Steel Building Insulation Help
 

Hey guys,

I'm thinking about getting a steel building only it doesn't come and they won't put in insulation. Has anyone ever put in insulation in theirs and can you show me any pictures? What did you use to adhere the insulation and what type of insulation did you use? Thanks

Dave

Insulation in my building is Fiberglass bats 8 ft. wide, held in place with the roof/side panels and poly straps running across the steel supports, no adhesive. In Michigan the building/zoning people spec the insulation in the building..

Insulation for metal buildings is usually an extra-cost option. As noted above, it usually comes in 8 ft wide batts and is often installed at the same time as the outer sheathing. Talk to your vendor.

more insulationneeded.
 

My 40 X 120 building kit came with 4 inch insulation for the roof only, the Iron Workers rolled it across the purlins, then screwed down the metal roof over the top, It's squished at the purlins, losing insulating value there, There is a company that has an ad on the radio, saying the retrofit metal buildings, I haven't checked them out. The farm supply dealer we deal with has a store similar to our building that has about 6 in bats in the walls and more in the ceiling held up with some kind of mesh. Dec and jan were very cold this year, I only started up the wood stove a couple days, It wasn't enough heat to work in the shop.

those roll over the framing batts are pretty worthless.
plan on spending a bunch to heat a metal building.
if it's one of those culvert type buildings, spray on is your only choice.
unless it's a big building, just frame up a garage.

You might search around on this site, lots of info on garages

http://garagejournal.com/forum/

I just finished insulating my pole barn. I ended up framing my sidewalls with 2x6's and hanging R19 and then covering with 7/16 OSB. Having 2 ft. centers up top I just hung the insulation and then added the 7/16 over it for my ceiling.

I realize this isn't a metal building but if you are worried about the cost of insulation and heating of your barn maybe a pole barn would be a better option.

insulation
 

i used 2'x8'x 3" styrofoam sheets. did the spray foam in between to close up gaps... but i got a heck of a deal too.. a local company was re-doing the roof of a school and i got just over 300 sheets for $300 bucks.. i did mine, and brothers, and nephews garages.. but it went up very fast..bill

Wow!! You weren't kidding, that was one hell of a deal!!!

The insulation I used on my 40X60 metal building was 6" thick by 8' wide and completely enclosed in white plastic. As stated earlier, it installs by hanging on sidewall or over the roof purloins before screwing the metal to the frame. Though there is some loss of insulation at these joints, the overall effect, cost and effort is well worth it. The building supplier , Texas Metal Building subbed out the insulation and it was shipped from a ware house in Charlotte, NC. Don't remember the name of the supplier, but may be able to find it in my records if you like. TMB provided very good instructions for all phases of the construction, including the insulation. On thing they did was provide a 4' wide roll for the first run on the roof This let you install the first run of tin, working off scaffolds, lifts and or ladders. After that run is installed, you can then work off the installed tin. This work is a three man minimum job for the side walls and 4 man minimum for the roof. The job goes faster with 2 additional helpers to act as cutters, gophers etc. My son, Bud and I did the 12' side walls and portions of the end walls, but because of the 6-12 pitch of the roof, I hired the pros to do it. They were a 4 man team, complimented by the three of us. Smart move on my part because there is some skill as well as cat like dexterity involved and we two old farts did not have enough of that to do it safely.

As mentioned earlier by another poster, I would do a cost comparison of the rolled vice spray on. Regardless which you do, remember that the insulation works 24/7. I am very pleased with the additional coolness of the shop in the summer as well as the additional warmth and reduced heating costs in the winter.

You may want to go back to some of my threads for pictures and comments on Building New Shop.

Trees

Have you looked at spray foam, it costs more but to have every inch covered would be great.

I agree with above post about the spray foam.

Great question Daveh. I've been considering insulating my pole barn, but just never saw a product that I thought was suitable, including price. Saw this stuff http://www.homedepot.com/Building-Ma...3#BVRRWidgetID

Anyone try it? It seems to be reviewed very well.

That is a specialty product. Note it is for radiant heat and the R value of 3.7-XX is predicated to how much radiant heat you are dealing with. Metal buildings mostly deal with convection heat and you will be wanting R values in the 17+ range in Maryland.

Trees

Yeah, that's was my understanding, but in reading the reviews, I noticed one of the reviewers used it in a steel building/pole barn and was extremely happy with it. It was just a thought based on that review. I like the price and ease of installation if the product is viable.