Pole barn ceiling options?

[GManBart]

I'm plugging along on my pole barn project, and have a few decisions to make I need some advice on. The building is 40x64' with a 12' lean-to off the back making it 52x64. The plan is to build an interior wall that will give me an unheated 40x40' space, and a 24x40' heated space. There will be a man door, and an overhead door to allow access between the two sides. I put 2" of foam insulation under the slab, and added 900' of Pex tubing (three loops) four radiant heat in the 24x40' space.

Obviously, I need to insulate the heated side, and was lucky enough to be given a big pile of 4' wide 2" thick fiberglass batt rolls. I just finished hanging them between the trusses, and this brings up my next big decision. The trusses are 4' on center, and I'm pretty sure that drywall won't span that sort of gap without sagging, and it probably won't pass code with the building inspector (going to call him tomorrow). Looking at the picture below, what do you think is the most reasonable choice for a ceiling construction? Keep in mind it's a shop, so it doesn't have to be perfect, and the bottom of the trusses are pretty high (13ft) so it's not like anybody is going to inspect them carefully. OSB followed by drywall? Sanded, quality, plywood then prime and paint? Something else?

I plan to add some blown insulation on top of everything after I get the ceiling closed off, then start on insulating the walls. I'm thinking of using 4x8' sheets of foam insulation in the walls, but if anybody has other ideas, I'm all ears. I've got some of the fiberglass insulation left over, but I just hate working with the stuff...Tyvek suit, respirator, safety goggles, etc is a pain. Anyway, throw some ideas out there....can't hurt right?

The fiberglass is backed in black paper you can see below. For anybody interested in lighting, you can see the light I hung is a 24" LED by Lithonia from Home Depot that puts out over 11,000 lumens. That was the only light when I took the picture, and it was a pretty overcast day. I'm planning on probably four of these lights in the shop side, and maybe five in the barn side....they put out a ton of light. They run $199 each, so they're not cheap, but you probably won't have to worry about them failing ever (50K hours as I recall). Lithonia Lighting 2 ft. White LED High Bay Light-IBH 11L MV at The Home Depot

 

[GManBart]

This is looking towards the 24x40' shop side from the 40x40' side just before I started hanging insulation. I'm planning on doing the concrete for the 40x40' side in the next couple of weeks...can't wait!

The red wall is an art display wall I built for my wife out of 100+ year old barn wood...it's modular, and sets up in just a few minutes.

 

[dave1949]

I like the looks of the steel panel ceilings. It looks like siding or roofing panels, sort of. Can't find a pic but have seen it on TBN. Very clean, bright look.

OSB would probably sag also on 4' centers. I think you would have to put in strapping to use OSB or sheetrock.

 

[GManBart]

I like the looks of the steel panel ceilings. It looks like siding or roofing panels, sort of. Can't find a pic but have seen it on TBN. Very clean, bright look.

OSB would probably sag also on 4' centers. I think you would have to put in strapping to use OSB or sheetrock.

Interesting...I'll try to look it up!

Just found this picture by Cletus69 on another forum...something like this?

 

[KennyG]

Steel Liner Panel. It's the same as siding/roofing except the coating isn't quite as expensive since it isn't exposed to weather. It's relatively lightweight, easy to install with several helpers or a drywall lift and rated to span 4 feet. Cost will be about $1 per square foot with trim (J strips at edges) and screws. When it's up it's done, no painting or finishing and good for 50 years or so. I would add a layer of plastic under the insulation, just to have a continuous vapor barrier.

That's what I did in my 40 x 48 building (12 foot ceiling). I did it solo, with a high lift drywall lift. After I installed the ceiling I blew cellulose into the ceiling area.

I was able to get a deal on a lot of used 4x8 sheets of polyiso foam that I used in the walls. It was a lot of work. I covered it with a combination of T-11 paneling and OSB (unpainted) so I could fasten things to it easily. If I didn't have that source I would consider paneling the walls with metal or OSB (with a vapor barrier) and then blowing them full of cellulose. Not sure if settling would be a problem.

 

[GManBart]

Steel Liner Panel. It's the same as siding/roofing except the coating isn't quite as expensive since it isn't exposed to weather. It's relatively lightweight, easy to install with several helpers or a drywall lift and rated to span 4 feet. Cost will be about $1 per square foot with trim (J strips at edges) and screws. When it's up it's done, no painting or finishing and good for 50 years or so. I would add a layer of plastic under the insulation, just to have a continuous vapor barrier.

That's what I did in my 40 x 48 building (12 foot ceiling). I did it solo, with a high lift drywall lift. After I installed the ceiling I blew cellulose into the ceiling area.

I was able to get a deal on a lot of used 4x8 sheets of polyiso foam that I used in the walls. It was a lot of work. I covered it with a combination of T-11 paneling and OSB (unpainted) so I could fasten things to it easily. If I didn't have that source I would consider paneling the walls with metal or OSB (with a vapor barrier) and then blowing them full of cellulose. Not sure if settling would be a problem.

