Well actually I was thinking of a more permanent solution. I figured that if I had a better airflow it would reduce the humidity. I guess I do not understand how humidity and temperature work together. The aircon takes moisture out anyway. Reducing the humidity and also the temp. But I wanted to make the room feel more like a room in a house.
I have a double length garage. I would like to convert the rear of the garage into a utility room. We already have a door that goes from the kitchen into the garage and another door at the back of the garage into the garden.
I am trying to understand what I need and can do.
Can I just build a stud wall partition between then new utility room and the garage? I have read lots of messages from people converting double width garages into additional rooms building a brick wall as a partition. Do I need a brick partition for my project? I plan to have a door to go from the utility room into the garage. I am assuming this would need to be a fire door and also the new partition needs to be fire proof as well?
I would need to raise the floor of the garage to meet the existing kitchen floor. Currently we have a step in the door frame going from the kitchen to the utility room. If I was to remove the door frame at the bottom of the door such that the new floor was flush with the existing kitchen would this complicate the project? I read something about if still class the "external door" as the existing kitchen door, then it does not matter what I do in the new utility room. If I removed the step then it could not be classed as an external door anymore. Is this true?
Cheers,
Matt
Watch that bit. Assuming you can still get a car in the garage you may have issues with fuel vapour, which is denser than air, pooling on the ground and spilling into the kitchen. I don't know if it's allowed with proviso of other ventilation or not (not an expert), I just said you could have issues.
You could do worse than have a word in person with your council's Building Control Officer. As much as I can't stand Part P/L and some of the other crap that's come down from above recently, these people do know a lot about fire and structural matters, and if you can persuade the receptionist to call one down, they'll sometimes give free advice in my experience.
Cheers
Tim
Yes. However, it must be fireproof. I would use 2 layers of 12.5mm plasterboard with offset joins. I'd even consider using Fireline board.
Yes. As well as the fire proof wall, you would need a fire door and ensure that there is an intumescent layer on the door or frame to prevent leakage.
No. You would need to raise the floor of the utility room to meet that of the kitchen. The floor of the garage MUST remain lower. It is part of the building regulations that garage floors are lower than habitable rooms and kitchens so that any heavier than air fumes and spills stay in the garage.
Christian.
On Tue, 6 Dec 2005 11:12:41 -0000, a particular chimpanzee named "Christian McArdle" randomly hit the keyboard and produced:
The floors can be the same level provided that there is a 100mm high non-combustible threshold between the two. The OPs stud wall would need to be built off a similar non-combustible base too (two courses of brick below the sole plate).
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.