneling places... which also degrades the insulation over time...