Question on the best way to insulate my block walls

pointer80 · 01-02-2013, 06:46 PM

Hi everyone, I'm fairly new to forum at least as far as posting but I have some questions about insulating my work building. I inclosed the best picture I had so hope it gives you guys a idea of what I got. Basically I have a block foundation built into a hill. The structure was on the property when we bought it and the previus owner was going to build a burma house(in ground house) but decided to sell the property instead. When we bought the property I turned it into a garage. I brought the sidewalls up to ten feet and framed in the front and put a roof on. I have a hanging heater that runs off my outdoor wood boiler that will heat this building (and also my house). I am in the process of putting 3.5 inches of faced fiberglass insulation in the cieling. My question is what to do on the block sidewalls? I would like to put foam sheating and if so how thick and what do I have to do to the raw block wall. Like I said earlier this is only a workshop and will not be heated full time. The barn measures 32x30 ft. Thanks all.

pointer80 · 01-03-2013, 06:12 PM

Anybody????

cleveman · 01-03-2013, 06:21 PM

Mostly people insulate a block wall like that by putting polystyrene on the exterior, then they fir out the interior with a studded wall and insulated the studded wall with batt insulation.

You may not be interested in putting poly on the exterior at this point. Hopefully the wall is waterproofed.

At any rate, it won't cost you much to build some walls on the interior with studs 2' oc, then insulate with batts and finish with drywall.

As for the ceiling, you may wish to put in more than 3.5 inches of fiberglass.

If you have the ceilings down now, I would just heat the thing and see how it works.

You didn't indicate your location, so I don't know how cold it will get. You can always throw another log on the fire.

Windows on Wash · 01-04-2013, 01:01 AM

Rigid foam (covered with a proper thermal barrier) works well in these cases. Minimum I would put up would 1" followed by a furring and drywall. 2" would be that much better.

Check with code requirements in your area but you will definitely have to cover the foam with a fire approved drywall.

pointer80 · 01-04-2013, 09:00 AM

Thanks guys, I live in northern Michigan so it gets cold sometimes but like I stated I am only going to heat it when I work out there. I planned on putting a sealer on the inside of the block wall. Do you guys recommended a good sealer? My other option would be to dig out the dirt and insulate from the outside. There is already some workbenches in place and some pegboard on the wall that I could remove. Also I have a lot of stuff in the barn I would have to move. As you can see by the photo I would only have to dig out about 5.5 or 6 ft. Also if i did that I could reseal the entire structure. Also it would only be the side and back wall that would need dug out because the other side wall is not into a hill.