ceiling insulation help please

[Dustin Lane]

My question falls on my shop space. It is currently an unused (unused by cars, used by me) 2 car garage, about 22x20. It was previously, about 5 years ago, rented out to some contractors who had some goofy set up in there. They used it year round so it has insulation in the walls and ceiling. The problem is that this insulation is now all falling down. And has been falling down for quite some time as they had some battens holding up some bits where it was sagging. The sagging is pretty much full on falling out in many places now. There is an attic floor layed down on the 2x6 joists and then 6 inch insulation stapled to the bottom side of the joists. So what i would really like to do is clean it up a bit so everything isnt falling down. What might be the best way going about this?
Things i have though of are putting more battens up where its sagging, but it seems i would have to space them every 6 inches or so to prevent further sagging.
Finish the ceiling with ply, rock, foam, something. Only problem is there are staples everywhere in the joists so nothing would lay flat unless the staples are all removed, which would make the insulation all fall down...would it be worth it to tear out the attic floor, pull out the insulation, put in a ceiling, roll the insulation back out, put the attic floor back down? Seems like a ton of work for me..
Try and re-staple the insulation back up? A lot of the backing is torn so this seems unlikely..
Could something like chicken wire be used to hold it all up?
Should I just leave it as-is and quit letting it bother me?
I'm not sure which direction to take here. I'd like to keep the insulation because i want to try to use the shop during the winter months. However I'm not sure i'll still be in this space in the next 5 years so I really don't want to throw a lot of money at it either. I also don't have the time 8 months out of the year to use the shop as much as i'd want to. Mostly just weekends if i'm lucky. So, what does the creek have to say?
Thanks,
Dustin

edit:
I should mention that the garage is completely unattached.

[Robert Payne]

6-mil polyethylene and then drywall.

[Kev Godwin]

Dustin,
A very common method of holding overhead insulation in place is to use insulation netting. This type of netting is usually used with cellulose insulation but it can also be used for your purposes. It is probably the least costly and easiest way to take care of your problem. It is usually a white fiberglass mesh with various grid dimensions from 1/16" square to 1/4" square.

However, by finishing the ceiling with sheathing and painting it a light color, your overall lighting quality will be much better with reduced shadows. If you have the time and money, I would recommend finishing the ceiling. If cost and speed is your highest priority now - then the netting.
Kev

[Rob Cooper]

Insulation hangers. Basically a small metal rod made for 16 and 24 OC joists. They sell em at Lowes. Just pop them in every 2 feet or so. Very easy.

[Duncan Horner]

I had the exact same problem, in fact I didn't even have battens holding it up when I moved in.

Solution: Plastic strapping material (the kind they use on bales of stuff, or around cartons like the one your power tools arrived in ;) ) stapled up in runs perpendicular to the trusses every two feet. Pulled tight at the end and stapled-the-crap-out-of.

Has held for the last 2 years, and will no doubt continue until I get 'rock up.

With regards to your issue with the staples, they will most likely pose no problem, but if you feel like it, just go across and whack 'em flat with a hammer prior to the rock going up, no need to remove.

[Dustin Lane]

thanks for the replies. I think i'm going to end up doing either the poly or the netting for now and then finish with drywall at a later date.

i've read some other posts on how 3/8" drywall will sag on 24" OC. would 1/2" drywall sag too? its hard for me to imagine something like that sagging if hung properly, but maybe over its lifetime...

[Jim Becker]

In most cases, if it's not foil-faced insulation, it's supposed to be covered with drywall or something that will aid in fire safety.

[Lee Schierer]

I had the same problem in my work shop. The insulation started sagging after a number of years. I purchased 1/2" foil faced insul board from the local borg and fastened 4 x 8 sheets to the under side of the ceiling using the roofing nails with the plastic heads (can't recall what they are called) commonly used to facten down tar paper on roofs. The Insulboard added insulation valuse and also supports the batt insulation. I've had no further sagging problems.

[Mike Gager]

what kind of staples did they use???


i just got finished putting insulation in the ceiling of my garage and i stapled the insulation to the bottom of the rafters and then covered the insulation with 7/16" OSB. the staples didnt affect the way the OSB layed at all

[Jim Becker]

Mike, face stapling will not usually affect the material you are covering it with if you are careful, but pro-insulators will staple the tabs on the inside of the joists/studs so that adhesive can be used to bring structural strength to the situation. Less critical in a workshop situation where you're screwing up OSB, but still a "best practice".

[Dustin Lane]

what kind of staples did they use???

they used something like 8mm or 10mm staples, and a large portion are only stapled down about halfway or less.

there were two foam reflective sheets nailed up with a similar style. about 75% of the nails either werent in far enough(1.75in nails with 1.5in foam) or flat out didnt hit a joist. at least it made it easy to tear down.