I am interested in a foil insulation for a sauna. What is the best foil insulation for a sauna? The sauna will be located in an interior room of my home.
Can you tell me anything regarding the radiant barrier use under concrete? Some of your members manufacture under concrete insulation in varying forms – some with a radiant barrier some without. Some say you can’t install a radiant barrier under concrete – some say you can. Aside from installing it correctly so the aluminum is not destroyed by the concrete — does a radiant layer still work under concrete?
Please provide me with references demonstrated via hard science and research supporting an air space. If possible, I’d like to know if science exists to support any specific space depth for a given IR wavelength.
Are there any studies available involving radiant barrier ‘underlayment’ (i.e. Polaralum) when applied or sandwiched between roof decking and composition shingles?
I’m using 9” 13 ga. girders on a galvanized metal building. The building will be wrapped with OSB, then moisture barrier wrap and fiber cement siding, using radiant barrier. My question is would foil radiant barrier be effective if applied between OSB and galvanized girders/columns as long as I keep the interior open for air gap? My second application choice is to apply radiant barrier on inside of building, which then means all you see once inside is the foil barrier.
What is the minimum distance between a radiant barrier installed on the bottom side of roof sheathing from insulation between rafters?
What is the best way to add radiant barrier to a roof? Is it ever advantageous to install a foil below the rafters after the roof is installed? And if the roof is already installed, is foil sheeting better than a spray application?
I have a wood framed house, with balloon construction, and lathe and plaster walls. The house was built in 1917. The walls have many horizontal fire stops and I believe blown in insulation will not be an option. Will ceramic reflective paint on the interior walls come close to the insulating value of conventional fiberglass insulation in terms of heat loss? My original intent was to strip all lathe and plaster on the inside of exterior walls, insulate, and install sheetrock, however there is a great deal of original window and door trim and baseboards that would have to be removed. Does this stuff (ceramic paint) work? If conventionally insulated walls will allow say 10 BTUs to escape, can I expect the same value for the ceramic paint? i.e. will ceramic paint allow 8 BTUs, or 2 BTUs to escape?
Are there any technical documents/case studies on the effectiveness of reflective insulation below snowmelt? Specifically, snowmelt tubing installed in a sand bed below pavers with reflective insulation below the sand bed.
Hi, I am currently building a home. Unfortunately, my contractor did not install radiant heat barrier roof decking. We have just completed the framing and roofing stage, so no interior work has been done. My house is 2 stories, 3800 sq. ft., with a lot of attic space, some of which I will finish out into additional living space in the future. I would like your opinion as to what to do:
In your handbook you explain the difference between a reflective insulation and a radiant barrier essentially being that with the former, the foil is facing an enclosed air space, whilst with the latter the foil is facing an open-air space. Both systems are recommended for use in walls. My first question is, which system is most effective in a wall situation? Why can we only give an R-Value to the reflective insulation situation, and not the radiant barrier situation?
I am building a new home in Scottsdale, Arizona. My general contractor is suggesting a radiant barrier for the attic and the entire wall perimeter of the house. I can find lots of information on the benefits of radiant barriers in the attic, but nothing for the walls. Can you help me understand if there is any benefit to wrapping the entire house?
We had someone come out to our home to quote installation of a reflective barrier. Is it okay to staple the barrier to the floor?
I have read your bulletins on the emittance and reflectance of aluminum exposed to air, but I did not see any exact numbers for both. Most importantly, I’m wondering what the numbers look like of aluminum foil that has been in service for several years and whether coated or uncoated aluminum foil will perform best for a long time?
I am installing vinyl siding and intend to install radiant barrier on the plywood prior to installing the siding. Will the air space that will be created by the siding itself (which appears to be about 5/16 to 3/8 of an inch) be sufficient for the radiant barrier to be effective? How much air space is required and is there an optimal amount of air space?
I have converted a barn to an in-law apartment. I was thinking of using the double bubble reflective material as my only form of insulation. I live in CT where days in January can stay in the single digits and nights be as much as 15 below zero.
I am about to install a heat barrier for my house in San Antonio, TX. Which is better, the roll or the paint? I read where I would need a perforated foil, due to condensation.
Should spray foam insulation be applied directly to the underside of a roof that has used OSB with a radiant barrier (combo type product)? If it has already been done, should the builder and insulation installer have known better? Should the foam be removed?
Would the R-Value of the insulation be devalued if spray foam was already sprayed onto the underside of the roof and the decking as the radiant barrier is already attached? Besides the wasted money of the radiant barrier, what other negatives are there?
I have some extra strips of Enerflex radiant barrier that I would like to wrap around my AC line running from my compressor up to the condenser in the attic which already has a foam type (Armaflex) insulation over it. Also, I have some spots with the same situation with my water heater. I know radiant barrier works good over fiberglass, but will it work over closed cell foam? I will have to wrap it tightly and there will be some overlapping of the radiant barrier.