Radiant Barrier Insulation

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Does anybody know if that radiant barrier I posted a link to is worth a **** or not?
Not for what you need it for....you would be better off covering the outside of your garage with it.

You need this type of insulation, fiberglass with a foil backing. Spray glue your metal and stick the fiberglass and tape up your seams with foil tape....and also it will be much brighter in the shop area...win..win,

Fibreglass-Insulation-with-Aluminum-Foil-Covered.jpg
 
cdx plywood. You can find some with one side sanded. Be picky, you’ll find it. Stay away from osb and bare board. I would not use Masonite either.
I closed cell spray foamed my new shop 40X54 and put 7/16 OSB on the walls and the ceiling. Painted the OSB with two coats of outdoor latex paint and never looked back. The OSB shows zero signs of degradation from moisture.
I will never put up another stucture without spray foam for insulation, that stuff is amazing. Energy efficient, moisture barrier and sound proofing all in one application. Well worth the money spent.
 
Thanks. I figured it was too good to be true. No way can we afford spray in, even doing it ourselves. I'll just have to do fiberglass insulation a little at a time.

If you don’t have a water problem, where the pink stuff can get wet, it’s probably your best bet. It works, it’s relatively inexpensive, and goes up pretty quick and easy.
 
Those in the know, please educate me on this thin, reflective "radiant barrier" insulation. I'm going to be looking at slowly insulating my shop this coming year. 28x30 metal building with 9' walls and 12' peak. Will this thin stuff really work? It rarely gets under 20*F during the winter here, but the summer is mainly what I am looking to insulate against.

I was lookin at somethin like this, but I don't know enough about WTF I'm lookin at. Any help or advice? Thanks.

Reflectix 48 in. x 100 ft. Double Reflective Insulation Roll-BP48100 - The Home Depot
Rusty a good friend of mine did his 2 car garage with a similar product.
To say the least he was unhappy, made very little differance in the cold but it did knock out some of the heat if you keep the doors closed.
Good luck with your project
 
Rusty a good friend of mine did his 2 car garage with a similar product.
To say the least he was unhappy, made very little differance in the cold but it did knock out some of the heat if you keep the doors closed.
Good luck with your project

Thanks!
 
I installed a high efficiency fan to suck hot air out of my attic and it dropped the attic temp by 20 degrees during the summer. Would that be something you could do??? Fan (2 speed) was around $200.
 
Not for what you need it for....you would be better off covering the outside of your garage with it.

You need this type of insulation, fiberglass with a foil backing. Spray glue your metal and stick the fiberglass and tape up your seams with foil tape....and also it will be much brighter in the shop area...win..win,

View attachment 1715655242

You gotta link to that stuff? It looks thinner than most, which is what I need.
 
I did the regular fiberglass bat insulation on the walls and ceiling in my shop. It made an amazing difference. It can be in the 30's outside and I can work in a sweatshirt inside using just a 30K propane heater. I do use two big ceiling fans to push the heat down from the shop's peak. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. It's in the low 40's at the moment and I'm headed out to the shop for the night. In 15 minutes it will be very nice inside. Cheap and effective. I did use some white tyvek-looking stuff over the bats which sealed against dust and dirt, as well as was very reflective for lighting.
 
On my garage walls I used the R19 fiberglass batts and blown in fiberglass for ceiling. I priced spray foam vs the fiberglass and it was twice the price. The wall covering is 3/8" beadboard that looks better than osb and close in price. On the ceiling I used ribbed metal siding panels.
 
cdx plywood. You can find some with one side sanded. Be picky, you’ll find it. Stay away from osb and bare board. I would not use Masonite either.

I agree !!! I sheathed the inside of part of my garage with CDX and it worked great. I just painted over it with exterior house paint. Whatever I want to put on the wall, I can put it anywhere I want, for really heavy stuff I just look for the nail heads. and it really stiffens the whole building.
 
I agree !!! I sheathed the inside of part of my garage with CDX and it worked great. I just painted over it with exterior house paint. Whatever I want to put on the wall, I can put it anywhere I want, for really heavy stuff I just look for the nail heads. and it really stiffens the whole building.

I'll have to use them self drillin screws because mine has metal studs, but that'll work.
 
