insulation

[ohiowoody]

there was a topic a few days ago about insulating a hard sided shanty. condensation
seemed to be a problem. i have a small 5 foot x 5 foot hardside i use on southern
michigan lakes (about typical for the area). i sure would like to insulate floor, sides
and ceiling. heating with a mr buddy. anything i can use or better off with nothing.
walls and roof is only 1/8" plywood. floor is 1/2" plywood.

[grumpymoe]

there was a topic a few days ago about insulating a hard sided shanty. condensation
seemed to be a problem. i have a small 5 foot x 5 foot hardside i use on southern
michigan lakes (about typical for the area). i sure would like to insulate floor, sides
and ceiling. heating with a mr buddy. anything i can use or better off with nothing.
walls and roof is only 1/8" plywood. floor is 1/2" plywood.

ohio.....I have a 4x4 hardside that flips into the back of a pickup.......a little heavier than yours but not by much....when its -25C below and a howling wind, my 3000 btu heater will keep everything just nice enough to keep fishing with gloves off.....the only problem i have run into is the windside of the backwall will frost up with no insulation......bubble wrap on this side will retain enough heat that you dont have to worry about any more than that......best bet...10,000 btu heater that can be regualated to a comfy setting.....hope this helps...Grump

[ohiowoody]

grump- used to have the sweetest little heater. it was nothing more than a box
with a small round propane burner inside. it was fully adjustable just like a propane
grill. it vented outside. after the shanty did a quarter mile roll across the lake
or maybe it was the time the shanty fell through the ice and froze in good and
solid, it never was quite the same. and no i wasn't in it either time. it's part of
living 50 miles from where your shanty is. anyway, i switched to a mr buddy and
use that in the hardside and my pull over. about the only time i use the hardside
is when someone is going with me and then it gets left on the ice for the rest
of the season. makes a good basecamp.

[NorthwoodsIce]

I am helping out a friend with building a floor for his shack.  I had the idea of taking two pieces of 1/4" ply wood and putting a piece of 3/4" construction foam in between the two sheets of plywood for insulation from the ice.  Anybody done this?  I worry about condensation but then again if the wood is sealed on all surfaces that shouldn't be a problem, any thought let me know.

[killitandgrillit]

I am helping out a friend with building a floor for his shack.  I had the idea of taking two pieces of 1/4" ply wood and putting a piece of 3/4" construction foam in between the two sheets of plywood for insulation from the ice.  Anybody done this?  I worry about condensation but then again if the wood is sealed on all surfaces that shouldn't be a problem, any thought let me know.

It works, I can tell you. However, if the shanty is of large dimensions you will need a tow truck to get it off the lake- ply on the inside and outside will add ALOT of weight. Coming from experience- it can be hard work getting a "house" off the lake in the spring. It took us 2 trucks and a 4,000 pound winch to do it last year. We ended up giving the shanty away because it was impossibly heavy.

I'd reccomend just putting pinkboard on the inside and dealing with condensation. Also- if you keep fresh air venting in and out, it'll help a ton. Try putting holes at floor level on both ends of the shanty, screening them off so snow cant come in, and using a computer case fan to push air through your shanty. Putting them nearer to the floor will keep your heat in while pushing moist air out. The moisture comes from alot of places, but most of all from the snow and ice melting off your boots onto the floor.

[NorthwoodsIce]

Great tips about keeping air in with fan, never thought of that.  I think we might have to have a few cold ones before we start building, the design stage just doesn't seem done yet. 

[killitandgrillit]

No problem, happy to help out a fellow cheesehead. Go pack go!

[APU GARCIA]

I have an 8'x8' and 8' high hard side, its heavy! 3/8" sides and roof and 3/4" floor with 2x2 and 2x4 framing. We got lucky while building it, a guy I know wanted to get rid of some insulation from his warehouse so we ended up with enough R10 (pink)  2" styrofoam insulation to do the whole shack. We added a 2x1x1 wood stove, no condensation at all. We fished a day last year that was -36c with a wind chill of -58c and we were in our t-shirts and jeans. If you can find some pink styrofoam insulation 3/4" or 1" for a good price it worth it, the 2" is overkill but it is the cats a$$.

[Barleydog]

Ditto to the tee!!!  Apu Garcia your right on the money with the pink styrofoam!

[Water Wolf]

One thing to consider when adding a propain heater and insulation is proper ventlation.
Sometimes there can be some nasty chemicals give off of certain insulations when heated and propain can give off carbonmonoxide, so it's alway good to open the door now and then, or have a flap or window open a bit.
I have pediment shanty with no insulation but I have added a wood stove, it really heats up the shanty well. You can be just in your sweat shirt and it can be -25 deg C outside.

WW

[bigdave1018]

a couple of cheap ways to heat your ice shanty. 1 is a coleman lantern, 2 is go to a candle discount place and get cheap large candles then get a large coffee can and an extra metal pail or 5 gallon pail and the heat they throw will keep you nice and toasty. insulation for a permanent shanty, go for it but a portable one you will have quite the workout moving it around. and as for -25, im not even going there brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hollis]

Apu,..becareful,that exposed styrene insulation is fantastic for insulation but super flammable in a vertical position. If exposed to a spark or flame the whole place can go up so fast you won't belive it. (it won't burn well if you try to light a piece but it climbs upward very fast as on a wall)

[madporider]

we have 3/4" ply floor 1/4" sheating we will be using 1" styrofoam 4x8 sheets for insulation not to worried about condensation we used all green treated on the ground level

[APU GARCIA]

Thanks for the heads up hollis. We try to be very carefull with the wood stove and we always have a fire extinguisher in the shack.

APU