Expert: Dave Johnson - 2/12/2007

Question
Problem: My bedroom is directly above the garage, and the furnace/AC unit is on the opposite side of the house (in basement). It’s cold in the winter, and I expect will be hot in the summer.

Question: Is it practical to build a false ceiling in the garage to effectively increase the insulation from outside temp? My thought was to frame out a whole new ceiling, perhaps 12-18” lower than the current ceiling, that could be insulated, then dry-walled.

Facts: This is a new construction house, completed Oct of ’06. The two car garage is roughly 20’ x 24’. The garage ceiling has plenty of room to drop. I already insulated the entire garage (R13), including foam boards the overhead door. The bedroom above is 20’ x 20’ with a vaulted ceiling that is insulated to R38 in the attic. The supply air is at the end of the main duct line, and must travel up one side of the garage (the builder bumped out the wall 4” to insulate this portion), then across the garage ceiling (insulated) to reach the outlets in the bedroom.

Concerns: Fire codes? Practicality or effectiveness? This solution *seems* easier than messing with the duct work or furnace layout.

Any thoughts?


Answer
First, if you could ask a non-interested heating person if the furnace was designed to heat a room at such a distance
from the source, you may have an answer.
If it is, certainly insulating the garage ceiling is going to help. Insulating the ducting itself is also a must.
I prefer to use rigid foam or celulose insulations rather than fiberglass.glass seems to be just a damn "filter".
ALSO: please usa a poly film under your bedroom floor! Fumes from the garage can enter and cause you to get sick...or worse!
I hope this is a help

Dave