cheapest place to find insulation

stryped fired this volley in news:5f4df7ad-861e- snipped-for-privacy@j4g2000yqa.googlegroups.com:

How are you going to stuff R-19 into a 3-1/2" wall cavity? If you compress it, it loses R-value.

Unless you go with spray-foam, you're not going to get more than about R-

13 in a standard stud wall. Also, it might be a bitch finding it in 22- 1/2" widths, since standard construction is on 16" centers, and R-13 is almost never used as attic insulation.

LLoyd

Just shop locally. Put an ad WANTED, CASH ON DELIVERY, and you may just get a real deal on some that was "left over from a job." Make sure it's delivered, and you don't pick it up on any jobsite. If someone has an abundance of it, you may get it and get it installed for what you would pay for it at the Borg. I hate hanging insulation.

Steve ;-)

These are 2x4 walls but the outside has "skirts" with metal siding outside like a pole barn. So I have a 2x4 plus the thickness of a 2x4 "skirt".

Fairly bulky, I doubt you can mail order it. Why unfaced? Faced gives you something to staple to the studs or trusses to hold it in place before drywalling. Btw, I think drywall is cheaper than osb and it adds a lot of fire resistance to your building.

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

es you something to

Here osb is less than 6 bucks a sheet but to be honest it is not just the cost but the fact I have to mudd drywall and I have never done that before.

By the way guys, a local contrator is selling insulated 2 inch thick foam sheets that came out of a school remodel for 10 bucks a sheet. Would styrofoam type insulation between the rafter beams work for insulation? (With osb underneath?)

I live near Tennessee not up north but it would be nice to heat it up nice with a keroscene heater.

-Here osb is less than 6 bucks a sheet but to be honest it is not just

-the cost but the fact I have to mudd drywall and I have never done

-that before.

-

-By the way guys, a local contrator is selling insulated 2 inch thick

-foam sheets that came out of a school remodel for 10 bucks a sheet.

-Would styrofoam type insulation between the rafter beams work for

-insulation? (With osb underneath?)

-

-I live near Tennessee not up north but it would be nice to heat it up

-nice with a keroscene heater.

The problem with both ideas is fire resistance. Styrofoam is a good insulator, but I doubt much better than fiberglass and is so flammable, same with OSB. I would pay extra for drywall and fiberglass. Drywall is super easy to work, especially when compared to OSB. You can simply cut the paper on one side with a utility knife, and break it like glass. Then run your knife down the valley caused by the break and fold to free the pieces. Tape and paper is very simple too. I would guess the taped drywall would add more insulation value than OSB. OSB would be tough, but I would put it over the drywall only where needed for durability, and that shouldn't be very much.

I would

check your phone book for insulators, when I did my place I saved a bunch over the prices at the DIY building stores, They quoted me the material w/o installation and with installation, I just bought the stuff and put it in myself.

My ceiling joists were 18-20" on centers, I had to buy all 24" wide and cut it all down to fit, a real PITA. ( 100 year old building).

Thank You, Randy

Remove 333 from email address to reply.

What did you use to cut it with? I'm using a cheap scalloped butcher knife that seems to work okay.

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

nife that seems to

Squash it with your knee on a 2x4 and use a basic utility knife (plus you can use the 2x4 as a straightedge).

Don't use OSB for facing - it's too flammable. BUT, in places where you know you'll be hanging stuff, you can put OSB or some dimensional lumber under the sheetrock to use as nailers later.

On Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:39:32 -0400, the infamous Wes scrawled the following:

Scissors: If you don't have an InsulKnife, a nice large (10-12") pair of tailor's shears works well and fairly quickly.

Gingher: (ooh, me want!)

Henkels: (verrry nice!)

Razor: For ripping, a straightedge (hold the whole shebang flat so it cuts easier) and a razorknife work very well. This is what I normally use. If I did more insulation work, I'd own an InsulKnife.

-- Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other. --Ronald Reagan

Does anyone here use osb for their shop? I just dont think I can tape/ mud drywall. I really dont have any experience with it.

Unless you're expecting your walls to look like those in a $1 million custom home, you'll learn enough in a half-hour to do a credible job. And you can always use the old custom-home trick to make those walls really smooth: use two layers of 3/8" drywall, the first applied normally and horizontally, and the second layer glued to the first, vertically, with a few screws and construction adhesive. This will give you perfectly aligned edges on the top layer and will make the taping *much* easier. You'll also have sounder, slightly thicker walls than you get with one layer of 5/8".

I've done around 10 or 15 rooms over a span of 30 years, and my work looks as good or better than the best commercial jobs I've seen. It's the old story about being able to take a little longer than the pros to get it right.

-- Ed Huntress

--Does anyone here use osb for their shop? I just dont think I can tape/

--mud drywall. I really dont have any experience with it.

Tape and mud are a piece of cake compared to what you have accomplished so far. Besides, it's a shop. I doubt I would even sand them, just use a flat or eggshell latex.

One tip is to use the tacky mesh tape rather than the paper tape. You can just stick it on and mud through it, and it NEVER cracks. If you insist on using paper tape, soak it in water first.

Personally, in a shop, I doubt I'd bother with the tape & mud at all. Just paint it (or not). How were you planning to finish the OSB? It's not exactly a smooth surface.

My thought on the osb was to paint the sheets with primer then paint before screwing them into the walls/ceiling.

I keep going back and forth on the drywall/osb thing. I cant seem to make up my mind.

--My thought on the osb was to paint the sheets with primer then paint

--before screwing them into the walls/ceiling.

--

--I keep going back and forth on the drywall/osb thing. I cant seem to

--make up my mind.

If you are really stuck on this, maybe drywall and trim strips.

OSB is going to leave raw seams unless you trim it with something, and you still have fire issues. How about using drywall and trim strips instead of mud and tape? Mobile homes use this method to remain flexible while traveling. You could rip 1" strips of something like Masonite, or just buy flat 1" trim, and fasten it with small nails.

I use a medium sized kitchen meat knife, kept sharp with liberal use of a steel. Slice with long gentle strokes at a shallow angle. 2 or 3 strokes and you're through. Cuts clean without ripping. Or, saw gently back and forth through the whole batt.

Use two boards - one as a cutting surface, and one as a straightedge/crusher. When you snmash the Fiberglass batt flat, a plain old Stanley retractable Shop Knife works a treat.

Change the blades when they get dull, they are cheap enough.

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