Nice! Just a quick search found 12'x3' panels from Menards that would run me around $650, which seems pretty reasonable to me. I really like the idea of not having to mess with drywall....heavy, messy, etc. A side bonus would be that the lighting should be better with a metal roof, but mostly I like the idea of being able to do it myself as I hate bothering buddies and neighbors if I don't have to.

 

[dave1949]

Yup, that's the stuff like cletus69 has. Thanks for providing the correct name KennyG.

Our VFD station's walls and ceilings are done with white liner panels, looks nice and yes it does help the lighting.

 

[KennyG]

You should be able to custom order the length. For 4 foot truss spacing you should get 12 ft 3 inch panels to overlap the ends.

 

[srs]

Here is what I used in my Morton building.

 

[GManBart]

You should be able to custom order the length. For 4 foot truss spacing you should get 12 ft 3 inch panels to overlap the ends.

That's sort of what I was guessing....a couple of inches overlap should be enough. I'm going to call and get a quote soon since they only list prices on the standard lengths. I just realized that I probably have enough of the exterior panels left over that I could probably do the side walls the same color as the exterior (tan/taupe sort of color) if I wanted to...cheaper than drywall since I already have it.

 

[GManBart]

Here is what I used in my Morton building.

Nice! Is the framework on the truck your work platform for the job?

 

[BeezFun]

I would add a layer of plastic under the insulation, just to have a continuous vapor barrier.

Big ditto on that, metal on a ceiling in those cold climates will really condense moisture without a barrier.

 

[srs]

Nice! Is the framework on the truck your work platform for the job?

I made the temporary work platform for me to stand on while installing the ceiling panels, worked great. Of course I had to constantly move the truck but that was the easy part, thanks.

 

[GManBart]

Big ditto on that, metal on a ceiling in those cold climates will really condense moisture without a barrier.

Yep, I've got plenty of vapor barrier left over, so I was planning on putting a layer under the insulation.

 

[GManBart]

I made the temporary work platform for me to stand on while installing the ceiling panels, worked great. Of course I had to constantly move the truck but that was the easy part, thanks.

That's a great idea! My ceiling is too high for that, but my neighbor has a powered scaffold, so I should be set there.

 

[BeezFun]

Yep, I've got plenty of vapor barrier left over, so I was planning on putting a layer under the insulation.

If by vapor barrier you mean something like Tyvek, I wouldn't use that on the ceiling. Vapor barrier is designed to allow air containing moisture to pass relatively freely, but it's designed to stop liquid water. That's why it works well on the exterior wall of a house, because that's exactly what you're trying to accomplish. But on a ceiling over a heated space, you don't want to allow the moist warm air to make it's way into the insulation and attic area because that will cause the moisture in the air to condense and spoil the insulation. On the ceiling you want to use as heavy a plastic as you're comfortable installing and can afford so that the moist air can't penetrate it. It's also good to caulk the edges where they overlap, so the moist air can't sneak through. If you're insulating your walls you want to do the same thing. Put up heavy plastic on the inside of the building to stop humidity from flowing out into the wall, and Tyvek on the outside of the building to allow any humidity in the wall to escape rather than condensing into water.

 

[GManBart]

If by vapor barrier you mean something like Tyvek, I wouldn't use that on the ceiling. Vapor barrier is designed to allow air containing moisture to pass relatively freely, but it's designed to stop liquid water. That's why it works well on the exterior wall of a house, because that's exactly what you're trying to accomplish. But on a ceiling over a heated space, you don't want to allow the moist warm air to make it's way into the insulation and attic area because that will cause the moisture in the air to condense and spoil the insulation. On the ceiling you want to use as heavy a plastic as you're comfortable installing and can afford so that the moist air can't penetrate it. It's also good to caulk the edges where they overlap, so the moist air can't sneak through. If you're insulating your walls you want to do the same thing. Put up heavy plastic on the inside of the building to stop humidity from flowing out into the wall, and Tyvek on the outside of the building to allow any humidity in the wall to escape rather than condensing into water.

I'm going to use the same heavy sheet plastic that I used when I did the slab...I think it's 6mil thick. R,

 

[KennyG]

6 mil is a good choice. That's what I used on my ceiling and walls. Less thick and the staples won't hold and thicker is really heavy to handle by yourself.

 

[roadhunter]

I can't believe you have a building inspector or code that is concerned with a ceiling in a pole barn. Around here you can build what you want. Nobody drives around the country inspecting the ceiling in pole barns. Talk about a waste of time.

 

[GManBart]

I can't believe you have a building inspector or code that is concerned with a ceiling in a pole barn. Around here you can build what you want. Nobody drives around the country inspecting the ceiling in pole barns. Talk about a waste of time.

Well, he still has to inspect the building, then electric, then mechanical (radiant heat), then water, and finally get county septic approval, so they'll be here a lot anyway.