I'm replacing the wall insulation in a free-standing one-room building built in 1977. The studs are 13 inches apart, and the original Kraft-batted fiberglass insulation is 13 inches wide. Can you still buy
13-inch wide fiberglass insulation anywhere?And what about some of the other insulation options available, such as polystyrene and Reflectrix -- are those worth looking into? Does Reflectrix work on its own, or only in addition to something like fiberglass?
Thanks!
use expanding foam, it costs more but is R6 per inch, the building will be much quieter, since foam cuts air and noise infiltration a lot.
Owns Corning comes in 15 or 23" wide. Foam board will work, but it comes in sheets and has to be cut. If you need 13", you won't get that easily from a
24" or 48" wide board.Consider the spray in foam. Probably will cost a bit more, but would do a very good job.
Have you considered blown fiberglass or damp cellulose?
-- "Tell me what I should do, Annie." "Stay. Here. Forever." - Life On Mars
Right now there are no walls, just bare studs, so I've been thinking of some kind of lay-in insulation before having a drywall contractor come out.
That might be the way I have to go just because the other options would be so labor-intensive. But my Googling says that this is a professionals-only technique. I was hoping for a cheaper alternative.
The best is blown in foam, forget Reflextic. Foamboard Polyisocyanurate R .7.2" is also an option. You will get a payback with better insulation
I have seen fiberglass insulation that has cuts every 2" or so for easy tearing. All I remember about it is that it is white insulation, not pink. No effect on performance.
Mike D.
The blown in place cellulose is the best way to go. Check out
Not any more, assuming you are reasonably capable. I recently came across this:
-- "Tell me what I should do, Annie." "Stay. Here. Forever." - Life On Mars
How warm do you want it to be? About the cheapest, but still pretty good, you could install 15" unfaced batts, and line the inside with vapor barrier. That's better than Kraft faced batts. You'll lose a small amount of R having to compress the batts slightly, but the loss would be minimal.
Rockwool batts will give you a slight improvement in R, as well as better sound deadening, and is easier to work with. Normally costs the same as fiberglass.
Blow-in is likely to be more expensive, because you have to get the walls up first, and then patch the injection holes, and you may have problems with vapor barrier. If you were to go with blow-in, I highly recommend blow-in rockwool over cellulose. Won't pack even when wet.
There are forms of sprayed cellulose that might work without having to put up the interior walls first, but, a foam would be a lot nicer, (as well as a lot more expensive).
I called a radio call-in show about home repairs, and the host said to just buy the wider Kraft paper batt insulation and cut it with a utility knife. He said it cuts very easily once compressed, and gave me a simple method for doing so. Yeah, it's a hassle, but it's not a big one, and it'll end up being the least expensive way to get the job done. I've got a few places where I can use the cut pieces, so it won't all go to waste.
Thanks for the feedback, everyone.
Yeah, that's what I was going to say. Set up a sheet of plywood on some sawhorses. Line up the batt on the edge of the plywood, measure the width, and use a straitedge (like a rip of plywood) to compress the batt so you can cut it. A utility knife will work, but even better is something like an OLFA with the blade extended. i find it best to add 1/2" to the width. Use production mentality--measure all your stud cavities at once, and stand in one place and cut as many as you can. Won't take long at all. I believe John Mansville has the prescored batts which would be even better. Yeah spray foam is great, but it's a lot of work, expense, and mess, and how good do you need this to be?
Why would you use kraft paper batts? Just use unfaced batts and plastic vapor barrier and use a stapler/tuck tape. You don't really need to cut the fiberglass at all, and the plastic does a better job at sealing.
Or go with rockwool. The batts are much easier/less messy to work with/cut.
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