Insulating wooden workshop advice

[Dreadhead]

That's the way I'd go Hamish.

Good my head is hopefully screwed on properly

Hamish, I've literally just ripped out all the carpets and underlay from my house. It's rolled up in the shed at the minute and will be skipped in a couple of weeks when I get ashore again. I need to keep some for the loft but you'd be more than welcome to have as much as you need if you want to put some down in there?

All the best
Andy

Ooo may be handy, I'm not sure what i'm doing with the floor just yet. Was thinking of getting those foamy jigsaw things to line it as they are easy to clean and move about etc

Hamish, to your question:
I would leave a small gap between the insulation, on both sides.
The outside wall of the shed is not made 100% weather proof, same with floor. I rather lose a bit heat than having a mould problem.
For insulation I would use closed cell foam type styrofoam sheets. Easy to work with, and mice will not build nests in it.

I ade and insulated a shed like this in UK about 11 years ago, and it is still going strong according to my old neighbours.

Electrics I would place exposed.

Good advice that's my plan, I have plenty of space to leave a gap on both sides, and I definitely want to avoid damp/mould as much as possible as my workshop will be filled with leather

 

[Janne]

$crew the leather. It can be replaced.
Your lungs can not!

 

[Everything Mac]

Ooo may be handy, I'm not sure what i'm doing with the floor just yet. Was thinking of getting those foamy jigsaw things to line it as they are easy to clean and move about etc

NO worries - it's just going to be skipped otherwise so let me know. If you decide you don't want it before I'm back it'll be going. The carpet is fairly new, nothing wrong with it, the misses just wants to have wooden floors.


All the best
Andy

 

[R.Lewis]

I have got some very usable 'roof and gutter sealant' from poundland, basically bitumen in a tube, that is great for sealing gaps (and roofing) cheap. Seems to last well, too. As for insulation I would use that reflective bubble wrap type stuff ( the proper name eludes me after too much scotch.. (Check out Screwfix, then Ebay) stapled to the beams leaving an airgap for the timber to breathe effectively. Its pretty cheap and very effective stuff if you tape the seams too with Aluminum tape its draft proof as well. Then plasterboard (which is extremely cheap if you order in quantity to fit that shed) over that keeping a couple inches off the floor and adding a 'skirting' at the bottom made of rot proof material. I actually quite like Acrylic sheet for this, it is reasonably priced and totally waterproof, there are many suppliers on the net that will ship cut to measurements. Finally some second hand carpet and underlay, butted up well to the sides for the floor. No need to get fussy, treat it as disposable, afterall it costs little or nothing. Even so it should last years.

My last shed (35 Metres squared) Is still up, warm and dry, 18 yrs later....

 

[Dreadhead]

Thanks for the tips mate, I'll have the pop down Poundland in the week.

I've now got all walls sealed with breather membrane and fitted battons in between to keep the insulation sheets off the wall with a nice air gap.

Once my polystyrene goes in I'll seal around it with expanding foam. Not sure whether to just stick my OSB straight on, or staple on a vapour barrier onto the studs, and then my OSB?

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[Macaroon]

Don't bother with a vapour barrier on the inside, won't serve any purpose mate; and leave the OSB a little way above the floor level as above for the plasterboard. If you cut the polystyrene properly it'll wedge into place quite firmly without the need for expanding foam.

 

[Janne]

I agree. Polystyrene acts as a barrier too.
If you cut some sheets so they do not have a ‘press fit’just create thin strips, and use.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Windows?

Loads of natural light with doors open but closed in Winter will make that space very claustrophobic. But as you've got to get the lighting spot for leatherwork at anytime day or night I guess a room with a view is not the priority.

Nothing more frustrating than shadows over leatherwork and as viewed through 60-year old eyes!

K

 

[Dreadhead]

Thanks guys, won't bother with the vapor barrier then, will save time and money too. The polystyrene should fit flush, I got the foam to fill in any dodgy gaps around pipes and bolts etc.

Sadly no windows and I'm loathe to cut any in. I'll miss working beside a window with a view, just going to fill the place with lamps with super bright daylight bulbs. At least in summer I can work with the three doors open.

Nice sunset over the hills last night, taken from just inside the workshop.

