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We have a large, permitted outbuilding which has remained empty because we can't agree on walls. Now, it has just the exterior t1-11 on frame and start of someone's old drywall (just a few half sheets), but my husband wants to drywall and plaster the whole thing while I want to open up for ventilation (it is super hot & stuffy). I s there any advantage to insulation if there is no AC? Can anyone suggest a cheap and cute route besides drywall and plaster? He did not want to texture and paint frame......
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Radient barrier is very helpful, above the ceiling & on walls that receive sunlight... there is a radiant bubble insulation that is not rodent/insect nesting friendly...
cheap-ish, easy way to do inside walls is hardboard paneling you can get wood-sit looking or tile-is looking (hey, no body said anything about looking good, just #699;cute" & this would-be into the shabby chic!)
If you do not care how well the walls look, drywall, tape, skim coat tape & fastenings & prime... no need for smoothing if you do not care...but gotta prime to reduce mold
Absolutely the cheapest way is to panel with wood slats from skids (pallets) if you can get them for free (some are still for free) but termites will also like this plan...
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A lot of people use wood paneling. Being 8 feet by 4 feet it's a quick install plus it brings back that retro 70's look you've been missing in your life: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Williams-Cro.../205716948 (they probably have other styles available and if you don't like the color you can paint it). And, it's cheap.
Another option is bamboo paneling. Hotels use it like wainscoting but it's also used for entire walls: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Kelleher-417.../100321997
You can also use T1-11 siding on the inside. After it's painted and molding added it doesn't look as bad as it sounds. It's reminiscent of the wood paneling mentioned above. Once you put a couple of pieces of art on it you don't even notice you have exterior siding inside unless you're looking for it.
Go to the section of HD that has all the wood paneling, bamboo, and the engineered tile looking stuff and maybe other ideas for their application will pop into your head.
If you're looking for free pallets all the feed stores give them away (Del's, Mirandas, Pahoa feed). Dels even stacks them by the road for quick grab-and-go. If using pallet wood I would treat it to make it less termite friendly. They have some stuff in the lumber section of HD. I've built with pallets before and taking them apart without damaging the wood is harder than you think. A lot of pallets are actually made with quality hardwoods. Pallet wood is like the bacon "ends and pieces" that become bacon bits. Every bit as good as the original product, just not big enough to be sold for anything other than leftover pieces of the original product.
"Is there any advantage to insulation if there is no AC?"
The only thing I can think of is coqui noise. The problem with insulation is that it makes the structure take forever to cool down when the late afternoon comes.
If the structure is too hot, add windows. If windows are too expensive, cut out sections of the siding and replace with screen.
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With the weather getting hotter and the possibility of more bad air days, we've considered insulating, double-walling, and shuttering a room in our house (currently just openings with screens as terracore described). I wonder if that radiant barrier is enough to make air-conditioning efficient, or if we will need actual insulation as well? What do people in Hilo do with their single-wall homes when the temperature outside is 90F+?
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What do people in Hilo do with their single-wall homes when the temperature outside is 90F+?
They go to the beach?
Most of the vintage homes in Hilo utilize clever architectural techniques and features that became "obsolete" with the advent of grid power and air conditioning.
It's hard to catch a breeze at ground level and surrounded by trees. Clear a meadow on the windward side, or build a second story, or both, it makes a huge difference.
Plain tin roof radiates heat directly into the house, but with a higher peak, good orientation, some ventilation, this heat will convect out nicely. White roofing also helps.
Air is a poor conductor of heat. Deeper overhangs. If bothering with double-wall + insulation + barriers, focus on the side of the house where the sun shines.
Note that conventional framing with 2x6 means you can fit R-19 in the wall (and use 24" centers instead of 16" -- it works out to substantially less material).
If using pallet wood I would treat it to make it less termite friendly.
Pallets are difficult to disassemble because they use fluted nails. There is a technique (possibly a special machine) for cutting the nails so you end up with full-size boards. I have an "art project" in mind: cut the boards to even multiples of stud spacing, dip batches of them in clear colored stain, then "brick" the wall to make ... a kalakoa finish.
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Wow. Thanks. Lots to think about
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"I wonder if that radiant barrier is enough to make air-conditioning efficient, or if we will need actual insulation as well?"
You didn't mention how large of an area you are referring to or how cold you want to get it, but if it is just air quality you are focusing on, a cheap 8,000 BTU window unit can remove the humidity, clear the air, and make a pretty large room fairly comfortable so long as you have a solid barrier between you and the outside. Maybe all you need to do is install some shutters to close up the screened areas? The ACs list the size room they are rated for. I don't know what that means exactly. Cooling a room in hot humid Florida down to 70 degrees? But if your room is larger and it clears the air and lowers the humidity 20% you'll be a lot more comfortable even if it doesn't drop the temperature at all. If you locate yourself near to it, it will feel like whatever temperature its set at even if its much warmer on the other side of the room. We based our purchase on the amount of spare wattage our hybrid solar system can deliver but it turns out that we had more spare wattage than we thought we did. We got a 6,000 BTU unit and probably should have gone with an 8,000. On the other hand if we got an 8,000 BTU unit and couldn't use it on as many days I'd probably be whining that we should have got a 6,000 BTU unit. Get as large of a unit that you are comfortable paying to purchase and operate. You can always dial the usage of a larger unit down, you can't dial up the usage of something that is maxed out.
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Radiant barrier alone is not insulating, so it would not help keep in the very expensive AC air... does reduce the need for cooling (does nothing for VOG)much like an umbrella on a sunny day....
Even the radiate barrier with insulation bubbles (we have in our house) has a very low R value, so I would not use it alone, if I were looking to use AC...
It really does reduce the heat radiating in through the walls & ceiling, so that would reduce the amount of cooling needed (but would do nothing for the VOG)
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Vents up near the top of the roof or the ceiling to let the hot air out. Vents down near the floor to let the cooler air in. If your house is up on post and pier, vents in a closet floor with a louvered closet door will allow airflow in from the cooler under house area.
Louver (jalousy) windows have 100% ventilation as opposed to the glass pane windows which typically only have 50%.
White roof, if it isn't already white, there's that 'sno-coat' roof paint. That will reduce the temperature by about thirty degrees or so on a hot day. Less heat to get in.
Big roof overhangs or a lanai all the way around. That keeps the sun off the walls of the house.
Cross ventilation, windows on opposite walls from each other when ever possible.
Maybe a trellis with a lilikoi growing on it on the sunny side of the house. That will create shade along with the lilikoi.
Photovoltaic or solar hot water panels on your house will help shade the roof as well as make electricity and hot water.
Put photovoltaic panels on the roof to run the air conditioner. On hot days when you want the A/C is when you'll have the sun on the solar panels to power it.
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
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Awning & casement solid pane windows also have 100% ventilation face... SLIDING windows have 50%
Jalousies do not have a good enough air seal to keep out smoke or VOG, so we have a stacked awning windows (Coastal Windows makes the stacked ones we have) that have many of the benefits of full ventilation face, rain coverage, high low ventilation adjustments and better security/ less air penetration than jalousies...
I wish we had known about the stacked awning windows to begin with, as we prefer them (& the Coastal Brand) over most of the options we have seen here...
But any window is an increased cost over most other wall treatments (although we got our Coastals as replacements for a window that was mis-measured, & they were on the discount rack at a local store... so they were not much more than other wall treatments that way...)
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