How Much Does It Cost to Insulate a 30’x40’ Metal Building?

When you insulate your steel building, you’re setting yourself up for big energy savings over its lifetime. If you save even $100 a month by adding insulation, which is on the conservative side, you’re looking at saving $24,000 in energy expenses over a 20-year span.

Over time, an insulation packages will wind up paying for itself, but you may be wondering just how much you should expect to pay to insulate your building in the first place. Ultimately, the final cost of your metal building insulation will depend on its R-value and quality, your geographic location, the size of your building and so on. However, your building’s size can give you a general idea of what you should expect to pay to insulate it.

Material Costs

Fiberglass insulation with polypropylene facing (often referred to as “vinyl”) will run you anywhere from roughly $0.50 for a single-layer, R13 insulation system to about $1.50 per square foot for a double-layer, R-30 insulation system depending on quality, thickness and other variables. So, for the entire, 1,200 square foot building, you’re looking at paying somewhere in the range of $600 – $1,800 for materials. (*Prices are subject to change due to inflation and availability.)

Labor Costs

As far as labor, you can expect to pay somewhere in the range of $0.50 – $1.25 per square foot to have someone install insulation in your 30’x40’ metal building for new construction. Ultimately, you’re looking at somewhere in the vicinity of $600 – $1,500 for labor.
(*Prices are subject to change.)

Final Cost of Insulating a 30’x40’ Steel Building

Once you factor in material and labor costs, you’re looking at an initial investment that falls somewhere in the range of $1.00 and $2.75 per square foot to insulate your 30’x40’ metal building. So, when all is said and done and all material and construction costs factor in, you should expect to pay between about $1,200 – $3,300 to insulate your 30’x40’ steel building. (*Prices are subject to change due to inflation and availability.)

That’s a lot less than the, at minimum, $24,000 you’ll get back in energy savings over your building’s first 20 years. Adding insulation also reduces condensation, improves noise control and creates a more comfortable, accommodating space you can utilize at any time of year.