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Photographer
Moxee, WA
(Zone 4a)
September 25, 2007
7:40 PM Post #4016996
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That's what we're calling it now. Carriage House sounds a bit too highfalootin. The building is on 4X4 posts with exposed 2X8 floor joists. There is only about a 1 foot of clearance between bottom of the joists and the ground below. Should I hire a contractor to spray foam insulation ? What is my best / lowest cost means of insulating the 250 sq ft room from below ? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. |
Photographer
Moxee, WA
(Zone 4a)
September 28, 2007
9:05 AM Post #4026440
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I did a bit of investigating on my own. Do it yourself seems to be the lowest cost and offers the better R factor. I can buy 9 ... 2" thick styrofoam boards to cover the floor joists for about $180. For another $70 I can buy a bundle of Pink Corning fiberglass insulation and use the leftover (half a bag) to fill in between the joists. So ... for $250 plus my time I can get about twice the R factor as I could from a contractor for half the cost. So whatever R factor I end up with ... I figure a contractor would charge about double to triple. The styrofoam boards will be held in place using a nail into the joist with a plastic washer down around the nail head the size of a "silver dollar". I'll space them every 18 inches along the joists that are 12+ inches apart. I should have close to 30 nails (each with a washer) holding every styrofoam board to the floor joists. The space between the 8 inch floor joists will be filled with 8 inches of Pink Corning fiberglass. This will be one very well insulated bunkhouse. |
Bubba_MoCity
Missouri City, TX
September 28, 2007
10:48 AM Post #4026792
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OK, but how are you going to swing a hammer with only a foot of ground clearance? Or, do you have a pneumatic system? |
Photographer
Moxee, WA
(Zone 4a)
September 28, 2007
3:05 PM Post #4027722
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Bubba, I was thinking I'd use nails ... but you're right ... its such a tight squeeze. I'll use the 3.5" long screws with the extra large plastic washers to hold the styrofoam boards snug tight up under the 2"X8" floor joists. I do have a Makita drill with the rechargeable battery packs and the screw head insert that fits into the drill to match the screws. Drilling in screws will be 10 times less effort than using nails. Thanks for the insightful tip. My son's bunkhouse warms up in an hour with a low cost space heater we've had for 10 years but I'd rather he not complain about the ice-cold floor. I figure the payback on the insulation will probably be ... almost forever (10 years or so) given the 25 cents a day savings over 6 months of use in a year. Maybe there'll be some cooling benefits in the summers. I was also thinking he'd be better served with a more stylish heater unit ($100) to match the decor of the bunkhouse. If I add that new heater to the overall insulating costs ... the savings payback will probably take more like 20 years than 10. We also need to figure that the bunkhouse is gonna be empty 75% of the nights in those 20 years because my son is only gonna be here for 2 more years before he's off to a university. |
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