Should I insulate Walls and Ceilings or not? - DIY Chatroom

williamj001 · 07-20-2009, 12:43 AM

I have been remodeling a bedroom, and have to decide whether to put in insulation in the walls and ceilings so I will try to tell you in detail the climate conditions of where I live so that you can get a good idea of what my insulation needs are.

1. I live in Hawaii so in the summer time it is humid and hot(although not as hot as alot of the other states during the summer) and during winter it gets chilly(coldest is 50-55 degrees F. which is cold for me).
2. I live in a two story house with the bedroom being remodeled on the first floor.
3. The Lower floor seems to be hotter than the upper floor(there is no insulation at all anywhere in my house.)
4. I will have a computer in this room that will run almost 24/7.
5. I do plan on installing either a window a/c or a portable a/c to run for a few hours after i get home from work.

My ceilings are 2x8 joists and the walls are 2x4 studs. My main goal is to cool down the room during the summer since i am roasting. Should I insulate the walls and ceilings or would insulation basically just compound the problem? I am leaning towards insulating the ceiling for soundproofing, but there will be a drop down ceiling and I might possibly use quietrock drywall as the ceiling tiles which would really soundproof the room. Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated.

**Scuba_Dave** · 07-20-2009, 12:54 AM

That would depend on where the heat is coming from
How big is the room?
I know a PC will heat up a small room running 24x7
CRT or LCD monitor?

Will the AC have a timer or be on one?
If you insulate this room it will contain heat better
But it will also contain the cold AC air better too

Is any of the lower floor walls subject to direct sun?

williamj001 · 07-20-2009, 01:25 AM

The room is about 200 square feet, one of the walls is a fir out from the exterior wall which is cinderblock. The complete downstairs exterior walls are all cinderblock. It does confuse me a bit on where the heat is coming from as usually I would suspect the upper floor would be hotter, and I do have 2 lcd monitors. I could put the computer on sleep while i am work. The a/c would not be on a timer I would just turn it on manually when i get home from work. The computer would be my next guess as to where the heat comes from as it is a pretty up to date computer with a large 800watt power supply and air cooling only.

4just1don · 07-20-2009, 02:36 AM

your getting MOST of the heat from the solar gain on those block walls.

Insulate everything you can,you will be happy for a long time to come.

williamj001 · 07-21-2009, 02:48 PM

Thank you very much I will insulate

Ted White · 07-24-2009, 12:01 PM

I would not spend the $ on the special drywall you mentioned. The dropped ceiling is absolutely unsealed and will leak sound badly. No sense spending the $ on a product that won't have a chance to work.

Some R19 fiberglass will help, though

Yoyizit · 07-24-2009, 12:37 PM

Hawaii is zone 1.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?...sulation_table