Metal roof insulation might not sound necessary at first instance, until we sit down and consider its long term benefits.
Insulation of metal roof is indeed crucial, as it creates the basis in which energy efficiency can be enhanced to cut the costs associated with heating and cooling during winter and summer.
This post covers some metal roof insulation tips and products, including DIY case studies and videos by professional roofing experts, that can help you to get some ideas on how to insulate your metal roof/shed properly.
Metal Roof Insulation Against Energy Loss/Gain
You can make a metal roof from steel, copper or aluminum. They are used for commercial houses, stalls, shops and residential houses.
As mentioned by Todd Miller in the video below, metal roofs offer energy efficiency because of its low thermal mass to lose any gained heat very quickly, while metal roofs with reflective coatings can reflect radiant heat:
“What am I insulating my metal roof against?”
With metal is both a good conductor of heat and cold, there are three natural processes you can be insulating the metal roof against – especially during summer and winter.
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Firstly, metal roof insulation is useful for mitigating radiant heat.
In summer, you will realize that metal roofing radiates excessive heat. When that excessive heat radiates down into the inside of your house, then your interiors becomes unbearable.
One way to insulate your metal roof and attic is radiant barrier foil, as shown in the video below that illustrates how radiant barrier works by reflecting heat coming off the roof:
Secondly, insulating metal roof will to you address the issue of cold chills within building.
During winter, uninsulated metal roofing tends to convert the interior of your building into an icebox. When metal sheets and framing loses heat, that heat loss will also be felt from within your room. It is with the fact that metal roofing turns extremely cold during winter that you need to insulate your metal roof.
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Thirdly, metal roofing insulation can help to address emanating from condensation.
If you have experienced small water droplets hanging from your iron sheets, do you know where the water droplets do come from?
Simple, it comes about when the exterior of your metal roof cools down while the inside of your room radiates warm air as put across by. The greater contrast between changes in night and day temperature is what calls for metal roof insulation.
The video below shows metal roofs in Michigan winter and ice problems on the roof:
Metal Roof Insulation Materials and Case Studies
There are various metal roofing insulation materials that you can get down to and choose from – such as fiberglass, bubble insulation, and spray foam.
In deciding whether it is the best material, you need to consider the following parameters:
It prevents condensation, nesting by small animals, R-value is unaffected by compression and humidity, resistant to mildew, safe, ease of installation, blocks metal roof holes, bars radiant effects, and vapor barrier efficiency.
While the durability and long-lasting features of metal roof means you will have it for many years, you can make the best use of your metal roofs and increase its energy efficiency by insulating them.
You can insulate the existing metal roof that you have, or a total new metal roof.
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Insulation of an Existing OLD Metal Roof
Let’s start with this video that shows Larry Janesky and his team insulated the existing metal roof of a commercial building using spray foam:
Metal insulation roof aids in conserving energy and reduces noise pollution in your house. Below are some tips that will help you achieve your desired metal roof insulation, and materials you need include foam board, paper wrap, staples, and panels.
- Take your foam board panels and place them on the inside of the sheathing. Likely, you can also place it outside of the sheathing.
- Cover up your sheathing with a paper wrap. It makes sure there are no drops of water in the sheathing. Just in case the sheathing is left uncovered molds can grow there and can have trapped air in there.
- You should use staples to fasten the sheathing and the insulation sheets. Did you know that using staples is the quickest and efficient way of installing the insulation panels? Additionally, they make tiny holes into the sheathing hence, no room for moisture or any other penetration. Even when doing repairs it is quick to remove them.
- Make perfect panels cuts and lay them. You should ensure that you have left some gaps while placing the panels. These gaps should be 1/8 inch. They help the air in the roof to flow easily.
Below is an example that shows how to install insulation over your old roof:
And the following video shows a great easy DIY metal roof insulation idea without using the expensive spray foam:
If you like DIY home improvement projects and wonder what’s the difference of solid vs. perforate RoofingFoil, then check out the great metal roofing underlayment guide explained in video below:
Below is an example of metal roofing and radiant barrier foil insulation project that you can get inspiration from:
Insulation of a NEW Metal Roof
Here are some techniques that can help you to insulate a new metal roof properly, and things you need include plywood, building paper, sheets, duct tape, and roofing nails (should either be galvanized or made from stainless steel).
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Technique 1:
You will need to lay the plywood on the roof. It should lay perpendicular to the roof joists. Check and see if the alignment is the one you wanted. Then buckle them together using the galvanized roofing nails. It forms a sheath.
The reason you are using the plywood is that it promotes lateral bracing features. On the other hand, galvanized roofing nails are resistant to rust hence low maintenance.
Technique 2:
Take your building paper and spread it out on the sheath. Extend the building paper by six inches. Join them together on the sheathing by using nails.
The building paper acts as a resistance of moisture and leaks to the plywood sheathing.
Technique 3:
Take your foam rigid board sheets and lay them on the all over the roof surface. While installing them, let them be so close together. However, avoid overlapping the sheets.
Foam rigid board sheets are great insulators to help minimize energy loss in your home.
Here is a video by Matt Risinger, who shared a white metal roof with rigid insulation project, using high temperature ice and water shield etc.
Technique 4:
You should check all the seams in between the foam rigid sheets. Use your duct tape to close all seams. Duct tapes hide your insulators from exposure of moisture. It makes sure that there is no air leak. And makes sure that nothing hinders the insulator to be efficient.
Technique 5:
Take your manual guide and read the installation instructions. They will come in handy as you need to read them before installing the metal panels. Remember you are going through it to see if everything you have done is what is in the book.
If you are looking for ideas on how to insulate metal building, then you can learn some expert tips from this below:
Let’s finish off this article with an interesting video below, that used thermal imaging to compare radiant barrier underlayment for metal and tile roofing:
