Insulating a metal shop?

-
E

ESP47

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2009
Messages
2,660
Reaction score
1,697
Location
Sacramento, CA
I recently got my 30x50 square tube metal shop put up and am currently going through sticker shock on insulation. Not only that but researching it is making my head spin. It seems like no matter what I read, everything is always wrong with every form of insulation. I'll admit I have zero experience with this topic.

I'm much more concerned with keeping the heat out during the summer than I am keeping the heat in during winter. We have hot summers and mild winters here. I'm looking at polyiso foam board at Home Depot. 1 1/2" thick at an R value of 5.78. Was thinking about applying a double bubble radiant barrier to it while keeping a 1/2" gap between the foil and the metal siding. Would probably cost around $3-3.5k. What scares me is potentially spending all that money, doing all that work and having it still be hot as hell during the summer.

www.homedepot.com

R-Tech 1 1/2 in x 48 in. x 8 ft. R-5.78 EPS Rigid Foam Board Insulation 320817 - The Home Depot

Visit the Home Depot to buy R-Tech 1-1/2 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. Foam Insulation 310880
www.homedepot.com


Does anyone have any recommendations?
 
spray in foam

20221003_155745_HDR.jpg
 
Insulation on metal buildings is brutal. I just put one up and put a door on each end for flow through ventilation ! And will have a big fan when it gets hot. Not t mention they suck to finish out on the inside.
20241125_085354.jpg
20241125_085321.jpg
 
Is/are the frame (studs, joist, etc) metal, as seen in the pics above, or just the panels and roof, like mine seen here?

IMG_5235.JPG
 
Last edited:
I have a friend with a 40 x 60 I believe it is. He had it spray foamed. I'm tellin you now, if there's any way in heck you can get the money up, do it. Here in middle Georgia it gets HOT in the summer. We saw almost a 15 degree drop in air temp inside his building.
 
Anything would be better than nothing, though those metal studs will still conduct some heat to the interior. For an example, I insulated a metal garage door that sees direct sunlight to help keep my garage cooler in the summer. I used foam boards similar to the ones posted in post #1. It helped a lot with heat transferring from the door panels themselves, but the door frame members still get warm to the touch when the sun is beating down on the outside of the door.

Does the shop receive direct sunlight? If so, each on of those metal studs will be a longer heater on sunny days if they're in contact with the outside panel unless you somehow insulate those as well.
 
That spray in foam is a fire Hazzard. Just saying.
 
ESP47 said:
Was thinking about applying a double bubble radiant barrier to it while keeping a 1/2" gap between the foil and the metal siding.
Click to expand...
Probably the way to go. Any way you choose, it`s gonna cost you out the yang. They make stick pins, self adhesive or glue on that could help maintain air gap.
 
code usually requires foam insulation to be covered with drywall or other etc. uncovered that spray foam bldg. is a fire waiting to happen
 
Spray foam is a fire hazard and vary costly. But if I would have thought about it I would have sprayed it with fire retardant paint. To late :BangHead: but still best investment I made.
 
I had mine done in regular roll fiberglass,AFTER it was built. It does make a difference in summer winter not so much. Our temps. are similar to yours. I have been pleased with mine.
 
Mine is a 30x46 with double bubble. The biggest drawback with my shop is lack of ventilation, it becomes an oven if the doors are all kept closed. The insulation does a decent job until late afternoon on a 90* day, then it loses the battle. I'll be putting in a gable fan and fresh air vents thru the winter.
That whole spray foam thing scares me! When it catches fire, it goes real quick.
 
Where are you guys hearing that spray foam is super flammable and a fire hazard?





After watching these videos, it seems a lot less flammable than wooden studs and plywood.
 
Shawn, Pro Carport Builder

Light coat of spray foam to seal it, (no water condensation on inside) then paints it white. 8' plywood up from the floor to use as inside wall to mount things on.

20240113_092341.jpg


20240113_092242.jpg



☆☆☆☆☆
 
also closed cell spray foam is air tight it will seal your building like nothing else. Also it will have the building rock solid it’s like glue that holds everything together . I also laced my building in t-11 to give it more of a barn feel. Again worth the money to me.
IMG_5406.jpeg
IMG_7271.jpeg
IMG_9942.jpeg
IMG_2340.jpeg
 
I have a buddy that insulated his steel garage and I will be insulating mine the exact sane way.
He cut rigged foam to fit between the studs and trusses. Then he used a case of great stuff spray foam and glued the rigid foam the inside of the steel siding.

This is the most cost effective solution we could come up with.
 
Mopar Momzee said:
also closed cell spray foam is air tight it will seal your building like nothing else. Also it will have the building rock solid it’s like glue that holds everything together . I also laced my building in t-11 to give it more of a barn feel. Again worth the money to me. View attachment 1716335774View attachment 1716335773View attachment 1716335776View attachment 1716335775
Click to expand...
That's neither a shop, a garage, or a barn.

That's a beautiful art gallery!

And, yeah. I'm jealous!
 
Mopar Momzee said:
also closed cell spray foam is air tight it will seal your building like nothing else. Also it will have the building rock solid it’s like glue that holds everything together . I also laced my building in t-11 to give it more of a barn feel. Again worth the money to me. View attachment 1716335774View attachment 1716335773View attachment 1716335776View attachment 1716335775
Click to expand...

Bravo. Your shop is insanely nice! I can't even imagine what it would cost to spray foam that thing in 2024. I just got a quote for mine for 12k. Guys on youtube talking about 30-35k quotes on their 40x60s. Insane.

I think I'm going to try that 1.5" R-Tech foam board I posted in the original post. For whatever reason, 2" board costs nearly double what 1.5" does. I'm going to double up 1.5" and 1" because it's much cheaper. The company says it has about an 8-9 R-Value on the 1.5" board if you have an air gap between the foil and the wall. Add another R-4 for the extra 1" layer and that's about an R-12 or so. Hopefully that is tolerable during the summer.
 
HankRearden said:
I have a buddy that insulated his steel garage and I will be insulating mine the exact sane way.
He cut rigged foam to fit between the studs and trusses. Then he used a case of great stuff spray foam and glued the rigid foam the inside of the steel siding.

This is the most cost effective solution we could come up with.
Click to expand...

I think I'm going to go the same route except I'm going to mount some furring strips on the metal studs and then attach a flat simpson strong tie plate across it to hold the foam in. This way the foam will be even with the furring strip and that'll allow me to cover it with whatever I want in the future. Otherwise the foam will stick out further than the stud.
 
ESP47 said:
I think I'm going to go the same route except I'm going to mount some furring strips on the metal studs and then attach a flat simpson strong tie plate across it to hold the foam in. This way the foam will be even with the furring strip and that'll allow me to cover it with whatever I want in the future. Otherwise the foam will stick out further than the stud.
Click to expand...
My only concern is the steel sweats if there is air against it. That's the only reason I want the foam glued to it so it can't sweat
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top