Problems With KAA-2 Temps.

LOL, windy.......different strokes for different folks..

Kevin

KLook wrote:You really need that roof to breath some, blowing in anything is not a good idea until you get some opinions about your kind of structure. I built houses for 27 years and can offer some suggestions and so can many other in here. Just give us some info and maybe some pictures to go by. There is a wealth of info in the members here, even if we don't always agree.

Kevin

I forgot about that. I do have vents on both sides of the house that would likely just blow the insulation around and then there might be a problem with moisture up there too.

I'd have to break drywall to show pics, but just imagine a wall studded with 2x6 with 3/8 drywall over it and you have my upstairs ceiling. What I need is an asphalt roof with a ridge vent.

My ceilings are only 8' too, so what I was thinking about doing was buying some of that 1/2 foam insulation, stapling it to the current ceiling and going over it with drywall or better yet, paneling.

If the rafter space is vented,you have 8' ceiling ? no law says you need that much head room,you aint 8' tall are you ? fasten thermax to existing ceiling,i think 2" equals 11R value ?? go with 4" & then drywall or panel on top of that ,you will still have 7.5' roughly,shouldn't break the bank either. AND you can start on it anytime ,won't take long either,couple pieces tomorrow night ,several the next night,and so on.You will need long screws to fasten drywall or paneling,and yes it can be done.Years ago I dry walled a huge old house that was turned into college dorms,and the outside brick walls were all done this way,can't remember if they used 2,3,or 4" thermax .I do remember us using long screws.

You can buy 1" or 2" foam sheets, and screw them up over the ceiling drywall. Use long drywall screws and 1" diameter washers to hold the foam boards up. I've done this in previous houses, it works and is quick and effective.

But what you REALLY need is to remove the drywall, and get a professional spray-foam company to foam the underside of the roof, this needs to be done in the warmer weather, the foam will not stick to cold or sweaty surfaces.
But if the foam is sprayed on the underside of the aluminum roofing, you will not have infiltration or condensation problems. NO venting needed if the foam covers all the surfaces. [there will be no cold or cool surfaces for condensation to form on, so no venting needed]

Then re-drywall the ceiling.

You will NOT BELIEVE the difference in the heat needed or the comfortable temperatures in both the winter and in the summer.. is this upstairs like a sauna all summer long ??

Greg L

LsFarm wrote:You can buy 1" or 2" foam sheets, and screw them up over the ceiling drywall. Use long drywall screws and 1" diameter washers to hold the foam boards up. I've done this in previous houses, it works and is quick and effective.

But what you REALLY need is to remove the drywall, and get a professional spray-foam company to foam the underside of the roof, this needs to be done in the warmer weather, the foam will not stick to cold or sweaty surfaces.
But if the foam is sprayed on the underside of the aluminum roofing, you will not have infiltration or condensation problems. NO venting needed if the foam covers all the surfaces. [there will be no cold or cool surfaces for condensation to form on, so no venting needed]

Then re-drywall the ceiling.

You will NOT BELIEVE the difference in the heat needed or the comfortable temperatures in both the winter and in the summer.. is this upstairs like a sauna all summer long ??

Greg L

Hi Greg, I was about to say something similar. I was going to say to fasten 2 x 4's on edge up against ceiling. Then have an icynene (Spray foam) company come and spray between studding. Then put new ceiling. Leave the attic/ventilation as it is. Many ways to insulate/ ventilate. As Greg says, you'll be more comfortable year round. Personally, I'd get a kick out of not making the energy people any richer than I have to.

There, some suggestions already. I cannot comment about what is best without seeing the structure. I have used foam in many ways, it is the best bang for the buck. Spray foam is just plain awesome, but so is the cost. BUT, if the alum. is the roof structure, as Greg suggests, it would take an act of Congress to get it off once sprayed in place. You might have to replace it someday. I am not sure about the condensation thing, it will form wherever the dew point sets up, which may be around a window or sidewall if there is much and it cannot vent or form on a larger cold surface. I like to use foam and leave a place for the house to vent, rather then invest in a heat exchanger. Drywall is cheap, pull down the 3/8, put strips of wood, 1 inch will do, up against the roof, apply foam to these strips leaving a channel for venting. No matter how much you put in, it will be a great improvement.
This is my hunting camp, not a very complex structure. It is(was) heated with a kichen type range, 8-20 stove. It was unheatable on a cold night. We put 1 inch of blue styrofoam on the roof and shot shingles right on it. The walls are still not insulated. We had to let the stove go out. The floor is not insulated either.

Kevin

windyhill4.2 wrote:kstills,After 15 + yrs of being warm in our house heated with wood at 72*-74*,there is no way I am wearing a hoodie in the house to keep warm.Insulate,yes,if installed heating unit is too small for the few frigid days that come our way,i would chose to supplement with electric heaters to maintain the level of warmth I have chosen to maintain my cold weather sanity. It's cold outside,no reason to be cold inside too. So the electric costs an extra $100.00 for the winter,that is far cheaper than to swap boilers just for those 5-15 day/nites per winter that the boiler comes up short.Burn coal,stay warm.

Lol, you know, I have about 5 of those things lying around the house, and I keep forgetting about them. I think that's the second time in this thread.

Yep, better to dial up the electric for a week or two if the boiler doesn't keep up.

Better to insulate, but in an emergency, electric is very handy.