There's R value in the CDX and a great barrier for air infiltration too but don't know what it is
 
Yeah I've seen what OSB does with moisture. It ain't purdy. Thank you!

you hit the nail on the head with OSB. houses built with it that get rained on and then covered up not dry is almost a guarantee for mold. cdx plywood is glued together with a water proof glue. it has a 20 year wet rating like bare, no paint on the outside of a building. I bought 7 sheets of 3/8 at Menards for a water damage mitigation project. it was sanded on one side and beautiful. the contractor I hired bought an additional 8 sheet from where I do not know but it looked like dog ****, I mean really, voids, layers folded over and knots everywhere. you just have to look around, be picky and hand select from the stack. while cdx isn't all that cheap, its your best bang for the buck.
 
Thanks. I figured it was too good to be true. No way can we afford spray in, even doing it ourselves. I'll just have to do fiberglass insulation a little at a time.
Do your hot wall and ceiling 1st . I bet even that will help until you finish.
 
you hit the nail on the head with OSB. houses built with it that get rained on and then covered up not dry is almost a guarantee for mold. cdx plywood is glued together with a water proof glue. it has a 20 year wet rating like bare, no paint on the outside of a building. I bought 7 sheets of 3/8 at Menards for a water damage mitigation project. it was sanded on one side and beautiful. the contractor I hired bought an additional 8 sheet from where I do not know but it looked like dog ****, I mean really, voids, layers folded over and knots everywhere. you just have to look around, be picky and hand select from the stack. while cdx isn't all that cheap, its your best bang for the buck.

Sanded plywood is usually BC or AC fir, depending on the quality of the sanded side. I don’t believe they sand CFC at all. And, when using plywood, you gotta make sure that you are buying at least 5 ply, the 3 ply 3/8” and 1/2” is no better than junk. They used to use the 3 ply 1/2” on roofs, but it delaminates as soon as moisture got near it, and caused waves and buckles in the roof.
 
Does anybody know if that radiant barrier I posted a link to is worth a **** or not?

You have to remember how heat is transferred, convection, conduction, and radiation. With still air the only two that are important are conduction and radiation. Conductive loss would be hot air on the interior and cold air on the exterior. The heat transfer from the hot side to the cold side is dependent on the R value of any insulation between the two sides. Radiant heat does not heat air, just objects in line of sight (think bonfire). A radiant source will heat the wall and then the heat loss would be by conduction through the wall. Short answer, if you are using a heated air heating system radiant barriers aren't effective. If you are using a radiant source like a pot bellied stove or a barrel heater, then they would be of value as they would reflect the radiant heat back into the room. So the answer to your question is like so many others, it depends.
 
When we put up a pole barn with a metal roof I used 1" rigid foam insulation 4' x 8' sheets under the metal, with the mylar side down. really keeps the heat from radiating down, and is quiet in a rainstorm. Now that the horses are gone I closed it in for my shop, metal siding, plywood interior and lots of windows. Stays pretty comfortable temp-wise here in FL.
 
cdx plywood. You can find some with one side sanded. Be picky, you’ll find it. Stay away from osb and bare board. I would not use Masonite either.

I am not a carpenter by any means so I ask, what is wrong with OSB? I know its not for moisture but inside walls of a shop? I used it on the inside walls of mine on the recommendation of a longtime contractor I know. Its spaced off the floor 3/4 of an inch so its not sitting on the concrete. I love the stuff, as said its super strong and I can hang anything anywhere. I have had no issues with it for three years but again, I am not a carpenter so is there something I am missing?
 
what about rockwool insulation? IF it gets wet, it does not need to be replaced. Maybe better for a basement...

My shop walls are all done with this. I love the stuff! No staples, waterproof, will not mold, fireproof (and I mean will not burn).
 
Sanded plywood is usually BC or AC fir, depending on the quality of the sanded side. I don’t believe they sand CFC at all. And, when using plywood, you gotta make sure that you are buying at least 5 ply, the 3 ply 3/8” and 1/2” is no better than junk. They used to use the 3 ply 1/2” on roofs, but it delaminates as soon as moisture got near it, and caused waves and buckles in the roof.

is not bc and ac interior grade plywood?
 
I like the plywood ideas but, I bought mine at a salvage place. It was 3/8 that was used for moving stuff in/out of buildings. It was only a few bucks a sheet. Found it on Craigslist. Even came with it’s own tire tracks. Makes you go huh, how did tire tracks get on the ceiling. Insulation on Clist too.
 
My shop walls are all done with this. I love the stuff! No staples, waterproof, will not mold, fireproof (and I mean will not burn).
what did you cover it with? or just left it as is?
I'm thinking a plywood of sorts but do not want anything that is going to off-gas or be toxic in the air...which I guess is the same thing in different words.
 
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