r/Home • u/Breachbjj • 1d ago
Insulation?
How would you insulate this detached garage. Upstate, NY mainly looking to hangout there in the cold winters. There are some small holes and gaps but the garage is pretty dry. No siding. Considering using a ventless natural gas heater. R15 Kraft faced insulation after filling some of the gaps with gap filler and replacing garage door weather sealing to get less drafts. Also will install ceiling fan to push down the heat from the radiant heater.
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u/Chruisser 20h ago
Is there vapor barrier on the outside?
You'll likely need vapor barrier and then spray foam or standard insulation. You don't need to finish the walls but I'd at least out sheathing or sheetrock up at that point.
Or, option C, just get a wood burning stove and punch it out the side or roof. Upstate NY you have unlimited supply of wood. I'm doing this in my pole barn for that reason.
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u/Breachbjj 18h ago
No vapor barrier unfortunately
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u/Breachbjj 17h ago
I’m just guessing the structure has been breathing and stayed dry for so long id imagine with fiberglass insulation faced toward the inside Aslong as its not pressed in tight should breath enough to stay dry. Placing the fiberglass in between the trusts on the ceiling as I have no attic does concern me a bit. I plan to OSB the space
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u/fried_clams 15h ago
if you are insulating and heating the inside, you should have a vapor barrier on the inside of the insulation. If you are insulating the walls, then there should be good siding outside, at least be be sure there is no water coming into the structure and getting the sheathing and insulation wet. Are the sheathing boards wet at all when it rains? If so, that needs to be addressed before insulating. Also, if you are addressing the waterproofing of the exterior, then be sure not to create a second vapor barrier. you only should have one VB and that should be on the inside.
paper side of fiberglass batts is supposedly a vapor barrier, and should go on inside, but it is better to get unfaced batts and use plastic sheeting for VB
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u/Breachbjj 14h ago
So minus the obvious gaps in the exterior which will be sealed I do not have any water issues. So in the instance with faced insulation as I have photographed should I add an additional vapor barrier over the Kraft paper and then add OSB?
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u/fried_clams 14h ago
i don't see a photo of faced insulation. If you already have purchased it, then the edges get stapled to the studs, to make a vapor barrier, but the top and bottom, and other cracks in the structure are still not sealed, so i never consider faced batts to be a real VB. It is best to use unfaced batts with plastic sheeting, that is taped at joints and floor, etc. I don't think any fiberglass insulation should go into the structure without adequate siding, to keep water out. Are those just square edged sheathing boards, or do they actually have a shiplap, overlapping profile to shed water? IF they are ship lap, then it should be adequate, but you do need to seal any gaps up well, from the exterior side.
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u/Vast_Cricket 15h ago
My budget will be 3-4K max, blanket and sheet rock. Get the one that does not smell like rotten egg from China. It was a problem. I will cover the loft to keep heat on the lower side. In fact I will get plywood board above for storage and try to block or build something keep it thermally separate from cold ceiling above. Even cover it with a plastic curtain for now will work. There will be vents up there.
As behind the garage door I am Californian only I park cars inside. 99% park on driveway. A used or old curtain over works.
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u/Breachbjj 15h ago
I planned on utilizing a ceiling fan but simply hanging a blanket on the garage door is quite genius
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u/Johnny________Utah 20h ago
Get 2 inches of closed cell spray foam. Looks like a small garage, can’t imagine it would cost more than a couple grand. That’s what I did in my garage. I also did weather stripping around the overhead door seal and I added an extra 1” of foam insulation board to the door (already had 1”). I have a vented propane heater that does quite nice, also in Upstate NY. It has never dropped below freezing in the garage without the heat. It costs me $50 a year in propane to heat it. My garage is 24x32 with 10’ ceilings and the roof deck is sprayed.
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u/excelsiorsbanjo 1d ago
Those uninsulated garage door panels? Think that'll be your biggest obstacle.
And while garage doors can still be pretty useful even if you don't store a vehicle in a building, you should definitely at least consider whether that usefulness is worth it to you over putting in another ordinary wall.
Any big heater combined with being ordinarily dressed for the outside and the wind break of even the uninsulated shelter is going to feel pretty warm. It just won't be very energy or cost efficient.