Insulating Your Pole Barn

Everybody sells insulation.  Numerous types, R values, and product quality.  Proper installation is incredibly important.  Getting the right type of insulation is even more important.

Did you know that improper insulation installation can reduce R value by 40%? Let it get wet and you blew all your money for nothing!

Then there are radiant barriers, insulation blankets, batt, and rigid board insulation.

If you have the money, professionally  sprayed on foam insulation (more than one type) is the absolute best option, but at $1 per square foot per inch of thickness (1" = R7) the price is ridiculous.


Common Practice
Many builders install insulation the quickest way possible, not the best way possible. Makes sense right?  They are paid to install.  They need to finish the job, make money, move on to the next job.
Enough said.

So, doing things the way everyone else does it ensures that you have found the quickest way to insulate, not necessarily the best.

Here are some tips to keep in mind about insulation.  Apply these known facts to the method you plan to use for insulating and decide if you have found the ultimate insulation solution.

• Wet Insulation permanently loses R value
• Compressed insulation loses R value
• To achieve maximum R value insulation requires airspace between itself and adjacent material
• Published R values are incredibly misleading
• The same material used in a roof will have a different effective R value when used in a wall
• R value for downward heat flow is absolutely different than R value for upward heat flow
• A vapor barrier is required (not an option) with metal siding and roofing and proper placement is determined by locality
• Types of doors and windows (especially large openings) impact effectiveness of building insulation
• R values are advertised for three types of energy savings - Conduction - Radiation - Convection
• Radiant heat R values do little to nothing for non-radiant insulation needs

Solutions That Work
Condensation control is necessary for most any building with metal roofing and siding.  Store hay in a building without proper condensation control and you can ruin your hay.  The last thing you want is condensation dripping on your car or tractor or have rusty tools.


Proper ventilation, condensation control, and optionally insulation is not achieved simply by buying materials and throwing them in place. Different material and solutions are required for animal comfort, garage workshop solutions, and cold storage buildings.

Insulation choices change with construction methods too!



Related
Condensation Control
Types of Insulation