Metal building buildout - need your opinions

[paulss]

I've got a 12 X 24 foot metal building with the "New England" roof (3 slopes). It has 2 X 4 studs and roof supports. There are no traditional joists, just 2 X 4 cut at angles and plates that join them at the angles. I want to put in a front door, insulate it, drop the roof to 8 feet and put an air conditioner in it to use as a part time office and storage for overflow from the house. I also want to do it as inexpensively as possible.

My questions are:

1. I've been told that these building are prone to sweating and that mold has been a common problem on some that have been built out. Does anyone have any experience with them or have any ideas what insulation would be the best?

2) Will I be able to span the room (12 ft.) for the ceiling or will I have to tie in the roof supports.

3) Are there any other things to be considering?

Any comments or opinions will be appreciated.

 

[LBrown59]

anyone

 

[LBrown59]

anyone

 

[EddieWalker]

OK, you said cheap as possible, so this will cut a few corners, but get you the results I think you're looking for.

Sweating buildings is a term people use for condensation. Buildings don't sweat, but the change of tempatures from building to outside will lower the amount of water vapor the air will hold, resuling in moisture.

First you need to vern the attic space. One vent on the back wall between the studs as high as you can get it. This will keep the outside temps the same, or very close to the attic temps.

To span 12 feet without a load, you'll need 12 foot 2x6's every two feet. Not ideal, but it will work for your application. Just don't go using the attic as storage because it's not gonna be very strong. If you want strong, put them closer together at 16 inches, or very strong at 12 inches.

Frame in your front door and seal the outside with siding. After the siding is in and it's air tight, determine where the AC unit will go. Is it a window unit? Do you have a window for it?

Run your electrical rough in.

Buy some rolls of attick insulationa and install it between your 2x6's with the paper side facing down. Usualy it will stay in place from the friction of the 2/6's. YOu might want to staple it into place too, but it's not a big deal.

Do the same withthe walls, but use the rolls for the sized opeings you have on your walls.

For this, I wouldn't use sheetrock myself. No advantage to it for a shed. In fact, I was thinking the cheapest thing might by 4x8 foot sheets of foam insulation. YOu can alays paint it if looks are an issue, but it would be easy and cheap to install.

Next I might price panaling, but if you don't like those options, just finissh it off in sheetrock. Wont take long and a room that small wont cost you much anyways. To save some money, you could only do the ceiling and live with the walls being exposed insulation. The paper isn't attractive, but what the heck, it works. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Post pics if you get into trouble or want more specific ideas. It's hard to imagine what you have without them.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

OK, you said cheap as possible, so this will cut a few corners, but get you the results I think you're looking for.

Sweating buildings is a term people use for condensation. Buildings don't sweat, but the change of tempatures from building to outside will lower the amount of water vapor the air will hold, resuling in moisture.

First you need to vern the attic space. One vent on the back wall between the studs as high as you can get it. This will keep the outside temps the same, or very close to the attic temps.

To span 12 feet without a load, you'll need 12 foot 2x6's every two feet. Not ideal, but it will work for your application. Just don't go using the attic as storage because it's not gonna be very strong. If you want strong, put them closer together at 16 inches, or very strong at 12 inches.

Frame in your front door and seal the outside with siding. After the siding is in and it's air tight, determine where the AC unit will go. Is it a window unit? Do you have a window for it?

Run your electrical rough in.

Buy some rolls of attick insulationa and install it between your 2x6's with the paper side facing down. Usualy it will stay in place from the friction of the 2/6's. YOu might want to staple it into place too, but it's not a big deal.

Do the same withthe walls, but use the rolls for the sized opeings you have on your walls.

For this, I wouldn't use sheetrock myself. No advantage to it for a shed. In fact, I was thinking the cheapest thing might by 4x8 foot sheets of foam insulation. YOu can alays paint it if looks are an issue, but it would be easy and cheap to install.

Next I might price panaling, but if you don't like those options, just finissh it off in sheetrock. Wont take long and a room that small wont cost you much anyways. To save some money, you could only do the ceiling and live with the walls being exposed insulation. The paper isn't attractive, but what the heck, it works. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Post pics if you get into trouble or want more specific ideas. It's hard to imagine what you have without them.

Eddie