Shop insulation - foam or fiberglass?

[Spook50]

Right now my shop has 1" foam insulation in the walls. I'm tearing the walls apart to rewire it, so I'm wondering if I should keep the foam when I redo the drywall, or should I lose it in favor of fiberglass? I know from my grandfather's old shop that fiberglass (at least the old stuff he had) allows for rats and s*** tons of of rats' nests. Has current stuff been changed to somehow discourage vermin from chewing it up? I could see where foam would prevent this issue, but would fiberglass insulate better?

Sent from my Motorola DynaTAC 8000x

 

[-Spike-]

Neither is tasty. Fiberglass is much cheaper, and easier to install properly, which equates to better insulation for the money. Cellulose is even cheaper, but harder to install in walls and settles a bit.

 

[Spook50]

Neither is tasty. Fiberglass is much cheaper, and easier to install properly, which equates to better insulation for the money. Cellulose is even cheaper, but harder to install in walls and settles a bit.

Interesting. So really either option will work then? If that's the case I'll just go ahead and keep the foam since that's already there and save myself more money and work. I don't know if all wood framed steel structures are this way, but the "studs" are 2x6s running horizontally around the shop, so that'd make it a challenge to install traditional fiberglass insulation too.

 

[BattleWagon]

blown in cellulose over the existing foam.

 

[-Spike-]

Definitely keep the foam, it's already there and the price is right. It's a low R value though- seems like right around 4/inch IIRC (but don't quote me). That's weaksauce insulation.

Another option is urethane foam, injected through the wall sheathing. I have no idea how expensive that is.

 

[toy4xfun]

hey wait!

you have been talking about your new shop, where the hell is the pics?

 

[Spook50]

hey wait!

you have been talking about your new shop, where the hell is the pics?

it looks like butt right now since it's walls are half torn apart with wires hanging out and all my stuff piled in one big mess. Once I get a couple things outta the way I'll post some more pics. BTW I got a spot cleared off of my bench so I can work on those lights. One's almost done so once I hang it I'll be able to report back on how it's workin. I don't forsee any problems though.

 

[e9999]

what kind of foam insulation do you have?
aren't some of those pretty bad in case of fire? like highly flammable and giving off severe toxic smoke etc?

 

[toy4xfun]

we want pics!

take one of the outside, and post it up at least!

 

[toy4xfun]

what kind of foam insulation do you have?
aren't some of those pretty bad in case of fire? like highly flammable and giving off severe toxic smoke etc?

that should not be a problem, just do not catch your shop on fire!

and if it does catch on fire run.

 

[toy4xfun]

this brings me to a new question, i do not mean to hijack your thread spook, but is there a replasement for halon?

 

[Spook50]

this brings me to a new question, i do not mean to hijack your thread spook, but is there a replasement for halon?

Not that I know of as far as something that's just as effective, but for home I'd stick to dry chem. Shop and vehicles, I'd use Halon. Halon is still the most effective, BUT, since it absorbs oxygen, you can't use it anywhere near people or anywhere that isn't well ventilated. A 2.5lb Halon bottle is what I carry in the Cruiser and that could put out a huge vehicle fire. I plan on putting a 5lb Halon bottle in my shop in case of emergency. If there was going to be more people out there a-la a man cave, I'd keep a dry chem handy.

Bitch of it is you can't just go out and buy Halon bottles. Gotta know someone in a fire department who can get them for you. IIRC it's because it's a fluorocarbon and the EPA has banned it for general public use.

e9999, you're probably right. I hadn't even considered that, but very good point. It's the plain white (closed cell I think) stuff.

 

[toy4xfun]

yea but it cost a lot to refill, and once the refill places tanks are empty, you are S O L!

in 97 i used one of mine, and they wanted $208 a pound, and the guy told me that, when his tank was empty he would not get any more. my dad sold him the company, so he knew who i was and was quoting me a discounted rate.


it was a 5 lb extinguisher!

 

[toy4xfun]

oh and i do not think it eats O2 it is heaver than oxygen so it will smother the fire out!

 

[Woodsman]

You could keep the foam AND add fiberglass too.

While you don't get the total of both R values due to the slight compression of the fiberglass, what you end up with is just slightly less than the combined R values but better than either one when used alone.

 

[Spook50]

oh and i do not think it eats O2 it is heaver than oxygen so it will smother the fire out!

Yeah that's right. It doesn't absorb it, it displaces it. A LOT of it. I think the price is what's made it so prohibitive for the general public to have. As long as I have a source for it at a fire department though, I'll make sure I can keep getting them.