insulate new shop??

J

Jay H

Active member
last may my wife and i purchased a new home and i bought an amish built 10x20 shed with garage door. i have it setup with a bench and my saw and drill press and electric but now im ready to get it the way i like. how many of you guys have insulated your decoy shop? i have a window unit a/c that i used in the summer and did a ok job. just trying to figure out if im just wasting money or its an absolute neccessity.
 
Insulation will make an incredible difference. Both cooling AND heating, if you so desire.


Use more in the ceiling since that is where the heat rises to.


Good luck!


Jon
 
I also fly RC model airplanes (big time-buy, sell, swap, fly) and have a model barn behind my home. It's 18' x 36' with a loft. I tried heating it years ago with a kerosene space heater and it was a waste of time. I then insulated the entire building (15 years ago) and now run a furnace for the winter and also have a good size window A/C unit for the summer and it has made it a year round model barn. I'd never be able to use it as much as I do without the insulation.
Lou
 
Been working on putting insulation in mine. I decided if I am going to carve in the hot summers and cold winters that I want my shop insulated, cooled and heated.
 
Good morning, Jay~

No question in my mind. My shop is tighter and better insulated than my house (1825 farmhouse). I recommend you insulate whatever you can get to - including floor (with rigid foam) if at all possible. Also, because you have a garage door -overhead? - be sure to seal it well. As others have said, being comfortable winter and summer gives you lots more opportunity - like enabling epoxy or paint to cure when you're sleeping at night.

Hope this helps!

SJS
 
As all before me have said insulate. Ceiling also a must. Make sure you put lots of outlets in for machinery and power tools. My brother redid his shop and placed many outlets and switches all over. Still not enough because you will plug in stationary machinery. Would use 4 gang boxes. A over head electric reel is really handy.
Good lighting is a must, we are getting older...
 
We built our pole barn in 2008 and I insulated the ceiling and front wall by the overhead doors right away. I used rolls of 6" thick fiberglass, doubling it up in spots above the ceiling. This is better than my house too, which has 4" framing. Since then I've been chipping away at the other 3 walls, a couple of bays at a time. I've now got one wall left.

In the winter I heat it with a wood stove when necessary. Haven't tried a window AC in there yet. Most of the time it's pretty comfortable in there.
 
Insulate!
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Because (View from one of my painting studio windows in winter):
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You'll be glad you did, as it will give you year-round use of your shop. I'm using an oil-filled electric heater in winter and a portable A/C unit in summer. A few weeks back, I remember reading something here that someone posted about looking forward to being able to get back in his shop in a few weeks (garage?) because it had been below freezing all winter. If you have electric running to your shed, you can heat & cool 10 X 20 easily. It won't break the bank to insulate it, but the benefit of the increased use you'll get out of it will far outweigh any small cost & effort to do so now.
 

I would suggest you get couple cans of sealant foam to seal any cracks and gaps. Spend the extra money and get the cans that go on the gun(i think they have them at homedepot now), instead of the cans with the straw. Using the cans with the straw will just make a mess and be frustrating.
If your not going to be heating/cooling it all the time i would go with fiberglass and use R13 unfaced (no paper on the batts) then cover it with 6mil poly. Its a little easier if your not used to putting up batts and the poly will help seal the walls up better then the paper. And probably an R30 in the ceiling, depending on how its framed and if your doing a flat ceiling or the rafters. And when doing the batts take your time and cut them to go around any wires in the bays, (something your supposed to do but most insulators dont due to time it takes.)
If you were going to heat/cool it fulltime and spend alot of time out there, you could find some one local that does blow in cellulose insulation. It would make it a more comfortable building (sound proofing, less drafts and mold, bugs, pest, fire resistant) but it would cost a bit more. You would save on engery bills but in a building that size how much would depend on the garage door.
 
thanks guys for all the replies and advice. looks like i will be insulating.I regret getting the garage door now. i had intentions of storing my sneakbox in there in the offseason but the shop has filled up quick as you guys all know. I will post pics of the progress as I go.
thanks again, Jay
 
I've insulated garage doors by cutting pink foam to fit and securing in with adhesive and foil tape. Made a HUGE difference and allowed the door to operate.
 
Best times to get away from the elements and get something done are the dead of winter and heat of the summer. Having a heated and cooled shop is great and insulation will help a lot.
 
I just finished insulating my 10 x 26 Amish camp. I used 2 inch foam in the rafter bays with a one inch air gap to the ridge vent. I used R 13 in the walls. The floor already had foil installed. Now i just have the cover the walls. It holds the heat now instead of just constantly having to feeding the stove.
 
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