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[Dreadhead]

Fit the polystyrene today, great fun when no two dimensions are the same in the whole place. Got plenty left over to do the doors and most of the ceiling too. Just waiting for chipboard to turn up so I can board up the walls and make a ceiling which I'll insulate too and get storage in the loft space

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[Everything Mac]

What size is it Hamish? Looks massive. I'll have to come and visit and bring up that flypress.

All the best
Andy

 

[Klenchblaize]

Nice job. Don't forget now is the time to run all your power cabling for wall lights and bench equipment etc. No reason to have the unsightlyness of surface mount wiring when you can conceal behind the chipboard. Ditto any water supply and drainage.

K

 

[Dreadhead]

What size is it Hamish? Looks massive. I'll have to come and visit and bring up that flypress.

All the best
Andy

It's a fair size, bigger then 10x12 I'd originally put. Closer to 16x20 I think. It was used to house tractors before.

You're welcome over anytime

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[Dreadhead]

Nice job. Don't forget now is the time to run all your power cabling for wall lights and bench equipment etc. No reason to have the unsightlyness of surface mount wiring when you can conceal behind the chipboard. Ditto any water supply and drainage.

K

All the power and lights are already installed luckily and the wires are all tucked away above the rafters so makes my job easier

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[Everything Mac]

S

It's a fair size, bigger then 10x12 I'd originally put. Closer to 16x20 I think. It was used to house tractors before.

You're welcome over anytime

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Saweet.
Now things are a bit calmer I'll get that little thing we talked about forged out when I get ashore on the 6th then will send you a message.

Andy

 

[Dreadhead]

Sounds good Andy!

I've got a fair chunk done over the weekend with a mates help. All walls are now insulated and clad in 9mm osb. I've done the side door the same and in the process of doing big double doors as they take up almost an entire wall.
The whole building has slumped a little so not a single angle is at 90
I'm leaving a gap between walls and ceiling for now so I can run extension leads round later then just fix wee boards along the top for easy access to wires etc

Also had to refix the gutters around the outside as they had been put on so badly one had fallen off and the others needed repositioning

Going to start on the ceiling with whatever scraps I have for now, but I've ran out of cash so it's on hold for a while as I get back to work temporarily in the house.

Luckily got loads of paint that was left so will paint all the walls magnolia and the ceiling white when I have a spare day which will also brighten things up

I can almost see the finish line!

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[Nomad64]

Apologies for hijacking the thread which I was enjoying reading while getting shed/workshop envy but unfortunately I now could do with some insulation advice as well!

I’ve just turned the water back onto an outbuilding containing a washroom which had been mothballed overwinter to find some leaks caused by some shortcomings in the previous owners plumbing setup. Leaks fixed and drain valves now fitted to the lowest points in the system so I can properly drain it next winter.

Unfortunately, to get at the burst pipes, I had to remove three layers to waney edge Douglas fir cladding from the outside of the building, slice the waterproof membrane and remove several sections of 70/75mm? Celotex insulation - to avoid cutting the cabling behind it, some of the Celotex got broken into small pieces.

I can just buy another buy another sheet of Celotex and cut it to fit the missing sections and cut out channels for the pipes but was wondering whether there is any flexible alternative that will be easier to fit or whether 50-60mm Celotex plus some foil bubble wrap type stuff I have knocking around will be adequate?

As ever, any useful advice very much appreciated - now off to an unheated polytunnel which is my woodworking space!

Cheers

 

[Dreadhead]

I hope someone is able to give you some advice

A little progress today finishing the double doors and putting some ceiling in

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[Janne]

Nomad64, get that spray foam in a can.

Are you able to cutoff the water supply inside the house / in a frost free place?

Leave the drain cock in the Open position.

 

[demographic]

If I'm fitting Cellotex/Kingspan type insulation into a building I don't even try to get the fit perfect, I'd rather have about a 5mm gap around the insulation (hold it in place short term with a couple of nails) then I go round it with squirty foam (use the stuff from a gun as the other ones from just a can are hard work) and the foam makes a far better seal and stops the Cellotex from rattling about.
The 5mm gap is just enough to get the foam gun nozzle in.

If I try to get the fit of the Cellotex perfect it takes three times as long, causes masses more nasty dust that gets in my eyes and at the end the building is much less likely to pass an air test.
I've done a few homes this way and although it uses a few tins of foam its a much better job in the end.

I'm not sure but I suspect squirty foam might just eat away at polystyrene though, can't say I've ever tried it yet.