Garage Insulation...Friggin Cold!!!

The ceiling in my garage is not insulated and the heat is pouring out as fast as the furnace can produce it. I'm looking for the rolls of fiberglass insulation with foil backing and can't find it anywhere. Did they stop making it? That stuff used to be the standard for shops and was great for reflecting the light back down....anybody know where to get some?

 

Do you guys have Orchard Supply Hardware out there?

 

Maybe use 1-1/2" to 2" foil coated foam between the rafters and roll out some regular fiberglass on top of it.

 

I forget what they call it but there is a type of insulation I use in addition to the regular fiberglass insulation that goes between the studs or joists.

It comes in 4x8 sheets and in varying thicknesses: 1/2", 3/4" 1", etc. It is like a rigid foam with foil on both sides. It adds extra R value. If you leave it alone you get a nice shiny reflective surface. If you face it with sheetrock it adds R value.

The stuff is light and easily cut with a knife. Cheap, too. But darn if I can't remember what it is called.

 

I have that on my ceiling, it's not really as good as you might think at reflecting light. I strongly suggest you go white.

 

I used the 4X8x1 sheets of wallboard that had foil on one side. and taped the joints with chrome duct tape then put R30 on top. works well. only tip is this stuff is rough cut so you may have to rip it to 4 X 8 but it cuts well
use screws and fender washers to hold it up the nails pop and you will replace them soon enough

 

Don't think so but at this point I would be willing to pay shipping for it.
When I built the garage a few years ago the building inspector gave me a hard time..said I couldn't insulate the ceiling unless I sheet-rocked over it so I just said the hell with it. With the weather we're having now it's damn near impossible to keep it warm.

 

The insulation in rewuested in the original post would be batt insulation with foil face. You should be able to get it at most building supply places. They also make the batt insulation with kraft paper backed and also un-faced.

Typical construction details would have the foil (or paper) facing the hot side of the wall. So in northern climents that would be the inside but in the south it techanicaly should be facing the outside. The reason is the foil or craft paper actualy create a vapor barrier, and you do not want the differental of tempeture to dreate condensation inside your wall cavity between the insulation and wall board (this will create moisture and alow mold to grow).

I know that this is probably far more than what was asked, but the instalation of faced insulation is an important thing. I have been involved in some pretty big issues (comercial prpjects) where this was a big issue.

If you can not find it ask any building supply store to order you the foil backed insulation. Also size the insulation to fit in the joists/trusses you have (3 1/2 for 2x4, or 5 1/2 for 2x6). Good luck.

 

sweet...but half of my garage has a high (vaulted?) ceiling so trying to get those sheets up by myself would be too much.

 

I found the foil back batt panels locally but was really hoping to find the rolls...looks like they only make the rolls with kraft paper backing now...can't believe that foil back stuff is gone after all these years......

 

Strap the ceiling the other direction with 1X4 and lay insulation [batt] on top. This will keep insulation up and give you backing for sheetrock later. Just an idea.

 

hmm.... more work than a staple gun but interesting idea.

 

Then staple polly [ plastic roll stuff ] then insulate.

 

The 4x8 foil sheets are celotex and are really light , you could probably put them up your self . If you check around I know you can get them up to 2" thick. For my garage I used drop ceiling grid and put in styrofoam and just layed wood strips on top to hold them down so the wind wouldn't blow them out.

 

I'd love to use some white styro on my 8' ceiling but I'm afraid of sparks igniting it.
I have to either get into the attic and lay fiberglass batts or pull the sheets down and insulate/vapor barrier then resheet.
Putting up strapping is a really good idea and not very expensive at all.

 

I don't think they make the foil back any longer. Codes here require us to replace it if we remove sheetrock exposing it. I have never saw foil back with an "R" value higher than 11 so that may have something to do with it.

 

I vaour-barriered (6mm poly) the ceiling on the underside of the rafters, then strapped it with 1X4 and drywalled it. Rent a panel lifter...makes it easy as hell. Call an insulation company and have them blow the insulation on top. I saved as much in fuel oil as I paid for all the above materials in the first winter! (Thousand square foot shop.)

