I have a 32×34 pole-barn/garage that is not insulated. It's all steel sheeted (roof and walls). Poles are 8' on center. Walls are 9' tall. There is no attic (open to the roof), and there is a ridge vent along the entire peak. There is no soffit vents.
I'd like to add some heat to the space in the winter, so I can do some hobby woodworking. In the summer I get the full space as my shop, but in the winter we move the cars in, so I condense my shop to the back half. I do not use it often in the winter for woodworking. However, I want to start using it more….
We live in Iowa. I do not want or need to heat it continuously - only when I'm using it (maybe 1-2x/week for a few hours) - only need to heat enough to keep the chill off while working, however, It would be nice to be able to raise the temp if I ever wanted to paint or finish out there. I'm not sure how I want to heat it yet (electric heater, wood stove, furnace, etc, etc), but figured I'd start by insulating it.
This is not our "forever" home, and definitely not my "forever" shop, so I do not want to spend thousands of dollars spray foaming it, etc. We might only be in this home another 5 years, so I can't justify spending a lot of money on heating/insulating the shop for 1x/week use during the winter months.
~~ROOF~~
I know in pole barns, we have to worry about condensation on the steel. For the roof, I was just going to staple some R13-faced insulation up between the purlins. Do I need to leave the space for the ridge vent open and uninsulated for air movement? Will this allow too much heat to escape? Do I need a moisture barrier of some kind?
~~WALLS~~
I was just going to get some R-8, 1.5" white foam board to put between the girts. Was thinking 1.5" because then it won't protrude out from the girts and would fit behind the poles. (I do not want to stud out the walls and add interior paneling). Again, do I need a vapor barrier or anything on the walls?
I know these aren't ideal R-values, but hoping they'd be adequate for some intermittent heating of the shop in the winter. I'd appreciate any ideas, thoughts, advice that you guys might have!! Thanks in advance!
I'd like to add some heat to the space in the winter, so I can do some hobby woodworking. In the summer I get the full space as my shop, but in the winter we move the cars in, so I condense my shop to the back half. I do not use it often in the winter for woodworking. However, I want to start using it more….
We live in Iowa. I do not want or need to heat it continuously - only when I'm using it (maybe 1-2x/week for a few hours) - only need to heat enough to keep the chill off while working, however, It would be nice to be able to raise the temp if I ever wanted to paint or finish out there. I'm not sure how I want to heat it yet (electric heater, wood stove, furnace, etc, etc), but figured I'd start by insulating it.
This is not our "forever" home, and definitely not my "forever" shop, so I do not want to spend thousands of dollars spray foaming it, etc. We might only be in this home another 5 years, so I can't justify spending a lot of money on heating/insulating the shop for 1x/week use during the winter months.
~~ROOF~~
I know in pole barns, we have to worry about condensation on the steel. For the roof, I was just going to staple some R13-faced insulation up between the purlins. Do I need to leave the space for the ridge vent open and uninsulated for air movement? Will this allow too much heat to escape? Do I need a moisture barrier of some kind?
~~WALLS~~
I was just going to get some R-8, 1.5" white foam board to put between the girts. Was thinking 1.5" because then it won't protrude out from the girts and would fit behind the poles. (I do not want to stud out the walls and add interior paneling). Again, do I need a vapor barrier or anything on the walls?
I know these aren't ideal R-values, but hoping they'd be adequate for some intermittent heating of the shop in the winter. I'd appreciate any ideas, thoughts, advice that you guys might have!! Thanks in advance!