Metal Building insulation regrets/likes

[widefat]

Trying to decide what type of insulation to put in an already constructed metal building. I'm leaning towards the reflective bubble stuff.
What did you use, what would you have done differently, love it, hate it, disaster, or absolute joy?


Climate - Zone 7, central VA. Nerd stuff that matters.

 

[riptides]

Already constructed? Are you talking roof, walls, either/neither?

What is the building use?

That would make a determination on not only insulation but climate control too.

Trying to decide what type of insulation to put in an already constructed metal building. I'm leaning towards the reflective bubble stuff.
What did you use, what would you have done differently, love it, hate it, disaster, or absolute joy?


Climate - Zone 7, central VA. Nerd stuff that matters.

 

[3Ts]

I'm in zone 8 and I have about 3" of spray foam in my metal building - all walls and ceiling are covered. I love it! And I'd do it again. I also have 3/4" plywood on the interior up to 8' to mount stuff on and protect the exterior walls from impact from the inside.

If I had it to do over again, i'd get 5" of foam and think about air-conditioning & heating it.

I don't see that you have much of a choice in insulation since the building is already up. I recommend the spray foam but it is not a DIY operation because there are a lot of things that can go wrong in the process.

The only downside to the foam is if birds get into the barn sometimes they'll pick at it to make a spot to build a nest.

 

[drssg]

In my horse barn, the builder installed some sort of reflective bubble insulation on the underside of the roof. For me, it was worse than worthless.

The outside doors are almost always open on the barn, and the wind destroys the insulation. That means there are always sections of insulation hanging down and accomplishing nothing, aside from looking like crap. There is also an endless process of picking up sections of insulation as it breaks off. Removing it would also be quite a lot of work, and it's difficult to set up a ladder to access the underside of the roof in many places.

YMMV. If the insulation is protected from the wind, it might do better. Or perhaps there are better types of insulation.

 

[PILOON]

Most public storage lockers are metal construction.

They use a blanket style of insulation (about 1.5 " thick and well sealed) that seems to be very efficient but then they are also designed to have some circulating air.

I have a small shed that is un insulated and come spring the dripping condensation is almost as bad as in a rain storm. OK, there is probably 2 ft of snow on that shed roof.

My take is damp/humid air colliding with cold metal will result with dripping.
Anything that'll temper that collision will/should work.
OK, the ultimate is probably sprayed foam but U have to balance costs vs results.

If U live there, then nothing but the best, but for tractor storage what's a few drips now and then.

 

[ponytug]

The reflective bubble takes care of radiated heat, so if you have high ceilings and no fans, it can be beneficial. However, it is light weight, and doesn't do well when exposed to the vagaries of life, as @drssg noted. Personally, I wouldn't use it by itself; with a drop ceiling, yes, but by itself, no. I have seen folks use bird netting underneath it, but I think that it looks terrible, and now you have the netting to maintain.

In ag uses, I am more of a fan of sprayed foam, with a rodent barrier covering it.

All the best,

Peter

 

[KennyG]

I assume you are talking about a metal frame structure. Unless you can cover all the metal, it will short circuit your insulation. Spray is probably best, but I'm not sure how you do it without is looking ugly or adding structure inside.

 

[Drewintoledo]

Spray foam insulation will give your barn more rigidity.
here’s what I did on the exterior wall with closed cell spray foam.

the rest of the loft area was fluffy stuff.

oh, I also put 3” poly ridged board under the concrete in the loft area too

 

[hugo454]

spray foam it

 

[Ferpen]

60 x 40 metal building, not climate controlled.
1" of closed cell foam applied to all inside surfaces followed by white paint (Sherwin Williams Dryfall). They seal all openings, cracks, and crevices prior to applying the foam. Paint was done a day or two after the foam.

In addition to the insulation properties, the closed cell foam stiffens up the R panels. They now thud instead of clang when you thump them.

We don't get as much cold weather as you folks to the north, but we've been very happy with the result for this summer.