I have a barn in southern CO that looks like this. https://www.flickr.com/photos/191743056@N03/shares/0ihRJ3 In the winter temps frequently get to the single digits at nite 40 x40 with 10' w x 12' tall uninsulated doors in the center section on each end. One side has a 10x10 uninsulated door. Above the center doors there is about 6' of extra space. My plan here is to run joists across and make storage above or just add a ceiling above the doors so I don't have to heat that area. I want to insulate it and will heat it with a combination of wood heat, kerosene torpedo heater and in the future a propane shop heater. So my questions are: Would you insulate and heat the whole shop? My thought was to build a wall down one side and only heat the center section and one side 27 x40' and leave the other section with the smaller roll up door ( 13 x 40) uninsulated for storage. Having said that I could leave out that wall (saving the cost of the studs and OSB and just insulate the outside wall and have a 40 x40 shop. Do I save enough on the price of the studs and OSB to make up the difference in heating costs? In the sides of the shop, would you just spray foam underneath the tin or put in some kind of drop down ceiling and insulate above? The siding is metal so what about moisture control? I am thinking about all I want for the walls is r19 and r30 for the ceiling. Would 2" of foam by itself be ok? I assume if I used r13 batts I would need about 2" of foam behind that for moisture control? What about the roll up doors? The two large doors will really let the cool in? Anyway to insulate them? Hang some kind of curtain over them? Worth replacing them with insulated doors? If I do that reduce the size of one of them to 10' tall? Thoughts and suggestions? Thankks

It come down to how often you are going to heat it. I had a friends dad that divided off a 1-1/2 car space and just put up plastic to stop the hot air from escaping. It worked really good if you just want a warm work area from time to time.

Heating it all the time or a lot of the time you ware talking big bucks in heating and materials. You really should do a payback verse cost analysis.

Looks nice...

For now it's our vacation home and we are only there for a month or so but down the road we expect to be there from May-Oct so I will need heat if I spend much time in the shop. I am building a wood furnace that will burn 24" logs so I will have that plus a kerosene torpedo heater. I could use tarps like you suggested for now and gradually start working on it.

Friend used clear plastic sheets he could seal with tape that were light weight. Good Luck....

There are so many options for insulation.

Thanks!!

So, first question for me is why are you heating and how much conditioned space do you actually need?

Workshop... To work on my Side by side, skid steer and other equipment. Also woodworking... For the woodworking one of the side sections which are about 13 x40 would work. Just partitioning off that was my original though but then if I need to bring in the truck, skid steer etc, it wouldn't give me much room on each side to get around the vehicle to work...