 

I just recently insulated and dry walled my garage and it cost less then I thought it would. Oddly enough, I found the money to fo this by visiting www.missingmoney .com This is an infomation clearing house for all the different state's Lost money fund. Basically, if you're owed money by someone, (in my case, Prudential owed me about $400) you can get it by filling out some simple paperwork. It was harder to get friends over to help.

In the end, I go the garage done before all this cold weather. I even got some new insulated garage doors too! Bit that didn't come out of the 'Prudential Funds'. I'll admit that I got lazy and didn't tape, mud or even paint it. But it's WAAAAAY better now either way. I looked into almost every possible option and I kept coming back to the dry wall. I always ended up being the best choice with regards to price and what I wanted as far as casting the light better.

One option that a buddy told me about was something that he did was using that corrigated aluminum building siding. It came in really large sheet, was relitivly east to hand and since he put the shiney side towards the hot side and the painted side towards the insulation, it worked great for light casting. He said the only sucks when the air compressor kicks on; all that noise from the compressor came right back at him and he said it seemed like twice as loud. He eneded up relocating the compressor into a corner and enclosed it. Works great otherwise...

Vance

 

White strofoam puts off cyniade gas when it is burning.

 

I've heard that before!
Another really good reason to cover it up with sheetrock.
Someone mentioned blown in insulation and thats a great idea but unfortunately won't work for me as I use the attic for storage and have a floor along the middle, so blown in won't reach under there.

 

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I'm leaning towards the 4x8 foil back panels. Main reason is I have a ridge vent and need to allow air passage down to the soffits to avoid other problems.
All this talk about the cold brought back a bad memory from 1977. A friend of mine cooked the engine in his full custom Chevy van - wild paint, crescent moon side windows, sculpted shag rug, captain chairs and the fake teak center console with cup holders...all new. We had to pull the engine from the doghouse through the passenger side door. Dumb ass kids-no tools, rented hoist...and the coldest freaking weather I ever remember. Pulled the van into his moms garage and it was too long so we couldn't close the door. Well, that was 33 years ago and I can still remember the feeling (or lack of feeling) in my fingers, smashed knuckles, frozen ears, runny nose..awful shit. We were on the verge of frostbite by the time we were finished and oh yeah, the inside of that beautiful custom van was trashed from greasy handprints, footprints, torn rugs etc....damn I remember it like it was yesterday.
I think I just hijacked my own thread ..... anyone else have any sub-zero repair stories?

 

Jeezuz bye, you live on the east coast of Canada and in the middle of winter you start thinking about insulating your garage?
Go out and club a few seals to get warm.

 

It's not bitter cold here like it is for our friends in central Canada...our biggest issue isn't cold its the constant freeze/thaw cycle that can make driving treacherous.
It only takes 15 minutes to warm my garage up to 60-65 degrees and thats almost too warm when your working!

Regarding snow...up until the storm that rolled thru this morning, we could go in the woods trails and pull parts from abandoned cars without hardly even walking on snow! There wasn't much around at all.

Only this last couple of years I've been even thinking about insulation as the fuel costs have gone up.

 

oops...I got mixed up with your location.................

 

I just installed steel siding on my trusses and blew in 28 inches of fiberglass. Wish I would have done this 10 years ago. I have heat in the floor. My boiler runs much less and it is noticeably warmer. Cant wait to see how much it saves me. I has been in single digits here.

 

whatever happened to global warming?

 

That roll insulation you mentioned stapling up sounds like the stuff they use when they erect a metal building. That probably would help a lot since you have ridge vents and soffit vents, the air is just moving through there.

 

Look up insulation companies that do the blow in stuff. They can put down a blanket of material in varying thicknesses (for the desired R factor). Shop around lots, and if you know the dimension of the area you can get phone quotes. I found them to be quite competitive...in this economy you should find a good deal if you ask for it.

I believe you can rent the machine, buy material etc. but these guys didn't cost much more and they were here and gone in an hour.

 

I've used the stuff you're talking about, I just can't remember where we got it. I don't think the big box stores carry it. You'll have to try the local lumber yard. At least they'll know what you're talking about!! This is the stuff what you want....

http://www.jm.com/insulation/building_insulation/products/can283_ap_foilfaced.pdf

 

I used a spray in insulation that works great, just depends on your budget