Tekfoil for insulation?

[johnsonmopar]

I have been getting farmtek and teksupply catalogs for a while and I was looking in them the other night. I came across their sheet insulation called tekfoil. It is rather inexpensive and looks easy to install. I was wondering if anyone on here has used it and how they like it. I have a modular house that was never put on a foundation and I put a perminate skirting around it this fall. The problem is that cats had tore up the insulation that is under the house so I was thinking of using this stuff to fix the problem. I also have two chicken houses that I would like to put it in. I just don't know if I would have to cover it so the chickens don't peck it and mess it all up. Thanks in advance, Matthew

[Windy in Kansas]

I looked at their site for Tekfoil and no where did I see the R value for it given. It is ????

I think of the foil type of products as reflecting some heat but not of great R value. Others I have read about required an air gap on both side of the foil meaning it needed lots of furring strips (1"X2"s for the purist) to suspend it in place.

I think you can do much better.

[MaineFarmMom]

I use it on the north wall of my seedling house. It's great in there, saves a lot of propane, but it isn't suitable for your use. The cats could easily tear it down.

[Beeman]

http://www.teksupply.com/farm/suppli...ERNAL_PAGE_134
I've looked at the site and don't see it listed for your crwl space application. It would be a good vapor barrier under the flooring but it's more for radient heat containment. I would contact them and they would surely answer your questions. It would definetly work for your poultry house. I have used it under metal roofing and will use it on my chicken house when I put the metal roof on it.

[KimTN]

Hi,
We used it under our house and it worked wonders. It was very easy to put up. Just staple to the floor joists. The space left between it and the subfloor keeps warm. Our floors are now warm to walk on where as before, they used to be cold as ice. We also used it below the metal roof in the rabbit barn and it stops the radiant heat in the summer. We are now considering doing the same to our house roof. You just roll it out and staple. Get the really wide stuff. It really speeds up the process.

[Common Tator]

I think it is supposed to be more of a vapor barrier that has insulating qualities. Before spending a lot of money on this, you need to button up the area under the mobile so cats can't get in. Here is the site http://www.teksupply.com/farm/suppli...nsulation.html

If you haven't seen it, it is like bubble wrap with foil on one side.

[crobar]

Lowes sells this stuff too. You could go look at it. I have ordered things from farmtek, their bubble wrap is probably heavier than Lowes. It wouldn't stop a determined cat, moth balls might. I have several rolls of the foil bubblewrap I intend to use, but I really can't give an accurate performance report, don't have enough in use. It reflects heat radiation on its foil side, it doesn't work on R rating. After asking on this forum about using it under fiberglass sky lights, some one was kind enought to answer his son in law did it, it turned the fiberglass black.

[Common Tator]

If you put chicken wire up against the tekfoil, that would keep cats from clawing through it.

[highlands]

It does work well. It is primarily a reflective barrier but also has some conductive insulating ability. I seem to remember the conductive value being R7 but that seems high to me given the thinness. I have used it extensively in our house, shed, cottage, animal shelters, hoop houses, etc. I like it.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa

[johnsonmopar]

I have made it so that cats cannot get to the under side of the house any more so that shouldn't be a problem. you put the foil side up? right?. How about chickens..if i put it in the coop will they peck it all apart? Thanks, Matthew

[Toads tool]

Radiant barriers or foil insulations should be pointed towards the space to be insulated. In your case up.
Foil or radiant barriers have no set R value, they give one a relative R value, a percentage of increase of the existing insulation.
If you put it in your floors then the heat inside will not radiate out or down through the floor, bouncing the heat back into the dwelling.
I wrapped my whole house in foil during construction, it has more than paid for itself as my lower bills will attest to.

Chickens will peck at tekfoil. I used it as a domed cap over there purches to hold in there heat. Worked very well.

[crobar]

In what I have read, some "experts" claim foil face should not lay flat facing upward. Dust & dirt collecting on the surface would retard the reflective effects. I have also heard the reflecting affect works only on heat. So, for instance, in the south under a metal roof face it up to keep heat out.