Viewing 26 posts - 1 through 26 (of 26 total)
  • Insulating Integral Garage Walls & Plasterboard.
  • wurzelcube
    Free Member

    I’ve got an integral garage where the front and one side are external walls and the other two walls back on to the living room and utility room. The walls are currently brick i.e. no plaster board finish.

    I want to make the garage a little warmer and more attractive to use as both tools / bike storage but also as a mini gym.

    The best approach I’ve come up with so far is:
    – Attach and seal a damp proof membrane /vapor layer to the existing brick.
    – Build studwork (either 25 or 50mm depth) and attach directly to the brick.
    – Put 25mm Celotex insulation in between the studwork
    – screw plaster board to the studwork, tape joints and paint in white emulsion with an appropriate undercoat.

    My DIY stills are reasonably good; will the above cause any problems with damp / moisture / noise transfer?

    In time I may stick a radiator in the garage but that’s a long way down the list and in addition I’m going to replace the door with an insulation sectional door properly sealed all the way round.

    The boiler and associate pipework is on one of the walls so whilst I can do the stud work around the pipe work (water and gas feed) and insulate around it and plaster board over the boiler it’s self will remain on an insulated section of wall and I’ll take the plaster board as close to it as I can. In time when the boiler is replaced I’ll fill in the remain insulation and plasterboard.

    Is there anything massively wrong with my plan?

    wrightyson
    Free Member

    Is it single skin or cavity?

    wurzelcube
    Free Member

    I think the first 12 inches or so back from the door are single skin (red bricks) and then the rest is concrete block on the inside and red brick on the outside so assuming it’s cavity.

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    iffoverload
    Free Member

    I think you should put the vapour barrier on the warm side.

    wrightyson
    Free Member

    If its cavity just bang insulated plasterboard on. No need for any damp protection.

    ourmaninthenorth
    Full Member

    This is on my List Of Things To Do, but to provide further insulation to the “warm” house walls. Batons, celotex and plasterboard are my thinking also. Will be tackled as part of a bigger house project where the asbestos ceiling of the garage will also be replaced.

    wrightyson
    Free Member

    Why do you need batons? If there is a cavity you just use board adhesive straight on to the wall.

    ourmaninthenorth
    Full Member

    @me?

    Because that’s what I’d thought of knowing not a huge amount about how to do it!

    TBH I’d need the best way to affix cupboards and shelves to the walls. Figured batons easiest way to do this.

    wrightyson
    Free Member

    Sorry ourman didn’t mean to be abrupt.
    If you pre plan your cupboard lay out just use solid dabs in those areas. Far easier, cheaper and less time consuming than the batton route.

    wurzelcube
    Free Member

    Ok, so I can bond insulated plaster board directly to the two walls attached to the living room and utility room and will put batons on the exterior wall as this is where the gas and water pipes are running so will put them behind the plasterboard.

    footflaps
    Full Member

    Just bond Celotex to the wall direct, it has foil on both sides and is closed cell, so as good as a DPM. If you want PB, then use Celotex with PB bonded to it.

    cdaimers
    Full Member

    Please be aware that there is restrictions on buying gas pipes behind plasterboard, worth checking building regs and a plumber just in case. A friend buried a incoming gas pipe in a similar situation and got cut off until it was sorted.

    wrightyson
    Free Member

    Yeah it isn’t advisable (legal) to have a gas pipe in any form of cavity for obvious reasons. Personally I’d avoid cellotex backed board as you’ll pay more for it. Just go for standard insulated plaster board, with the closed cell foam as opposed to expanded polystyrene.

    ourmaninthenorth
    Full Member

    @wrightyson – thanks. No apologies needed – am not expert in these areas!

    @wurzelcube – sorry for the hijack!

    wurzelcube
    Free Member

    I’ll consult a plumber to assess options for moving the gas pipe; hopefully won’t be too difficult as it runs the length of the wall from point of entry to the boiler so will aim to get it move up near the ceiling and will build cupboards below it.

    mrben100
    Free Member

    My tuppence…

    As above no no to gas pipes in boxing, unless its ventilated to external air. Kaboom.

    If its a mini-gym, are you going to exercise with the garage door shut? Likely to create a fair bit of moisture laden air, so some sort of ventilation required?

    Fixings for wall mounted items? Through to structure not insulated PB.

    Usually tape joints of boards to create vapour control. Note british gypsum insulated boards refer to it as a vapour check board i seem to remember. Not sure if this is ‘proper’ vapour control.

    Careful with any ceiling mounted fixings, not advisable as this is a fire compartment.

