Pole barn insulation

Have small 30' x 36' pole barn where I hope to work
on tractors etc. 24" on c horiz 2x4. I can't find
any insulation that fits the 19 1/2" space. 3 1/2"
seems too thick, I'm gettin' old and want to be warm
in these forever MI winters. ideas? Might cover it
with some type of particle board
 
You could slice up some of that pink board and pack that in there. If you are anywhere near Grand Rapids, there was a place that makes Styrofoam sheets sized to order. I don't remember the name but they were on Clay Ave. just south of 44th. Seems like they were pretty reasonable price wise. HTH

Mike
 
Thanks, Mike, I'll check them out. The lumber Co.
didn't have answers, nor Menards or Lowes. Thought
I was missing something. I know I'm not the first
to want to insulate. I was hoping for some 2"
fiberglas that I could cut the strips and lay in
there...not to be found so far.
 
What I did was to nail 2x2's vertically to the girts, spaced 2 feet on center. (Actually I ripped 2x4s, because the quality of 2x2s tends to be pretty bad.) I then installed 2 foot wide x 3-1/2 thick fiberglass insulation between the 2x2s. The insulation was then covered with 7/16" OSB. This worked out pretty well. The insulation was exactly the right width and slightly too thick. I've also heard of nailing 2x2s horizontally along the girts and installing the insulation horizontally.
 

I don't quite under stand what you have, but this is what I do.
Side walls.

I put 2x4 horizontal on 24" centers and flush with the inside of the posts, with the first one fastened to the floor.
I use 22-1/2 x 6" fiber glass insulation fastened to the horizontal 2x4's. I then use 7/16" OSB for wall board.

For the ceiling.
The roof boards are 2x4's on edge on 18" centers with steel roofing fastened to them.
So I use 3-1/2 x22-1/2" fiber glass insulation, and cut it to length and temporarily held up with string stapled to the bottom of the 2x4's. Then I use 1" thick foil faced Thermex. Nailed to the bottom of the roof boards with washed nails. And I seal the joints with aluminum foil tape.

I did one building with bead board that had an aluminum faced cereal box type cardboard, I didn't care for that bead board and will not use it again. It was ordered and made in Adrian MI.

This has worked very well for me.


Dusty
 
Just spray foam it. It will insulate better and seal it up. I you use the closed cell foam you don't even have to cover it up. Problem is it is pretty expensive.
 
I guess you have never dealt with code enorcement. Around here you need a material with atleast a one hr. fire rating on the walls and ceiling. Also, closed cell does not expand and contract with the steel, and breaks loose and cracks.
Loren, the Acg.
 
I have a 32 by 24 pole barn I insulated. First I built false walls between the poles, 2X4 on 24". I insulated between the studs with rolled insulation then covered the walls with 7/16 OSB. For the ceiling I placed 2X6 between the trusses then put up white tin and filled the space with blown in insulation. For the door I glued foam insulation board against the tin.

The shop is easy to warm and keep warm in winter. As for nosy code inspectors, we do not have that here nor do we have permits. Which is a problem in its own right, I have seen some real horror stories in wiring.
 
You want to insulate the ceiling with 2" thick fiberglass. Hardly worth the effort. So the trusses 2'o.c? with a 22.5" space between them with 2x4 nailed to them perpendicular laying flat, which should leave a 20.5" gap between the two? How thick is the bottom chord of the truss?
 
On walls I've seen huge fiberglass bat insulation laid right over the horizontal purloins covered with horizontal white interior steel siding nailed (screwed) to the vertical posts. Fast, bright, well insulated and fire proof.
 
(quoted from post at 05:59:25 04/16/13) I guess you have never dealt with code enorcement. Around here you need a material with atleast a one hr. fire rating on the walls and ceiling. Also, closed cell does not expand and contract with the steel, and breaks loose and cracks.
Loren, the Acg.

Don't tell me. Tell the people who sell the foam. :lol:
 
Obviously, I'm not a builder. Great suggestions. Never thought of adding a 2x and making the insulation work. Newly enlightened, thanks for your thoughts. wp
 
This picture (FWIW)gives an idea of what I used.
I stapled foil faced bubble sheeting to the girts mostly to reflect the hot summer sun's heat from the metal siding. Then 2x6's laid flat and set flush with the inside of the posts by using joist hangars. (24" OC) Standard 6" fiberglass rolls covered with OSB sheets. The ceiling is also 6" Fiberglass between 2x6's nailed truss to truss.
It heats and cools easily.
 
Try again for a pic
a111788.jpg
 
That's a nice way to do it, for sure. I didn't go flush with the posts partly because I didn't want to give up those 3 inches of space and also because I'd already attached conduit and electrical boxes to the posts. The way you did it, you could use six inch thick insulation.
 
On my 24"x40"x8" shop, I built regular 16" on center 2"x4" walls and stood them between the posts. Insulated with 4" figerglass like you would a house. Covered with 7/16 OSB (I got used for 50cents/sheet. On the ceiling, (rafters 4" on center) I laddered with 2"x4" and hung OSB. Used same insulation in ceiling. I have a 125,000btu natural gas radiant tube heater hung in there and heat to 55* (SE MI). Heat costs me +- $300 for the year.
a111823.jpg
 
I am going to insulate mine in the exact same way as the picture, as soon as the cash is in the hip pocket. Menards explained doing it that way. I have a newer building with 2" of closed cell spray foam. It is 4 years old and used every day as a food processing facility. I see no evidence of the foam coming loose from the steel, nor do I see any cracks in it. If I could afford to do my machine shed, I assure you I would spray foam it, but I plan to use it occasionally and cannot justify that cost. As an AG building, here in Madison County Iowa, we do not have to have it inspected. The electrical unions tried to make it mandatory that you have inspections done on the electrical in all construction. For an AG building that did not pass. I am NOT knocking union electricians. I will always have a qualified electrician do my work.
 

Blackhole49,

Did you put the fiberglass directly against the metal or did you use some sort of vapor barrier?

John
 

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