post frame building (pole shed) - ceiling inside

WI Dan

Well-known Member
We've got 11' high ceiling inside. Want to put a ceiling on the bottom of trusses and insulate above. We're already insulated the outer walls with six-inch fiberglass, and building a 2x4 stud wall inside of that (12" of wall cavity total). Stud wall goes to bottom of trusses.
What's your two cents regarding:
--sheet metal vs. drywall?
I like simplicity of metal but maybe more expensive and noisy. Drywall is complicated but adds bit of thermal/moisture resistance.
FYI: the slab is 4" thick with vapor barrier but is not insulated underneath.

--loose fill/blow-in insulation or unfaced fiberglass batts?
--how to seal at ends where trusses & wall meet? --need airflow to keep the metal roof temperature even. But don't want cold corners of the room inside where wall and ceiling meet....

--plastic moisture barrier under insulation/on top of ceiling material.....or not?

Go!
 
We've got 11' high ceiling inside. Want to put a ceiling on the bottom of trusses and insulate above. We're already insulated the outer walls with six-inch fiberglass, and building a 2x4 stud wall inside of that (12" of wall cavity total). Stud wall goes to bottom of trusses.
What's your two cents regarding:
--sheet metal vs. drywall?
I like simplicity of metal but maybe more expensive and noisy. Drywall is complicated but adds bit of thermal/moisture resistance.
FYI: the slab is 4" thick with vapor barrier but is not insulated underneath.

--loose fill/blow-in insulation or unfaced fiberglass batts?
--how to seal at ends where trusses & wall meet? --need airflow to keep the metal roof temperature even. But don't want cold corners of the room inside where wall and ceiling meet....

--plastic moisture barrier under insulation/on top of ceiling material.....or not?

Go!
Steel, vapor barrier, blown insulation.
 
Thanks db!
Missed the wall connection part. See if you can talk to an insulating contractor for advice. If your shed has vented soffit there is usually a wind block and an air path formed by a chute. This can be done with scrap OSB or plywood or card board. This might also be a place to stuff questionable areas with friction fit fiberglass cut to size.
Google “attic ventilation”. There are good diagrams.
 
Your roof l will likely sweat, and there will probably be some moisture inside the shop. I would think Sheetrock would eventually deteriorate.
Go with metal and blown in insulation, easiest, probably least expensive, and will hold up better.
 
--plastic moisture barrier under insulation/on top of ceiling material.....or not?

Go!
Absolutely. Some blown cellulose insulations will corrode metal panels because of the fire retardant in them. The plastic vapor barrier also serves a vital role of being a draft stop. Metal panel ceilings are extremely porous as far as air movement. You need to stop any air movement from getting into your insulation layer.
 
I went with a steel roof. I bought some metal hanging brackets for the 2x4’s nailed onto the trusses. Every 2 feet. The spacing between my trusses was 9 feet. Then I lined it with Poly. I picked up some white corrugated steel from Menards. It was a thinner steel than used on exterior surfaces. I was fortunate enough to have my kids do all the overhead work. You get a stiff neck, screwing all the screws into the steel. I’ll try to send a few pictures. I did make a trap door for access to the attic. then I insulated with fiberglass insulation. I put in two layers rolled one one way and the next layer the other way. I haven’t had any moisture issues. i’m happy with the installation. It reflects light well. Although it could be clean but it’s kinda hard to do when it’s 10 feet above your head. It’s a lot of work, putting all those screws into the 2x4’s and steel. The quality of the photos ain’t the best but you get the idea
 

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I used OSB panels for ceilings (painted) and then fiberglass batts in the attic. The attic is vented by soffit vents and a continuous ridge vent. No moisture problems in 15 years.
 
You might want to make sure the trusses will hold the load. When I put up my barn many years ago the builder asked if I planned to finish the interior. He used a different style truss to support the ceiling.
 
We've got 11' high ceiling inside. Want to put a ceiling on the bottom of trusses and insulate above. We're already insulated the outer walls with six-inch fiberglass, and building a 2x4 stud wall inside of that (12" of wall cavity total). Stud wall goes to bottom of trusses.
What's your two cents regarding:
--sheet metal vs. drywall?
I like simplicity of metal but maybe more expensive and noisy. Drywall is complicated but adds bit of thermal/moisture resistance.
FYI: the slab is 4" thick with vapor barrier but is not insulated underneath.

--loose fill/blow-in insulation or unfaced fiberglass batts?
--how to seal at ends where trusses & wall meet? --need airflow to keep the metal roof temperature even. But don't want cold corners of the room inside where wall and ceiling meet....

--plastic moisture barrier under insulation/on top of ceiling material.....or not?

Go!
Talk to some one that does the foam installation. Install foam right against the roofing material and the rafters.
 
We've got 11' high ceiling inside. Want to put a ceiling on the bottom of trusses and insulate above. We're already insulated the outer walls with six-inch fiberglass, and building a 2x4 stud wall inside of that (12" of wall cavity total). Stud wall goes to bottom of trusses.
What's your two cents regarding:
--sheet metal vs. drywall?
I like simplicity of metal but maybe more expensive and noisy. Drywall is complicated but adds bit of thermal/moisture resistance.
FYI: the slab is 4" thick with vapor barrier but is not insulated underneath.

