Internal wall insulation

[David J]

I've got a detached house with an integral unheated garage, built in

1997 with the insulation standards of that time. The garage door is up/over with considerable gaps, so that in winter the garage interior is notg much warmer than the outside air.

All the interior walls in the garage are made of a thermal block material, but I am unsure if there is also an insulated cavity on the house side. I suspect not, as it is probably considered to be an internal wall.

The 'garage side' walls of all the house rooms adjoining the garage are noticeabily colder in winter, and I am wondering if it would make sense to clad the garage/house wall with some form of insulation on the garage side.

Can anyone suggest a suitable insulation material, ideally in panel form, for easy attachment to the interior of my garage/house wall.

David J

[RubberBiker]

Kingspan/celotex, or kingspan/celotex-backed plasterboard.

[TheScullster]

"David J" wrote

Probably worth fitting sealer strips around the garage door to reduce the draft (wind) chill of the internal space.

Phil

[Stuart Noble]

[fred]

Just to be clear to the o/p though, it is an inferior product, requiring

5" to get the same insulating effect as 3" of Celotex or Kingspan.

[David J]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions here - Jablite is quite cheap. Any idea how that material can be fixed to a vertical surface?

David J

[Tim W]

David J wibbled on Monday 21 September 2009 11:33

Siroflex PU foam drywall adhesive - an expanding foam with low expansivity. I'm not sure if it would attack EPS (jablite) but I'm happy to try a bit for you.

Otherwise, screws/nails and *big* washers (like 30mm+ big).

Or surface it off with ply and screw the ply though the EPS into the wall. Jablite is good in compression. If you use heavy ply this would give you the advantage of being able to fix shelves (upto a point) to the ply, especially of the ply is supported along the bottom edge.

(Better for shelf fixing) - batten the wall out, infill with jablite and fix ply to battens. You now can fix heavy shelving to the battens if required.

Certain tile adhesives will stick passably to EPS too - including Mapei kerabond (I've tried) so a dot'n'dab approach might work too.

Or look out for "2nd grade" celotex (I have some Ballytherm - same stuff, few dints, but just as good from any practical POV). Same fixing methods apply.

HTH

Tim

[Stuart Noble]

Sure, but any insulation makes a big difference to a garage. I'd probably go for 25mm celotex as a balance between price and loss of space

[fred]

I think the objective is to improve the comfort level in the house by insulating the wall between the garage and the house.

As you say, anything is better than nothing and it looks like the o/p likes the cost of Jablite :-)

[fred]

In article , Tim W writes

Added tip: As the garage is a draughty space, make sure there is no path for the draughts to pass behind the insulation, negating its effect. My preferred choice would be to foam up any gaps the sides and top of the sheets and tape the joins between sheets, probably just with duct tape for this kind of job. My pref is also to leave a small unsealed gap at the bottom of each sheet in case of moisture ingress or flood so that it can be seen and escape.

So Tim, was 'S' your maiden name ;-)

[Tim W]

fred wibbled on Monday 21 September 2009 12:22

Yes - I married Norman so that when I'm old and senile, I'll still be able to feel good about myself.

[Owain]

I think I'd prefer a less flammable wall covering than ply, especially in a garage.

Owain

[Stuart Noble]

Watching a DG installer using foam the other day I was struck by how well behaved the stuff was when applied with a gun rather than an aerosol. I'm going to shell out for one, even if I only use it once in a blue moon. It also means you don't have to throw away part used containers

[Tim W]

Owain wibbled on Monday 21 September 2009 13:08

That mostly leaves plasterboard and cement board or metal sheet. Ply's more helpful in terms of fixing stuff to it. It's a valid concern - though I'd be more worried about the smoke from EPS in a fire, than something setting ply alight (it would take an initial small fire to get it going - it's not that easy to light).

Cheers

Tim

[Tim W]

Stuart Noble wibbled on Monday 21 September 2009 13:13

Yes - and the foam I mentioned is exceptionally well behaved if you're careful - it expands very little beyond the initial application. Sticky as a sticky thing though which is good for the job and bad for your clothes!

If you were in the habit of using 2 types of foam it might even be worth buying 2 guns - you really can leave the gun attached and it doesn't gunk up save for the outside of the nozzle.

[TheOldFellow]

Buy some gunnable gun cleaner when you do, otherwise you will be throwing the gun away instead! Also be aware that the foam canisters have a short Use-by date. I'm still using stuff I bought long ago that is 2 years out of date with zero effect though - still works fine.

R.

[Stuart Noble]

The last foam aerosol I used spat and hiccupped before delivering an uncontollable mass. Yes, I shook it to death before use too.

I also observed this DG guy doing the silicone seal. Wipe with forefinger, wipe forefinger down T shirt was his method. I imagine he leaned said item of clothing against the wall when he got home. He reckons if you apply the right amount, you don't need any implements, let alone a Fugenboy.

He was also telling me how superglue has transformed the DG industry. The accelerator spray sets it instantly, so you can fix one end of a moulding before lining it up and spraying the rest. Essential if you're working alone I would have thought

[fred]

In article , Tim W writes

I'm not altogether convinced of the benefits of newer models, they might look the part but seem to vanish quickly when dirt under fingernails is even a remote possibility.

[Hugo Nebula]

On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:46:23 +0100, a certain chimpanzee, David J randomly hit the keyboard and produced:

For the thermal insulation requirements of the Building Regulations, any wall between a heated and an unheated space should be insulated. There is a small insulation value for the still air within the garage, but the insulation of the wall between the two is usually the same as for an external wall.

That is of course no guarantee that the walls have been insulated properly.

[David J]

Very interesting.

The outside wall of the garage is brick faced and continues to the rear of the house to become the wall of the utility room. Above are bedrooms. So I have to assume that an insulated cavity with thermal blocks as the inner leaf is the construction of the entire wall here.

It's rather perverse for the builder to then install a single thermal block wall on the division between the unheated garage and the house, where the insulation is really needed.

I have already discovered that the builders failed to insulate the small roof cavity above the downstairs toilet, which has a tiled roof at the first floor level - so corners were cut where possible..

David J