Cheap way to insulate small shed?

[jill.costello]

I've got an Amish built 8x10 garden shed that is currently in use as our dog house for 4 dogs. We also built an 8x10 shed roof off of one side, and enclosed that, and that is where 3 goats and 8 chickens live at night (out in yards during the day).

With winter coming on, I thought I'd best find out the least expensive way to insulate at least the dog's area, in case the combined body heat in there just isn't doing the full job.....

The main shed and the "extra room" are both framed out in 2x4's 24" on-center, and the whole thing is sided in T-11. The roof is sheathing, then feltpaper, then asphalt shingled.

I would love to just "stuff" the walls with straw! But that will require buying some kind of board or plywood,etc, to cover the 2x4 studs to hold the straw IN....that sounds WAY more expensive than I was budgeting for...

I also thought about carpet remnants tacked to the walls.....a barn-yard 70's revival disco!

Anything you guys have done or seen???

[meanwhile]

We had similar challenge, an attached shed room to the barn, about 10 by 11 and it is storage and dog sleeping barn. Like you we wanted more insulation for dogs but did not have the money to insulate the whole room.

What we did was to build a "dog sleeping box" from old plywood. It is only about 3 feet high by 3 feet wide by 2 feet deep. It is just a box - since it is in a corner we only had to build two sides, the front is open but has a piece of wood on one side to block cold air........I wish I could describe it better.....but we just put one bale of cedar chips in there, then set one bale of straw out front to block cold air.

The dogs go in the box to sleep and it stay warm in there. The boys also took an old heavy curtain and hung it in the main door in, the wood door is jammed into position to stay open about 14 inches wide, then the curtain hangs over that opening. The dogs can push aside the curtain to get inside, then go in the "sleeping box"

We use the wood top of the box for more storage and storage in the rest of the room too.

Another idea we did before we built the box was to turn a huge rolling type trash can on its side, then we put straw in it and the dogs crawled in there to sleep. We have full size Labs though and they outgrew the trash can.

If you try to insulate the whole room it will be harder. Try to think of a smaller area for the dogs to just sleep inside.

Another time the boys took straw bales, places them two high and made a box shape, then they took a tarp and made a roof. The dogs liked it so much they tore the whole thing up and made a huge straw nest! That winter we just left it there and the dogs made tunnels in the straw all winter. In spring we just raked it out to the yard. Since we use that room for storage too, it was too messy to continue with the straw box.

Good luck.

[Beaners]

I was going to suggest straw for them to dig around and bury themselves in too.

Could you use cardboard tacked to the studs in place of plywood for a single season? It wouldn't be quite as sturdy, but it would certainly be cheap.

Kayleigh

[artmeetsearth]

I agree with the last two posters. I spoke earlier this year with the head of our local animal rescue organization - he was clear that while dogs definitely need a house, they don't tend to need insulation. He said the most important thing you can do is block wind, including between the cracks in the siding. Four dogs should do a great job of keeping each other warm.

Thick layers of cardboard (or old carpet, if you have that lying around) will do the job, if you even need it with the T-11. Include the door. Stand inside for a few minutes on a windy day and see if you can feel it coming through - block those spots or build a makeshift half wall there for the dogs to shelter behind. Then add straw and let the dogs nest in. I assume your four dogs are generally "outdoor" dogs and are not particularly sensitive to the cold.

[RVcook]

As already stated, outdoor dogs need shelter from the elements and some straw to bed down in. The only other thing I added when I had dogs was a lightbulb on a drop cord near to where the water bucket was to keep it from freezing on really cold nights. The dogs got a little extra heat and it kept the water from becoming ice.

RVcook

[Bret]

Can you just toss an Amish quilt over it?

[Thoughthound]

Most of the heat will escape through the roof. If you insulate at all, put it in over their heads.

Letting them bury themselves in straw will have the same effect.

As for walls, block air infiltration.

Avoid carpet as it can harbor fleas and if a dog gets bored he or she may chew it and synthetic fibers can be dangerous for a dog's stomach.

Also before insulating walls, I'd make sure there is adequate ventialation near the ceiling.

Four breathing dogs can create a lot of moisture, which could lead to illness or just building mold and rot problems.

Simple vent holes drilled out with a spade bit and covered with scraps of window screen are a heck of a lot cheaper than vet bills or bracing up walls. The dogs will also thank you in the summer.

[Use Less]

I would not enclose & stuff the walls with straw. It is too easy for rodents and insects to take up housekeeping, and the straw might become damp and rot your whole structure. Can you put up a windbreak some feet away on the side where your prevailing weather comes from? If you can deflect the air, that would help, as well s filling cracks & holes. If you hang out at the landfill, you might be able to scavenge plywood and lumber scraps to make inside walls. Sue

[THETOOLMAN]

If you put a smaller house in the shed & fill it with DRY wheat strawv or hay, they will make a nest & be warm and tosty . I have a house with a flap of cloth over the door & they stay warm as in the house!!

[oldcj5guy]

I usually just stack straw bales inside my building around the sides leaving the middle open and throw straw down for mine to bed in. The bales lessen the space to heat as well as provide more insulation and I can use them for other things later as needed. Of course my pyr usually beds down in the snow anyway.

[vallyfarm]

4 goats in tat area...I'd be more concerned with ventilation more than insulation. Keep the drafts out without sealing the place up and they will be fine. When my ducks get cold they sleep on top of my goats. No complaints from either of them. Mike

[sammyd]

Dogs don't need insulation, just windproofing.
Goats are about the same. We keep ours in a pen on one end of a 4 car garage. No insulation but extra boards on the inside to keep drafts out.

I did insulate and lower the ceiling on the coop which is 8x12 and hung a brooder bulb over the waterer the last 2 years. This year I opened it up for calves and never got the ceiling dropped again but I don't anticipate any problems other than an icy waterer.

[Ohio dreamer]

Any companies or such around that get allot of stuff shipped to them? My dad built a double wall dog house when I was a kid and filled the cavity with packing peanuts he got free from work. If you could find a company that received shipments, they might have packing peanuts to get rids of. Then you could flatten the cardboard boxes and staple them on the studs, and fill.

[foxtrapper]

Dogs like caves and such to den in. Built a small cave structure and they will go sleep in it, keeping that warm.

What is the floor? Cement is darn cold. A simple piece of plywood laid down over cement goes a long ways towards comfort. Throw the straw on that.

[jill.costello]

Here is a link to the whole album of pictures of my shed:

http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d1..._/Shed%20Pics/

here's just a few pics:

[jill.costello]

The floor is raised wood for the dogs with a carpet remnant over. Rubber mats over dirt for the chickens and goaties, bedded with pine shavings.

As you can see from the pictures, we have a half-wall keeping the dogs in the back 2/3 of the main shed. They go to their yard through their door.

The "annex" is divided into 1/3 & 2/3 with a half-wall, also; the front 1/3 is for my single goat in with the chickens (chickens are "lofted"). The back 2/3 is for my mother/son pair of goats.

All areas have their own door to the outside. The eaves of the shed are open to the air, and the louvered windows are always open, also, so far, so ventilation is VERY good.....(maybe too good...)

[Alice In TX/MO]

Your building is perfect. Add some hay for them to nest in, and they will be fine!