INSULATION
Last Post 15 Jun 2011 06:16 PM by Dana1. 2 Replies.
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QUEENQUITEALOTUser is Offline
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14 Jun 2011 09:33 PM
NEW TO THIS FORUM AND MAN DO I HAVE A MILLION QUESTIONS.  THIS IS OUR FIRST ( AND PROBABLY LAST)  FORAY INTO BUILDING.   WITH THAT SAID I NEED SPECIFIC HELP ON INSULATION.I LIKE THE HOUSE COLD ENOUGH TO HANG MEAT BUT DON;T LIKE 4 DIGIT ELECTRIC BILLS.  COLD WEATHER IS HARDLY A CONCERN-- HEAT ON 10 DAYS A YEAR.    I AM IN CHARGE OF ALL RESEARCH AND MY HUSBAND DECIDES BASED ON MY  RECS.
WE ARE OWNER BUILDERS ON EAST COAST OF SOUTH FLORIDA.  INTERIOR FRAMING IS COMPLETE. ROUGH ELECTRICAL AND PLUMBING ALMOST COMPLETE.  WIRE LATH ON 2ND FLOOR IN PREP OF STUCCO.WINDOWS AND FRENCH  DOORS ARE IN. WE WERE GOING TO USE ICYNENE AND JUST HEARD A HORROR STORY FROM OUR ROOFER ABOUT SOMEONES TRUSSES ROTTING  AND NOW I DON'T KNOW.  WE HAVE 3 ZONE AIR CONDITIONING. FIRST FLOOR IS BLOCK AND 2ND FLOOR IS FRAME WITH TYVEK WRAP AND BLACK PAPER WRAP.  WE PUT PEEL AND STICK AROUND  IMPACT GLASS WINDOWS ( tinted) I WANT THE BEST INSULATION AND THE BEST METHOD BUT WHOEVER YOU TALK TO IS BIASED TO WHAT THEY ARE SELLING.  WE BUILD ON SLAB HERE. 14 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL WHICH IS VERY HIGH AND DRY HERE.  ON SALT WATER.
I WANT INSULATION IN WALLS, IN ATTIC AND PROBABLY WILL USE RADIANT BARRIER SHEET ON TOP OF ATTIC INSULATION .  DON'T KNOW IF YOU USE THE BARRIER ON TOP OF ICYNENE. 
HELP PLEASE.
QUEEN QUITE A LOT
AltonUser is Offline
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14 Jun 2011 10:12 PM
Please lose the caps.
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Dana1User is Offline
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15 Jun 2011 06:16 PM
YIKES! STOP SHOUTING! (Caps are impossible to read!)

The best time to design-in building efficiency and moisture control is BEFORE the framing is done and you're slapping up the stucco. With a stucco exterior and an arctic-cool interior you'd have done well to put an inch or two of closed-cell foam on the exterior (not half-pound Icycene) to both air seal and protect the sheathing & studs or wallboard facer against condensation and mold in the walls. Closed cell foam is about R6/ inch, and at 1 inch it's a ~1-1.3perm vapor retarder, at 2" it's reliably under 1 perm and R12. But at a buck a foot per inch it adds up. Even at 1 inch of exterior closed cell it would be sufficiently vapor retardent that the AC would keep up with the moisture drives from the exterior, an any cheap stuff you stuffed in as cavity fill would be more than enough R, and cost-effective, but it would have to be either un-faced batts- no kraft or foil facers, or blown/sprayed fiber. Wet-spray cellulose is usually cheaper than Icynene, and about the same or slightly higher R, and has a bit of thermal mass (it's roughly the same as going with 5/8"or 3/4" wallboard instead of 1/2"

If the mechanicals & ducts are in the attic rather than inside of the insulation and pressure boundary the battle is half-lost and we're playing make-up, which can be expensive. If you're talking about putting Icycene on the roof deck (presumably because you DO have the ducts etc in the attic), it's cheaper and more effective to put R10-R20 as rigid foam above the roof deck (3" roofing-iso is ~ R20, and runs $50-55 for a 4x8 sheet, 3" EPS is R12, and about half the cost), and do the interior as blown cellulose on the attic floor- up to 10" or so is pretty cheap. (But I suppose we're late to the party on that.) That way you all but eliminate the thermal bridging of the truss/rafters. And it puts the ducts at least partway inside the thermal envelope, lowering the insulation requirements on the ducts. Air-sealing the roof deck can be done with spot-foaming the seams, it' doesn't need a full-foam overcoat, but air sealing is critical if the ducts are in the attic.

At low or no additional cost, going with CRRC rated "cool roof" shingles on the roof is more effective (and more cost-effective) than interior radiant barrier (but I'm guessing we're late to the party on that one too.) See:http://www.coolroofs.org/

Tell us more about the state of the project here (in a more favorable font, please, even if it's all lower-case.)
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