How to insulate your pole barn BETTER than a stick-frame house

[@redbeard680]

Best video I’ve seen on insulting a pole barn! I’ve been looking for someone like you!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge sir!

[@ikkentonda]

I just have to thank you for sharing all this. I’ve been scratching my head for weeks trying to figure out how I want to finish the interior of my 30x60 and your recommendations make perfect sense to me (unlike the folks framing out between the poles). Great stuff!

[@rontopping2048]

This guy is a master at his craft. Pole barn efficiency is awesome if done correctly.

[@michaelwojdyla8953]

Great method to insulate! Would love to know your plans for the ceiling or roof insulation. Will it be the same method?

[@Lumber_Jack]

Roof was fairly typical method of putting 24" batts between framing (rafters and joists).

[@toddborel9463]

Hey Mr.Lumber Jack, great video. What is the white material in front of the wall girts. Just started getting my poles in and trying to look ahead. Sould I wrap my framing in tyvek or thermal guard insulation before installing the metal siding?

[@Lumber_Jack]

What you see is the inside of house wrap which was applied on the outside over the wall girts. It's mainly needed for this building since the barn has wood board & batten siding. Not necessary for metal.

[@BarnGeek]

I assume you plan to use some sort of interior girt to support the interior sheathing? I've found people who install bookshelf girts or studs, say they are doing that both for installing insulation and for supporting the interior sheathing. I like that your solution mitigates thermal bridging which is one of the biggest problems with stud farming.

[@Lumber_Jack]

Depending on the interior wall material (which could be horizontal or vertical boards or panels) interior girts may need to be used, but they are face-nailed to the posts and won't create thermal bridging like the bookshelf girts would do. The interior girts can also be lighter 1x lumber if the floor slab is able to provide bottom support. I'll show this in a future video once I decide what material is going on the walls.

[@roosterhunter6245]

Any plans for sheathing on top of the insulation?

[@Lumber_Jack]

Probably wood, but not sure what it will be yet.

[@patlarentz6500]

Thanks sir. You seem to have extreme knowledge. I have a question I need help with. I have a 30x40x10 barn with 4x6 poles 8' apart, and 2- 4x6 poles on the ridge ends. The company I hired failed to tell me they weren't using 6x6s. They also failed to tell me the lumber, including the poles were not kiln dried. And they were cut prior to delivery at the builders property. LSS- Barn was erected in 2011 and I have worried since day 1 that the boards- mainly the post would fail with the 60-70 winds we get at least twice or more a year. I have actually stood in there during a wind storm and saw these walls flex, girts and poles. My question- you stated that adding a stud wall to a pole barn was not necessary. Which actually I've been contemplating, My thinking is if I had some extra support in those walls, there would be less stress on the already existing barn walls. I feel this barn was way under strengthened! Could I please have some thoughts?

[@Lumber_Jack]

Stud walls are not going to be directly helpful for wind loads, but you can do several things that will make a big difference and are pretty easy. First, install bookshelf girts, which are 2x4 or 2x6 laid horizontal with their edge up against the existing girts. Toenail the ends into posts and toenail the long edges into the existing girts. That will stiffen the walls significantly and help transfer wind loads to the posts. If you really want to stiffen it more, you can and interior girts nailed to the inside of the posts and nailed into your bookshelf girts. It's like creating i-beam sections in the walls. Second, put diagonal braces between all the posts and attach them to the girts, which will unify the structure and create a lot of shear resistance. That is very important to brace the posts and help them handle the loads that get transferred from the walls. With unbraced posts, your wind resistance is highly dependent on post depth and backfill methods (if the posts were backfilled with soil, that is not a lot of resistance). With diagonal braces, the posts can act together and the walls will be much more resistant to wind loads.

[@longbeardmcstruttin5876]

I like it. is this method possible if you would be finishing inside walls in rough cut 5/4 boards?

[@Lumber_Jack]

Yes, you have a lot of options after the insulation is installed (which I'll show in a future video).

[@DNYS8N]

How would you recommend adding dry wall? Just screw through the insulation? Add lumber?

[@Lumber_Jack]

Install interior wall girts over the insulation and then drywall over the girts. I show this in later videos.

[@andyholinka3107]

Thank you for this video, I am about to tackle a similar project on my pole shed. Question for you: I do not have homewrap like you under the outer tin, so the tin is exposed from the inside. Do I need to cover the interior walls with vapor barrier or something before hanging the insulation? Any insight is GREATLY apprecited!

[@Lumber_Jack]

No, you do not need a moisture barrier under metal siding. The main reason I have house wrap is because the building has wood board& batten siding. The real concern with metal siding is preventing warm moist air inside the building from permeating into the insulation, so be sure you have an interior vapor barrier on the insulation.

[@andyholinka3107]

@@Lumber_Jack You da man. Thank you so much!

[@terrylutke]

Not sure I understand the disadvantage of using 2x6 'bookshelf' girts. Seems like it would save the step of inside/outside girt installation.

[@Lumber_Jack]

You wouldn't want to only use bookshelf girts, they would have a fraction of the strength of a face nailed girts to reinforce the wall in the shear plane. If they are used they are in conjunction with face nailed girts on the outside.

[@terrylutke]

@@Lumber_Jack That makes sense

[@gregorymacneil2836]

Did you consider rigid mineral wool or fibreglass panels? You are doing a great job!

[@Lumber_Jack]

I considered all options, since price/availability changes monthly here and it's hard to plan ahead. I didn't lock into the R-19 faced batts until last week when I had a chance to purchase them with volume discount and had a place to store all the bundles.

[@gregorymacneil2836]

@@Lumber_JackYou raise an interesting point because unless you buy everything in advance and store it you are faced with price and availability issues - it is very difficult to plan a project today and stick to a schedule. Great Video!