    If you’re potentially putting a rad in in the future i would consider more insulation on the walls than you are proposing. Currently your spec would be taking the edge off the wall surfaces being cold – if heating i would want more insulation so it costs less to heat. If connected to your homes central heating then it may start to require regs.

    Probably want a floor covering to protect concrete from dropping weights?

    Even with cavity wall i’d be checking that there is still a dpc – should be as integral but may not depending on age of property.

    Do you need insulation to the internal walls? Why not just the external ones?

    Obviously no idea of exact property/existing constructions etc. but these are some of the questions i’d be thinking about.

    Some of the questions relate to if you are ultimately looking to turn the garage into a habitable room (definitely needs regs), or if this is just ‘superficial” so the garage can be reinstated at a later date.

    Caveat – in no way expert advice but the scattergun ramblings of a tired man on his way to bed 😐

    wurzelcube
    Free Member

    Thanks – fully understood on the gas pipe.

    Hadn’t got as far as thinking about ventilation but it’s a good point – would a simple wall mounted xpelair be sufficient?

    The ceiling… I know that it is part of the fire compartment, it already has a light fitted to it, presumably this is ok? I was intending to build cupboards in place as per this guide: http://www.familyhandyman.com/garage/storage/installing-large-garage-cabinets/step-by-step will it cause a problem with the fire compartment?

    Floor I’m planning to use rubber interlocking tiles to cushion the weights.

    I did think about just insulating the external walls and plasterboard on the internal walls for aesthetics.

    It will always be a garage and not a habitable room – if we ever go down this route in the future it will be a proper conversion.

    wrightyson
    Free Member

    If you’ve got a standard steel up and over door that’s going to be your main area of condensation. If it’s say an insulated sectional then that shouldn’t be a problem. No offence but i think you are overthinking it a bit. Its a garage and the mere mention of plaster board or similar has some members reaching for the building control hotline. I’d put a good extract fan in as this would help. Why would cupboards alter its compartment risk?

    footflaps
    Full Member

    Floor I’m planning to use rubber interlocking tiles to cushion the weights.

    I built a platform for mine:

    [url=https://flic.kr/p/figcek]Olympic Weight Platform Complete[/url] by brf, on Flickr

    [url=https://flic.kr/p/ook5m5]Toaster Racks for Olympic Discs[/url] by brf, on Flickr

    wurzelcube
    Free Member

    Footflaps – that’s what I have in mind; how big is your garage?

    Wightyson – no offence taken; current door is up and over with no seals and a big gap that daylight and wind pours through. This is going to be replaced with a sectional insulated door – primary driver is security. Ceiling / fire compartment – I’m going to screw into the plaster board in the ceiling hence the question.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I was going to suggest looking at the door. We have a Hormann sectional door and it makes a huge difference to the garage – it’s toasty in there now despite having no heating.

    wurzelcube
    Free Member

    I’m after either a Hormann or a Garador (believe they are the same company). As it’s only used for taking bikes in and out I plan to stick with a manual opener rather than going for an electric opener.

    Are they home made bike lockers in your photo?

    footflaps
    Full Member

    Footflaps – that’s what I have in mind; how big is your garage?

    Footprint is 8x4m, smaller inside as I put 15cm Celotex on the walls. A proper 7′ Olympic Bar takes up a lot of space, as you need a foot either side at least, so you need 9′ width for a platform, then space fore and aft for messing up lifts and dropping the bar backwards etc….

    mark90
    Free Member

    I’m after either a Hormann or a Garador (believe they are the same company). As it’s only used for taking bikes in and out I plan to stick with a manual opener rather than going for an electric opener.

    Same here. Insulated secitional. As they come without the hole pre drilled for the manual handle in case you go electric/automated, I’m wondering if you can fit just the internal handle and locking mechanism, leaving the external handle off for security reasons. Obviously relies on having an alternative personnel door to the garage.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I went with electric, because the manual one can be opened by drilling a hole in the door and operating the interior catch. Much harder to open the electric one.

    ourmaninthenorth
    Full Member

    Ceiling / fire compartment – I’m going to screw into the plaster board in the ceiling hence the question.

    How old is your house? If it’s from 1985 or before, it’s possible that the ceiling is made of asbestos insulating board. My house is a 60s bungalow and the garage ceiling is AIB.

    I’m not an expert, but from what I understand this is pretty much the worst type for health risk and there are pretty strict rules about what you can/can’t do with it.

    If in doubt, spend a few quid getting it lab tested.

    HSE info on asbestos insulating board

Viewing 26 posts - 1 through 26 (of 26 total)

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