tiny house insulation

Insulation is probably my least favorite job to do. It is one of those little jobs that I procrastinate on. A big job gives me the ability to pick and choose what I want to do and move from one task to another. Little jobs require dedication to the one task. I prefer to multitask, little jobs are not my favorite. This week while I was at work my wife insulated the entire house. She spent the entire day covering herself in itchy scratchy fiberglass insulation just so I would not have to.  I think it looks great. She is fantastic.

kitchen

Now that the insulation is installed downstairs we have turned our attention toward the kitchen countertops. We plan to install concrete counters as we have in our current home. They are an excellent addition and allow us to increase thermal mass in the house as well as increase class. We will plan to place the drop in cast iron double sink, a craigslist find at $25, directly below the window on the South wall. The “new” still in the box and wrapper Ikea gas cooktop, a Restore find at $50, will sit below the East wall window. We have covered the walls below the counter in plywood, reclaimed from shipping pallets. The counters will stand two inches higher than “standard” counters considering that we are taller than the average person. At six foot six inches tall my back starts to hurt bending over traditional counters so the height adjustment is a nice comfort addition to the kitchen. 

Mid October

My apologies for the delay in updating the progress on the tiny timber house. We have been focused more on the progress of the house than the blog. The next few days should have a steady stream of posts. 

It is mid October and the air is starting to have a certain crisp feel. The house is wrapped in Tyvke though not clad in any other layers. This means, the crisp feel outside has also made itself at house inside the tiny timber house. In an effort to escort the unwelcome guest back outside, where it is quite enjoyable, we have begun insulating. 

A little quick math in my head determined that we would need approximately eight rolls of R-13 fiberglass insulation to insulate the first floor. Considering I forgot to accommodate for windows, we  were able to finish with the use of seven. We started insulating the second floor with the eight roll. Even with the house not fully buttoned up, we lack the installation of one door, the insulation makes a noticeable difference in both sound dampening as well as warmth. 

With the insulation going up I have also begun spraying Great Stuff Windows and Doors, a spray in foam, into all of the gaps that would not receive rolls of insulation. The foam is especially helpful in reducing air infiltration thus reducing drafty feelings at windows and doors. Foam is also nice in the respect that it fits into gaps and then expands to fill them, something that fiber does not do. 

The roof is currently insulated with double bubble insulation. It consists of a double layer of thin bubble foam and a radiate barrier on one side. The radiant barrier is an aluminum reflective foil that reflects 96+% of radiant energy back into the atmosphere around the house instead of allowing it to soak in and warm the house. Think of this like one of those sun shades for a car windshield. It not only creates a shadow of cooler air behind the shade but it also does not soak in the rays, warm up, and then pass the warmth on to the dash of the car. Same concept with the radiant barrier on the house. The barrier is rated to R-11which essentially means it will do very little to help us keep heat out in the Summer or Heat in in the Winter. Most of the energy in a house transfers through the roof, in terms of hot and cold. Essentially, where R-11 may be fine for walls or a floor it is sub-optimal for the roof. We will be insulating the roof with an addition of R-30 fiberglass to supplement the double bubble. The addition will bring our roof R-value to R-41 a much more acceptable and insular roof value. 

Upstairs South wall 

The West wall downstairs

Roof work

     Looking up throughout the "vent" where the chimney will go you can see the roof is coming nicely. We used radiant bubble insulation under the metal roof. The bubble insulation is placed under the purlins so as to create an air space that allows the radiant barrier to do its job. We did not place insulation under the overhang outside the house as we did not feel it was essential to protect the air below the roof.
       The bubble insulation is rated to R-11. Considering that most 2x4 walls are filled with R-13, I feel R-11 is a great value for such a thin layer of insulation. We do still plan to put standard insulation in-between the roof trusses. The standard insulation will be rated R-30. This will bring our combined roof insulation to R-41 plus the radiant barrier that reflects heat. All together it should be a well insulated roof, keeping out heat in the Summer and keeping in heat in the Winter.