Spray on barn insulation

[Dargo]

Anybody have any experience with having their pole barn walls sprayed? When I added my 100X120X20 barn I figured it would just be too big to heat and cool, so I only had a minimum of insulation put in the roof. Now I notice that things in that barn get wet in certain weather conditions. This is in addition to the fact that it's about 20 degrees hotter in that barn in the summer than my 60X60X16 barn that has 2" of insulation walls and roof. I do have vapor barriers in the concrete floor of each.

I'm thinking about getting estimates to have my larger barn done with the spray in insulation. Anyone have experience or comments on that kind of insulation?

 

[heehaw]

are you referring to foam insulation? we got a quote to have my daughters 1600sq ft house insulated with foam, and it was @ $5,000.
heehaw

 

[framer]

I built a 36x46 metal shop building 6yrs ago. There was two typs in ks.
Poly foam which water cant penatrate that is what i used.Cant recall
the other brand but it was opsit water came thur.The only difference is
if have a leek its a little harder to find source. Same prices $1.00 sq. ft then.
Highly recomended it makes a very tight building. takes all rattles out metal
Good sounproofing. It was exspensive to do It will pay for self.I heat only
when i work out there.Over night it can be 10 to 20 deg. shop will be
30 to 36 deg. Summer 100 plus days in ks. shop will be allways 10 to-25 deg. cooler. Hopes that helps. Framer

 

[Ridgewalker]

I have a uncle who has an insulation business. The spray in stuff is expensive upfront but long term it pays off. I have seen him do several jobs, once it was a cold storage freezer in a old limestone mine. Its great stuff! He did the area above my garage and it made a huge difference.

 

[ns_in_tex]

I think closed cell foam is the water proof kind.
Open cell will absorb water.
Also it comes in Lb DENSITY. The higher the density, the harder & stronger.
If any quotes you get seem extra high, you might try to find someone who insulates chicken houses this way. I think they insulate the walls & ceilings with maybe 2 or 3 lb density and the bottom 2' of the walls with higher density, so the chickens can't peck it off.
Good luck,

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Your stuff will still sweat if the right conditions hit. Usually a warm front hitting after a particularly cold period. This will happen if the building doesn't have an HVAC system installed and running. I just brought home my toolbox from work and the exact conditions hit and in a matter of hours, put a light surface rust on my Starrett mics. My barn has the real nice insulation that is a 3" thick Mylar backed that also is a radiant barrier. It was put on with the tin. The barn is fairly air tight but I admit I had the doors open when the warm front hit. Just too much moisture in the air. Moist as mayonnaise I say.

The spray on stuff that I'm familiar with works fairly good. I don't particularly like the looks of it but it works good. Sound absorption is excellent. I believe it is made of cellulose and Boric acid. The local talk show builder dude here doesn't recommend it due to the boric acid and the potential for the kids to get into it or to breathe the dust.

It is probably the only feasible alternative. I think you would be happy with it.

 

[Dargo]

If I leave any door open (or if one of my kids leaves a door open ) I get sweat and moisture inside my insulated barn. Otherwise, with everything closed, everything still stays dry even after a warm front moves in and the barn is cold inside.

So, it sounds like most people are relatively pleased with the spray on insulation except that it's expensive? I guess that sounds good....except for the fact that my barn is relatively large.

 

[BungeeII]

If I leave any door open (or if one of my kids leaves a door open ) I get sweat and moisture inside my insulated barn. Otherwise, with everything closed, everything still stays dry even after a warm front moves in and the barn is cold inside.

So, it sounds like most people are relatively pleased with the spray on insulation except that it's expensive? I guess that sounds good....except for the fact that my barn is relatively large.

I'm certain for a barn application you're going to look at closed-cell foam. I believe the R-Value is around 7 per inch. The prices quoted for foam is usually per square foot @ 1" thickness. I'm not sure what current prices are, but you're well into the thousands for that bad boy!

 

[Cat_Driver]

Yes it's VERY expensive, BUT you can do as much as you can with the rigid stuff and have the cracks and other area done with the spray to keep the price down.

There is no finer insulation on the planet. You can buy a hot knife to cut it easily.

By the way you can "glue" the hard foam panels in place with the small cans of foam. A dollop on the panel then press and hold, works like glue.

I buy the blocks in 14" x 48" x 96 " Blocks, I use it for carving with a chain saw.

 

[EddieWalker]

I buy the blocks in 14" x 48" x 96 " Blocks, I use it for carving with a chain saw.

Does it come in other thickness's? 4 to six inches would be ideal.

How is the price? 2 inch panels at Lowes are $32 each

Where would a guy go to look for something like that?

Eddie