Little brother and I are set to close on a new project foreclosure next week, which means I need to start laying out plans.
The house caught fire in 2005 and was partially rebuilt. The entire upper floor was rebuilt with new materials. New roof is on. Plumbing and electrical have been run and need to be taken to final. Basically, the house is a shell that needs insulation, drywall, and interior finishing.
That leads me to radiant barriers. Regular fiberglass insulation for exterior walls is around 40 cents per square foot. R-13 rating. A guy on eBay is selling radiant barrier for around 15 cents per square foot, and the barrier appears to have an equivalent rating of R-20 for a single layer.
So, the obvious question is does this stuff really work and would I be a fool to use only radiant barrier throughout the house and in the attic? According to the seller, 2 layers of radiant barrier is equivalent to R-53.
eBay auction number 220119795834 Seller: thermalkool
I was thinking of doing an experiment with a few thousand SF of barrier. I'd staple one layer of barrier to the underside of the roof rafters, and leave another area exposed. Take temps readings to see how much heat gets by the barrier.
I've also seen paint coatings that claim to be radiant barriers, but my BS-meter is high on that.
What says the gallery?
jurgen