Mr Info Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 I have a non-attached garage that is not conditioned. There is a large pull-down to a basic attic above it with a plywood floor on the trusses. I have heard two schools of thought: 1.) Since it is non-conditioned, insulating the attic (batt or inside the roof) will not make a difference; or 2.) Insulating the garage attic will significantly lower the the average temperature in the summer even if the garage is not conditioned. The garage door faces east (and is insulated) and the garage will be in sunlight most of the day. There are roof vents on the garage for heat release. If insulation will work in lowering the temperature a fair amount, I may store some additional items up there. Anyone with real-life experience on this? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 If you are going to insulate the roof line you must insall proper vents aginst the plywood so it will have air flow over the insulation . You will need to do the end wall to . A power vent , (heat activated might help you ) will turn on when temp hits 95 or what you set it at . Roof has to have proper venting . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Info Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 If you are going to insulate the roof line you must insall proper vents aginst the plywood so it will have air flow over the insulation . You will need to do the end wall to . A power vent , (heat activated might help you ) will turn on when temp hits 95 or what you set it at . Roof has to have proper venting . Thanks. Roof-line vents have been installed and the plywood floor does not extend to the walls so air flow should go over the insulation. I have a heat-activated power vent in my house attic but that is to vent the heat so that my second floor stays cool. I guess it is added flow for the garage but I was hoping the roof-line vents, insulation, and air flow would be adequate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 It will definitly slow down how quickly it heats up in there, but it will also trap the heat in alot more, so you will definitly want to make sure you have as much venting as you can in there The insulation should keep the heat out for a while, but when heat does get in, it won't be able to escape as quickly cause the insulation will keep it in. I know in the Pre-Eng Metal buildings I have worked with we would put roof insulation in all of our non heated buildings but that was to keep the metal roof from getting condensation forming on the inside of the roof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 It will definitly slow down how quickly it heats up in there, but it will also trap the heat in alot more, so you will definitly want to make sure you have as much venting as you can in there One possibility to control that is basically a "double-roof"...I'm putting one on my workshop: two roof decks separated by about 2 inches. Upper one is shingled with a ridge vent and soffit vents, lower one is weatherproofed on the exterior and insulated on the interior. The space between the decks vents and keeps the interior roof from heating directly. Although I don't think Mr. Info wants to rebuild his whole roof. Mr. Info, the basic important point is that you need space between the roof deck and the insulation to allow venting through the ridge vent. There's styrofoam inserts you can put between the joists that provide about 2" of space to allow for that. Google "hot roof", or search the DIY network's web site on the subject (I know I've seen them air about half a dozen different programs on this topic). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Thanks. Roof-line vents have been installed and the plywood floor does not extend to the walls so air flow should go over the insulation. I have a heat-activated power vent in my house attic but that is to vent the heat so that my second floor stays cool. I guess it is added flow for the garage but I was hoping the roof-line vents, insulation, and air flow would be adequate. While your digging around up there - they sell devices that activate the powered vent if humidity rises above a pre-set level. Not a bad idea - the main challenge facing a house being to keep the heat in and keep the water out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 While your digging around up there - they sell devices that activate the powered vent if humidity rises above a pre-set level. Not a bad idea - the main challenge facing a house being to keep the heat in and keep the water out. Of course, back in your day it was a lot harder, having to caulk the logs with mud and waterproof the thatch roof... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Of course, back in your day it was a lot harder, having to caulk the logs with mud and waterproof the thatch roof... Thoreau - Walden, 1854... "A man does not own a house, a house owns a man." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Thoreau - Walden, 1854... "A man does not own a house, a house owns a man." DC Tom - TSW, 2008 "A man does not own a house, a woman owns a house. And the house owns the man." ("Honey, can you unclog the drain for me?" "What clogged it?" "I used the garbage disposal to shred a credit card..." ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Info Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 Thanks all - enjoyed the humor, too. DCTom - correct, I do not want to rebuild the roof - I'll search 'hot roof' or DYI - good suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon in Pasadena Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 ("Honey, can you unclog the drain for me?" "What clogged it?" "I used the garbage disposal to shred a credit card..." ) Wow, and here I was getting all upset because *my* wife threw away the Roomba without telling me, thereby depriving me of the rapturous joy of cleaning off the !@#$ing thing's optical sensors for the 1000th time so it'd stop driving in circles.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dibs Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 (edited) I'm an accredited Energy Rater(Australia) so I think perhaps I can give you some advice here..... It sounds like you want to set up the garage and the attic above to be reasonably livable(insulated). This means you have to consider both as a whole. In a normal situation where you wish to maintain just the garage below, the vents you have put in the roof would be a benefit....they create air flow through the roof which helps. In your situation however, the vents are a hindrance and should be blocked up. The most important aspect is air flow. Basically you must seal all of the gaps & cracks between the inside & the outside of the building......including draft excluders on doors & making sure all windows seal up tight. The other vital aspect is insulation. Make sure the walls are insulated. Put insulation to the underside of the roof. This may be very tricky to do with batts but there is a product out here which is basically bubble wrap in between two sheets of foil.....there is bound to be similar products in the US. This is easy to staple up onto the inside of the roof. Picture of product. Getting double glazed windows will help also......though probably not worth the money. If you do all of these things you will achieve a very livable environment within the garage & attic space. BTW........to everyone who wants to have a more livable house......seal up all the gaps & cracks(including around piping under sinks etc).....draft excluders on all utility doors(laundry, bathroom, w.c.).....and generally all over. Also, upgrade your roof insulation to as high as you can get. Edited April 2, 2008 by Dibs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 ("Honey, can you unclog the drain for me?" "What clogged it?" "I used the garbage disposal to shred a credit card..." ) At the in-laws house Memorial weekend, and the kitchen sink was clogged. I determined that the clog was past the J pipes and in the main drain based on how the water was acting (it's a double sink). They ended up calling a plumber after two bottles of Drano did nothing. Turns out that someone ran a brillo pad through the garbage disposer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Of course, back in your day it was a lot harder, having to caulk the logs with mud and waterproof the thatch roof... It is called chinking, you whipper-snapper! Chinking refers to the mortar/infill material between the logs in the construction of log cabins and other log-walled structures. Traditionally, dried Pleurozium schreberi and Hylocomium splendens were used in the Nordic countries as an insulator between logs. What is with the youth nowadays?... Don't they know how to build log cabins! Let alone Republican Log Cabins. Signed, Stuck in Cincy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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