# Living in a shed in KY, need to winterize it



## Tengu91 (Sep 20, 2022)

Hey everyone! I'm currently living in a shed behind a house in Corbin, KY. The people in the house know I'm there--they've actually gone on to become my friends! But I was originally only planning on staying here for the summer but plans have changed. It's still warm enought to get by with a sleeping bag and poncho liner, but it will get cold and I'm trying to avoid throwing down on an apartment or room at all costs (shed dwelling is far cheaper). Anyway, I'm looking into temporary insulation ideas. I'm thinking about dicing up a bunch of cardboard boxed into shingles, spraying them with water-proofing sealant, then nailing them to the walls and roof. After that I plan to put reflective boards over those so the heat stays trapped. I'm going to invest in a space heater as well, but otherwise I'm trying to keep this as low cost as possible.
Any ideas, suggestions, improvements, or critiques?


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## laughingman (Sep 20, 2022)

Hey. Finally something I can help with. If your shed is fairly small and has standard 2x4 construction you can fully insulate it very cheaply. Check habitat for humanity restores and or Facebook marketplace or Craigslist for deals on insulation. If not layers and layers of cardboard between your studs will trap a lot more air then one layer will do alone. If you can't modify or improve your shed in any way, do all you can to trap air on the inside. Plastic painters drop cloth over the walls taped around the seams can do a lot for you. Heating the air inside a structure with a space heater is going to cost more than heating just yourself. You might try a dog bed heater or a heated blanket for when you're in bed. If that's not an option, warming bricks or bottles of water and tucking them in around yourself while you sleep works nicely too. I think if it was me and I was working with no budget at all I would layer cardboard inside of the walls. 20 or 30 layers. Then add plastic on the inside of that tape or calk everything. Layer cardboard on the floor or ideally put down a few large sheets of foam insulation to walk around and or sleep on. Add in an electric oil heater and a dog bed heater if I could.


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## Scruffy390 (Nov 6, 2022)

I agree with laughing man on making it as air tight as you can will help a lot. I know you only asked about insulation but what do you plan to use for heat? Have you heard of Thermal Mass Rocket stoves? they take up a lot of room though and not sure how big your shed is but they look to be a great way to heat a structure, look on youtube for Wood Burning stoves - super efficient rocket mass heater by Paul Wheaton or Erica & Ernie Wisner.


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## Tengu91 (Nov 13, 2022)

Thank you for replying gentleman! I appreciate both of your input. I'm actually in Death Valley now, doing seasonal work...someday I'll learn to stick with what I say I'm gonna do, but not today  
I managed to get a bunch of insulation and a small space heater from a friend before I left though, and I tricked out the shed fairly well! A combination of legit insulation, a few reflective boards, and dumpstered plywood really helped. I nailed plywood over the bare panels, then I crammed plastic shopping bags behind them. It worked well enough for the few nights it got cold while I still lived there--the temp dropped to 28F one night and I was pretty cozy--but I don't know how well it'd stand up to colder temps. Either way it was a fun experience and it showed me just how much could be done with so little! DIY punk 4 lyfe <3 <3 <3


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## laughingman (Dec 5, 2022)

Tengu91 said:


> Thank you for replying gentleman! I appreciate both of your input. I'm actually in Death Valley now, doing seasonal work...someday I'll learn to stick with what I say I'm gonna do, but not today
> I managed to get a bunch of insulation and a small space heater from a friend before I left though, and I tricked out the shed fairly well! A combination of legit insulation, a few reflective boards, and dumpstered plywood really helped. I nailed plywood over the bare panels, then I crammed plastic shopping bags behind them. It worked well enough for the few nights it got cold while I still lived there--the temp dropped to 28F one night and I was pretty cozy--but I don't know how well it'd stand up to colder temps. Either way it was a fun experience and it showed me just how much could be done with so little! DIY punk 4 lyfe <3 <3 <3



Glad it worked out well for you man sounds like quite the little set up.


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