How can I cool down my building, when I have a tin roof?

Question

I recently purch. a 120 yr old concrete block building with tin roof. It has no insulation but it does have a ceiling seperating the roof from the rooms below. I am a screenprinter and I do run a "dryer" to cure my shirts but when its not on, I would like the temp to be alot cooler inside. We are looking at putting A/C in but also wanted to know what steps we could take to cool down the place. We already use window fans but that doesn't seem to work very well. I looked at using a "whole house fan" and some attic fans to cool down the place...any advice?

Thanks for your time

Here is the scenario. There is a tin roof then an attic with vents at either end. No fans though. Then there is plywood that covers the attic floor. Under the plywood is ceiling insulated tiles or something. Thats it. Then you hit the room underneat and the other rooms. I like the idea of adding fans and insulation but I don't know which insulation to use. Lowes and Home Depot weren't much help. BTW how many degrees cooler do you think it will make the building by adding 1 attic fan and then adding insulation...either between the plywood and the ceiling or right to the roof. Not to mention which would be a better solution, roof or ceiling insulation? thanks for the responses!!!

Also, just had a A/C man come in a give an estimate. He said about 7500 to install a 4 ton unit and run the ducts. Exposed duct work, which I dont mind, and exposed unit. I was hopeing for more around 4K not 8...maybe its wishful thinking.

Checked into the "Radiant Barrier" stuff. There are so many brands. Dianne can you tell me more about the Radiant Barrier you used and how many layers did you install?

Answer 1

Quickest cheapest, get 6 or 9 inch insulation in rolls, (unbatted) place that above the dropped ceiling. (remove the tiles next to where you want the insulation only tough one will be the last row.and wear long sleeve shirt or tyvak coveralls, and gloves, and face mask) then in the roof put in a couple of domed vents

Answer 2

You need to vent the hot air from the ceiling before it gets down to the room level. Using roof vents with a fan assist works well. Insulating the ceiling will help keep the heat above the room level also. Regardless of what you do if you don't get the heat out of the attic it will continue to heat up the rooms below. You should have some vents around the eaves to allow cooler air to enter and replace the hot air you are venting out the top of the roof or at the ends of the building.

Answer 3

First step--paint your tin roof white to reflect as much sun as possible
second --use paper backed insulation as thick as will fit between the roof rafters without compressing it too much. Stapling insulation is a tedious job but well worth it
Third --a large fan ie whole house will lower the temp
even box fans blowing out the attic vents will help a lot

Answer 4

Do exactly as Lestermount said to vent the heat out and insulate the attic area, then coat your roof with an Elastomeric roof coating, making sure you use their primer 1st. The coating, when dry, reflects heat away, is rubberized so it won't crack, easy to apply with a roller and pole, and the cost is very reasonable. I've used it here in Tucson for years and can tell you that in direct sun when placing your hand on a tarred roof you're looking at blisters but immediately after applying even 1 coat of this and letting it dry next to the unpainted area you can put your hand on it for as long as you like with what feels like a 50 degree difference. Don't know the difference exactly but it actually feels cold. Amazing stuff. If you use a coating, go for the highest quality available.

Answer 5

can u get in there & insulate bet the roof & ceiling? That would b a great deal of help. Attic fans would help as well.. If u'r using window fans.. make sure they r blowing out. For inside.. use stand fans for u'rself. Ceiling fans would work as well even w/ A/c.. winter or summer. My thinking would b puttin some insullation bet that roof & u'r ceiling.

Ask at the hardware store. They should have the stuff for it.

Answer 6

Apply block insulation below the tin roof, even if it means pulling out the ceiling. You will never cool a building with just a tin roof. You will also save money

Answer 7

We just got done building a home in the high desert and found this great radiant barrier on the internet that works fantastically. When it's 90+ outside our house is in the low 70's without Air Conditioning. Here's the website where we got the product, they have more info on how to apply their product. After our neighbors came over to our home, they all ordered the product and have reported getting similar results.

http://www.energyconservationspecialists.com/

here's the ebay link for the product:

http://cgi.ebay.com/RADIANT-BARRIER-FOIL-INSULATION-4-HOUSE-WRAP-ATTIC-WALL_W0QQitemZ220126040635QQihZ012QQcategoryZ63894QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Answer 8

paint the roof white to reflect the sun's heat or get a soak-er hose and keep it wet that will help alittle but the paint is the best on a metal roof

Answer 9

Insulate it