Metal Building Insulation

Our metal building insulation is a flexible blanket product engineered specifically for steel buildings.  It may be purchased unfaced or with a variety of vapor retarder facings and it is available in several thicknesses.  Your selection of facing depends on the intended use.  Will you use the product by itself or will you use it with one of our radiant barriers?  
 

Because it is manufactured with metal buildings in mind, both our roof insulation and wall insulation products are made in widths and lengths that fit between the metal building's girts and purlins.  Fiberglass insulation is a superior product that is non-corrosive, has excellent acoustical performance, low thermal conductivity, toughness, resiliency and fire resistance.

The most simple method for installing fiberglass insulation on the roof of a steel building is to simply lay it across the purlins and then put the roof sheets over it.  In this case, we would recommend that you don't use anything greater than R-19 (6" insulation) and that you use longer screws to fasten down the roof.  For walls, you can minimize or eliminate "oil-canning" if you limit the fiberglass insulation thickness to R-13 (4" thick insulation).  To obtain maximum r-value and eliminate the loss of r-value due to compression, consider putting the insulation between the purlins.  You may opt to use one of the six systems shown above, each which is described below.

1. Energy Saver FP - Leading edge fall protection*; a clean, finished appearance and exceptional thermal performance.
2. Purlin Glide FP - Leading edge fall prevention*; a smooth, seamless finish and topside installation.
3. Banding System - Simple, economical and available with a wide variety of facing materials.
4. Perfect R - Topside installation featuring excellent wind resistance and a smooth, seamless finish.
5. Sky-Web II - Leading edge fall protection for the complete roof.
6. Energy Basket System - Provides simple installation and high R-values with conventional faced fiberglass materials.

*  When installed by certified installers.

Some of the fiberglass insulation systems warrant more attention and discussion.  Discussed below are three of the most two of the most popular installation systems and, since not all metal building work involves new construction, we've dedicated a little bit of the narrative to retrofit work. 

ENERGY BASKET SYSTEM -- The Energy Basket System is attractive and is easily installed from the topside of the building. The baskets consist of white painted galvanized “Hat” and “C” shaped channels which are preassembled into a grid pattern. The baskets (typically two per bay) rest on the flange of one purlin and hook to the purlin on the opposite of the space such that they are level. The baskets support a layer of faced blanket insulation that is positioned parallel to the purlins. An additional layer of unfaced insulation is positioned above the purlins at the time the roof panels are being installed. It is important to fill the entire cavity as most industry experts believe that air spaces within a fiberglass system should be avoided in order to properly control condensation.

Energy Basket Installation Instructions

Step #1:  Place the baskets within the purlin spaces taking care to follow the layout that was provided for each specific project.

Step #2:  Faced blanket insulation is specifically fabricated to fit between each pair of purlins and is typically produced in rolls that equal to 1 bay length (plus 12” extra for stretching/handling).  These rolls are unwound and positioned within the purlin space and are supported by the baskets.  It is important that the tabs (the facing material that is laminated to the lower fiberglass layer is wider than the glass — this extra material is called a “tab” or “tabs”) are pulled up and over the purlins.  These tabs should either be rolled and stapled together or sufficiently overlapped in order to achieve a consistent vapor retarder.  If overlapped, place a small piece of tape (every few feet or so) on the tabs so they don’t separate as the top layer of insulation is positioned.

Step #3:  End to end connection of the rolls (above each frame line) can be achieved by peeling back a small amount of the fiberglass and then stapling the exposed facing from one roll to the next or by taping the ends of each roll to the top of the rafter (depending on the specific construction details).  Some erectors prefer to run a TEK screw with a washer through the insulation into the rafter for additional support.

Step #4:  Position the unfaced fiberglass layer perpendicular to the purlins - on top of the tabs and faced insulation.  Once this step is complete, the roof panels can be installed above the insulation.

Note:    It is suggested that you check for mid-span bracing and other obstructions when selecting a high R-value system, as they may compromise thermal performance and vapor retarder integrity depending on their location.  Some systems are much better choices than others when bracing exists. This is of particular importance in deciding whether an Energy Basket System is the right choice for your building.  Not recommended for high humidity applications - those that exceed 35% for more than 3 hours at any one time.

The Energy Basket System is available with two different grid patterns - Conventional and Modified.  You can see from these illustrations that the Modified grid has fewer “C” channels and they are positioned toward the outer edge of the baskets.  We recommend the Modified grid pattern as we believe it allows the insulation a chance to “relax” in between the Hat channels, yielding a smoother appearance.

BANDING SYSTEM -- One of the most popular high R-value insulation systems used in Metal Building Construction is the Banding System.  This is an easily installed, attractive system which requires very little hardware.  The typical purlin installation consists of white banding which is fastened to the bottom of the purlins in a steel building.  It is important to fill the entire cavity as most industry experts believe that air spaces within a fiberglass system should be avoided in order to properly control condensation.  This banding is used to support a layer of faced blanket insulation that is positioned parallel to the purlins.  An additional layer of unfaced insulation is positioned above the purlins at the time the roof panels are being installed.