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Adding insulation to living area tongue and groove exposed ceiling?

Adding insulation to living area tongue and groove exposed ceiling?


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Old 05-10-18, 07:40 PM
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Question Adding insulation to living area tongue and groove exposed ceiling?

hello diy pro's! I hope I am posting in the correct section, mods please move if needed.

So I've been thinking about trying to add insulation to our tongue and groove ceiling. I've never done such a project but I am willing to find out all the information before I tackle such an idea. Sorry for my lack of proper terminology.

My home is from 1949, it has exposed tongue and groove and in the summer the house gets warm, the AC runs almost constantly and it never really gets comfortable. So I am thinking about applying a layer of 1/4" or 1/2" inch insulation and then cover it with maybe a t1-11 board (not sure on that, more on that later).

My thought process is liquid nail to hold up the insulation to the ceiling, then whatever wood I use to cover it being a 1/4" (if exists) or 1/2" plywood. I would then use a nail gun to nail the plywood to the beam at 45 degrees. At least visualizing this in my mind makes sense. Note that I don't want the insulation or the plywood to be too think, I don't want to lose the look of the beams, the exposure of the beams width is 5 1/2" inches

As for measurements I have 2" between the beams, each tongue and groove is a little over 5" and the length to cover from wall to center beam is a about 113" (a bit over 9').

Now in regards to the t1-11 board, I think the width of the slats are shorter than what I have now which again is about 5". Unless I am wrong, how else could I accomplish keeping the same visual appeal? Would I have to buy individual tongue and groove pieces instead of a panel?

I am attaching 2 pictures of my ceiling for reference.

Thanks all in advance for your suggestions and help.
 
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  #2  
Old 05-10-18, 07:58 PM
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That would be a real waste of time and effort. You won't even notice the difference and the ceiling will be quite ugly compared to how nice it looks now.
 
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Old 05-10-18, 08:42 PM
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I agree that it will look different but I doubt that it will look ugly., again looking for an option in which I can keep the current look of the tongue and groove. so far, it looks like I would have to get individual slats. I was hoping for some 8' by 4 foot boards that I could cut 2' wide for faster installation.

Either way I currently dont have any insulation, wouldn't having some insulation make any difference? If not then yes, waste of time and money, but if it can make a difference by helping to cool the house, lower my light bill and extend the life of my ac then the roi would be worth it.
 
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Old 05-11-18, 07:06 AM
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Hi ceez,
There is a great solution but it comes at a price, a new roof with the desired thickness of insulation installed before the new shingles or whatever you use.

I'm assuming you are in a cooling climate as T&G does poorly in a heating climate, air leakage and condensation.

X is correct, the ¼" or ½" of insulation will do very little. Currently you have roofing material and some thickness of wood and those do offer some amount of r-value, a wild guess would be about R-4. To be effective at keeping the heat out you would want about R-30.

With more information I could estimate your current energy costs for that roof as it is and then add some insulation to see how much you would save, but from experience I don't see the coffee cup approach being worth the effort.

Bud
Note, I'm a retired energy auditor, all-be-it from a northern climate region.
 
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Old 05-11-18, 09:12 AM
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@Bud, I am in S.Florida, so warm climate indeed. I was looking up what R-values are and came across this link. https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm...sulation_table I am in Zone1 which shows R30-R49, and if I am only getting R4 then it's definitely a waste of time and money.
When we purchased the house 2 years ago I had 5 roofers come to house to quote me on a new roof, one of my concerns was insulation and I asked if there was anything that could be done from the outside. If I remember correctly they all said there was really nothing that could be done, other than stating that a new modern tile and other materials would help relieve some of that heat. You state there can be insulation added to the outside beneath the tiles so I don't know why they would tell me no option available.
I appreciate the offer for the energy cost, what information would you need?
 
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Old 05-11-18, 11:16 AM
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Finding examples of rigid foam under a tile roof in your zone isn't going well. Beyond the r-value issues are the hurricane requirements for which I have no input. This is definitely a local knowledge problem and if it can be done someone local will know.

The r-4 I mentioned is an estimate of what you have NOW. Everything up there has a little bit of insulation value so you are not starting at zero. But you know that r-4 isn't helping a lot.

I played with the estimates for current cost vs after adding more insulation but found I had to guess far too much to have any confidence in any results. There are several factors complicating an estimate like separating heat gain costs from other electrical use. But, heat gain through the roof is only part of the total heat gain. Even if you reduced it by 50% that might only be 10% of your electric bill.

Basically I don't see a workable solution at any reasonable cost. A new roof with other shingles and 6"+ of rigid insulation or whatever is selected would work, but it has to be done to hurricane standards.

Best, but no real answers for you
Bud
 
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Old 05-11-18, 11:42 AM
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So just to confirm the T&G is the roof, no gap between?
 
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Old 05-13-18, 05:30 PM
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Bud thanks so much for trying, truly appreciate it.

Marq, yes the t&g is the roof. So if I was to drill through it I would have the tar, materials and the tile.
 
 

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