insulating between metal studs

I'm in the process of remolding my basement....I'm using metal studs 16 oc...
what type of insulation due you recomend....(i live in the north east)...the basement for the most partis is under ground...should I use insulation board or rolled fiberglass.....If you recommend fiberglass how do I attach it to the metal stud? ....If i shove it up in between the studs will the drywall hold it in place...

Thanks

 

I used fiberglass batts. It is much cheaper. You just stuff them between the studs. Friction does the rest.

You may want to call around to make sure that you can get insulation that is a full 16" wide. Insulation for wood stud walls is only 14 1/2". Lowes/HD don't carry 16" batts. Usually need to find a commercial dealer.

 

Beware of the insulating value of fiberglas between metal studs. Because of the high heat transmission through the stud you have a thermal short circuit.

Depending on the spacing of the studs, the wonderful R30 pink stuff would have an effective rating reduced to something between R10 and R20. There are table that show the effective R valsues for different stud spacings and thicknesses. If the fiberglas is gets wet, only several percent of moisture in fiberglas can drastically reduce its insulating values substantially.

Wood studs outperform steel studs by a wide margin for the same wall thickness because the heat loss is lower and the R30 would only be reduced to someting like an effective level of R20 to R28.

Rigid polystyrene does not suffer from the thermal short circuit since it is a continuous layer and is also impermeable. which could be a benefit if there is no vapor barrier. Pressure differential can also reduce the effectiveness of the pink fluffy stuff.