--loose fill/blow-in insulation or unfaced fiberglass batts?
--how to seal at ends where trusses & wall meet? --need airflow to keep the metal roof temperature even. But don't want cold corners of the room inside where wall and ceiling meet....

--plastic moisture barrier under insulation/on top of ceiling material.....or not?

Go!
WI Dan,
Was your bulding constructed to have a ceiling/insulation installed?

When we built our new barn, the construction company said a building is constructed differently if it will have a ceiling and insulation installed.
Maybe stronger or a greater number of trusses... or more wall height???
NOT SURE, as we did not ask how it is built differently because the cost was significantly higher... and my husband said he never plans to insulate it.
 
We've got 11' high ceiling inside. Want to put a ceiling on the bottom of trusses and insulate above. We're already insulated the outer walls with six-inch fiberglass, and building a 2x4 stud wall inside of that (12" of wall cavity total). Stud wall goes to bottom of trusses.
What's your two cents regarding:
--sheet metal vs. drywall?
I like simplicity of metal but maybe more expensive and noisy. Drywall is complicated but adds bit of thermal/moisture resistance.
FYI: the slab is 4" thick with vapor barrier but is not insulated underneath.

--loose fill/blow-in insulation or unfaced fiberglass batts?
--how to seal at ends where trusses & wall meet? --need airflow to keep the metal roof temperature even. But don't want cold corners of the room inside where wall and ceiling meet....

--plastic moisture barrier under insulation/on top of ceiling material.....or not?

Go!
For interior walls I recommend OSB or Plywood rather than drywall. You can screw stuff anywhere rather than having to hit a stud. For a ceiling, I'd recommend drywall.

My garage ceiling is the same as my house, drywall attached to the trusses with blown in insulation above the drywall. I put fiberglass batts in the walls with plywood on the studs. It's really nice not having to necessarily worry about a stud when hanging something on the wall.
 
We've got 11' high ceiling inside. Want to put a ceiling on the bottom of trusses and insulate above. We're already insulated the outer walls with six-inch fiberglass, and building a 2x4 stud wall inside of that (12" of wall cavity total). Stud wall goes to bottom of trusses.
What's your two cents regarding:
--sheet metal vs. drywall?
I like simplicity of metal but maybe more expensive and noisy. Drywall is complicated but adds bit of thermal/moisture resistance.
FYI: the slab is 4" thick with vapor barrier but is not insulated underneath.

--loose fill/blow-in insulation or unfaced fiberglass batts?
--how to seal at ends where trusses & wall meet? --need airflow to keep the metal roof temperature even. But don't want cold corners of the room inside where wall and ceiling meet....

--plastic moisture barrier under insulation/on top of ceiling material.....or not?

Go!
I went outside the box. Built 2x4 studs between the 6" posts and 4" backed fiberglass in the stud walls and ceiling. Used OSB (I got it used for $1 a sheet) as siding. The OSB is nice for shelving and hanging stuff and I feel it is just as good as drywall for heat
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. Because my barn had been 100% occupied for 15 years prior to insulation, I didn't take the time to paint the walls (wish I had). This barn has natural gas radiant tube heat and 4'' non vapor barrier concrete floor. I cost me about $300 a year to keep at 45 and raise to 60 when out there.
 
In 2015 I closed in an open front lean-to on the side of my old dairy barn. We put up a vapour barrier, and sheeted it over with 1/2 plywood. Used spray foam insulation in the attic space, because being a livestock barn there is a better than average chance of having raccoons roaming into the attic space. Raccoons don’t do much damage to spray foam insulation, but totally destroy loose blown or fibreglass bats. This space is 30’x80’
 

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I put paper faced Batts in the attic and put up white metal on ceiling. In walls I built dummy studs between posts and used faced 6 inch Batts with osb. 5 inch slab with no vapor barrier and I have zero sweat.
 
We've got 11' high ceiling inside. Want to put a ceiling on the bottom of trusses and insulate above. We're already insulated the outer walls with six-inch fiberglass, and building a 2x4 stud wall inside of that (12" of wall cavity total). Stud wall goes to bottom of trusses.
What's your two cents regarding:
--sheet metal vs. drywall?
I like simplicity of metal but maybe more expensive and noisy. Drywall is complicated but adds bit of thermal/moisture resistance.
FYI: the slab is 4" thick with vapor barrier but is not insulated underneath.

--loose fill/blow-in insulation or unfaced fiberglass batts?
--how to seal at ends where trusses & wall meet? --need airflow to keep the metal roof temperature even. But don't want cold corners of the room inside where wall and ceiling meet....

--plastic moisture barrier under insulation/on top of ceiling material.....or not?

Go!
My BIL had the inside his roof and walls foamed. He then cover his walls with OSB. His walls are 14 ft.
 

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