I live in <!—-> <!—-><!—->Kansas City<!—-> <!—-> and have been finishing up my pole barn that is 36’X 48’X 12’. Right now I’m putting in the drainage tubes and doing final grade on the site. Once I get my gravel down I will need to start considering insulating at least the roof area to ward off condensation dripping this spring. This will be my primary garage and workshop once I build my house in the next year and a half. For now I’m looking to get the doors on and the gravel base put down use as a staging point for building supplies. When the flatwork is done in the basement I will pour the floor in the garage. There are three bays in the garage that will have floor drains that will run to a drywell and a bathroom in the corner that will have electric heat to ward off cold days. I will probably winterize the bathroom in the winter and have the availability to blow out the lines. I was thinking of putting in radiant tubes in the floor but it would not be cost effective to heat it full time. I’m leaning toward infrared tube heaters for the quick response they provide. The walls have 6X6 posts so I have plenty of space for traditional glass insulation if I go that direction. I would insulate the walls when I purchase the insulation for the house to get a better price.
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So I have two questions for everyone out there.
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I’m considering putting foam down over the vapor barrier and under the slab in the garage. Do I need it? I was told that it would help the infrared heaters warm the slab more efficiently. But do I need the 1†or 2†foam board? I have included the link to the Foamular 250 site. Will this just add unnecessary cost to the slab with no real gain?
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http://www.owenscorning.com/around/insulation/products/foamular.asp
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My second question is what do you suggest for roof insulation? I would like to put in closed cell poly spray, but I haven’t won the lottery. Therefore the pink board is looking like the winner. I’m interested in the new radiant barriers, but I have not priced them to see what is out there. I also have two roof vents to let out humid air.
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What do you suggest for roof insulation?
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Thanks
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Heath
Replies
Sorry I can't help with your insulation question, but where "in" Kansas City do you live where you can build that large of a garage? I was limited to 800 sq ft.
Just curious
OK....Kansas City is a generalized statement. Obviously its not in "KC" proper. Way too much red tape to deal with there. I'm out on the west side between Bonner Springs and Linwood. I was trying to use KC as a general idea of the climate it is in as opposed to South Dakota or Georgia.
And yes I have restrictions for it also. But its techincally a "AG" structure on acreage right now but will get grandfathered in when I build the house and not be subjected to residential requirements. They are going to get me on the driveway when the house is done. It will have to be 4" thick 12' wide hard surface. Now way around that.
Sorry for the generalization.
Heath
No need to apologize. I was just hoping there was land closer to the city with fewer restrictions. If anything I should apologize for hijacking your thread. But maybe my ramblings will keep it near the top so you get the answers your looking for.
I did similar...built the pole barn style garage/shop and then used it as a staging area for mostly DIY house construction.
I would stongly advise spending the few hundred extra dollars to place 2" extruded foam under the whole slab, staple 200 - 300 ft long loops of PEX on 12 " centers to the foam, hook it up to a manifold, lay your re-bar over that and pour the slab. You will be surprised at how little fuel you'll use to keep the air temp at 40° - 50° F (good working temperature) if you also insulate the walls and ceiling. Especially in your climate. And with 20° - 30° F temperatures outside, that 50° slab will ramp the temp up to 60° pretty quickly with 130° water. Even if you have doubts about ever actually heating the slab, placing the tube and foam is no-brainer cheap at your stage, and really can't be done economically later. When you sell, the mere presence of insulation and tube will dramatically increase the value of the building.
As far as ceiling goes, I hung 6mil poly between the trusses, fashioned chutes out of EPS cutoffs to keep the insulation out of the soffit space, screwed white pole barn steel to the trusses, and blew 14" of fiberglass. Cellulose is better.
Edited 1/11/2006 12:22 pm ET by johnnyd
Heath,
I just hooked filled my hydronic floor heat system last night in my new pole building/ww shop. I used the 8' wide 6" thick fiberglass blankets for the walls and i sheetrocked my ceiling so i am blowing 12" of cellulose insulation in mine.
I second the radiant floor heat. I did 2,000 sq feet of radiant for about $4,500 including the foam, tube, manifolds, and electric mini boiler and all controls. I did the whole thing myself and can't wait to see the results. There are a lot on online resource for the materials. Checkout Radiantcompany.com .
Aaron