Thanks!

Thank-you very much for your comment. I really enjoy making videos like this.

Thanks so much for the comment and good luck with your project.

Doing the Floor and ceiling will improve the insulation by 100%. I have 100mm all around and 200mm in the floor. Can heat my workshop with a candle. Also the ceiling insulation means I don't enter 'oven mode' in the summer. you will need to work on 100mm minimum if you want to make the garage a habitable space and the floor and ceiling/roof become mandatory.

​@@Dickie2702 I absolutely agree. I've done the roof-space (see separate video) and that makes such a difference especially (as you say) in the summer months. There's no insulation in my floor as I need to be mindful that putting in a false floor might constitute a 'conversion' which I'm not allowed to do under my deeds.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop I put 50mm insulation over the subfloor, a vapour barrier and 'green' 18mm chipboard over that as a floating floor. As my workshop floor is 300mm above the ground level and there plastic down in the 'crawl space' in seems to work to keep draught and moisture our.

⁠@@nevetsre7001Could you share the exact type of insulation and vapour barrier you used on the floor? Was build control inspection required in your insulation project? Assuming this was England? Thanks

Thank-you for such a lovely comment. The sequel is coming more insulation only up a ladder this time with lots of fiddly cuts.

Look forward to seeing that Karl 👍🏻

I needed to minimise the amount of space lost and, to be honest, we're not subject to extremes of cold or heat where I am. Fire resistance has come-up in questions a couple of times and it was something I considered but being quite frank - so long as I can get out safely there's little risk to my home from a blaze in the workshop.

I'm pleased you liked it.

Great video, what did you use on the garage door?

@@philevans3783 At the moment it's still work in progress and is a standard up and over door but that's being replaced with an SWS roller door. they have insulated slats.

👍

25mm polystyrene and Correx

👍

Thank-you Cyril.

Thanks for the comment. I've popped the link to the roof video here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nNZ_ac9-3LjUc4U.html However, do be aware that I made a mistake which I've now corrected. In the video I show and explain how I put two layers of insulation into the roof with a gap inbetween. A comment on the video pointed out that the correct approach should have been two layers without a gap. The fix was simple but very time consuming and I do intend doing a follow-up - especially as there's been a spike in interest on all my videos. If you were trying to achieve the same thing, fix battens to the rafters, insulate between them (layer 1) place the second layer over the top.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop Thanks. Both videos contain a lot of useful information that will be a big help when I come to insulate my garage. I don’t make how to videos myself but I have worked on a lot of my own building projects and I also had a large CO2 engraver for a while. I bought a small CNC engraver but I haven’t had a chance to use it yet. Sketchup is a great tool and I have used in the past to plan my projects. Here’s one example and I’ll be checking out more of your videos so keep them coming 😎👍 kzfaq.info/get/bejne/obtzdZCX28zLmYU.html

Hi Andrew. I'm glad you enjoyed it. And thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.

Hey Graham, you're absolutely right and I admitted the mistake made on the first wall in the video. To be honest I was.so focused on getting the batten on the right edge in the right place I didnt refer to the drawing again. All the remaining walls are done correctly as per the drawing. The roof is done already and your spot on about the benefit. Consistently 5 degrees cooler and as quiet as anything.

Good man look forward to your next one.

Thanks. I really couldn't find much out there when I was planning mine - I am glad you found this useful.

I'm glad I could help,

Nap Nic cheers. Wait to you see what I’ll be heating the space with! Super toasty,

Thanks for the comment. A lot to unpack here. So, in terms of sealing. The wall is battened and the celotex is fitted. It's important that the it is a close fit to the side walls and fortunately in my situation the block columns were straight enough. Seal the gap between the celotex and the wall now, and the floor too. When I boarded over the top, I sealed again to get a clean finish for paint. In your situation, I can't fully comprehend the transition between the door and wall. Getting the detail right here is about minimising cold bridging. When I put my door in kept the transition around the door quite simple. I'll come back to this in a separate reply. Your last question has the correct assumption. All my lower battens are above the DPC. That said, using the method shown in backing each batten with DPC material could allow you to bridge the DPC with minimal adverse consequences, but it's not recommended in the guides from insulation manufacturers. I guess this is that when a batten becomes wet on its end the moisture or rot will migrate along the grain.

Hello again @olddiyer I've quickly recorded a video about the detail around the door of the workshop check it out here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ZsB8nNCn35apdYk.html

@@StrawbyteWorkshop Many thanks again Karl for yet more super video material. Your video has helped me overcome some problems I have experienced after installing a new doorway in my garage. The reasons are explained below. I had to use a bespoke UPVC door to fit the limited wall height and as a result a Birtley type steel lintel had to be used to support the single brick course just above it and the wall plate where the roof trusses were supported. This type of lintel has an "L" shaped shaped cross section with an outward protruding section along its interior length to provide added strength. As as result the wall battens had to be 2x2 to clear this feature and this limited the insulation thickness I could use to remain within the depth of the garage piers. As a result I decided to use 25mm PIR Reticel board overlaid with 12.5mm MDF The wall itself was another issue as it had been badly laid and was 5mm or more out of vertical in some places where the doorway had been cut into it. However, the 2x2 battens proved to be ideal to create a solid straight , vertical fixing adjacent to the new UPVC door. These battens were positioned just far enough away from the doorway frame to ensure a reveal thickness of 25mm insulation plus 12.5mm MDF would overlay the new UPVC doorframe by about 17.5mm. In other words the timber battens were not positioned right up to the doorway frame. The gaps between the timber battens and the crooked walls were sealed all round. 25mm Reticel PIR board was then fixed and sealed to the new flat studwork bringing it flush with the studwork edge around the doorway reveals. It was then sealed all round and to the floor below the DPC. 25mm Reticel was then glued and screwed to the timber battens inside the reveals, once again sealing it all round to prevent the edges touching the rough brickwork. Finally, 12.5mm MDF was fixed over the insulated reveals to make a neat straight corner as you show in your video. The MDF was also sealed all round. Using this process I could fix the MDF right up to the UPVC doorframe and seal it, hopefully prevent excessive cold bridging at this point.

Thanks. I appreciate you leaving a comment. K.

Thanks David - I'm planning a follow-up video too as I've had a winter's worth of benefit and people of asked how all this has faired. Plus, I've had the new door put in and completed all teh finishing touches.

I'll do my best Nick.

Many thanks Tim.

Thanks

Is there a video on the garage door? Something I’ve been looking to do for a while myself.

Thanks for your comment. I'd love to know how you get on.

Thank-you. I appreciate the comment.

These last few days I pretty much have. Thanks for the comment.

No worries Keith and thanks for your shout out on Friday from yours.

Thanks!!

Persimmon - but we've got 4 developers on-site here and the garages are basically the same in terms of design and layout. The only difference with Bellway here is their garage doors have glass in them, which I'm rather envious of.

Thanks!

Glad it was helpful!

Thanks for the comment Greg.

Thanks Philip. Wait to you see the roof insulation and loft.

Strawbyte Workshop can’t wait 👍. It looks so smooth almost like it has been skimmed with a finish plaster

I'm glad I come across as comfortable because in my head I find the whole process somewhat agonising. As for more videos, I hope to be able to put out more. This project took over 6 weeks and had have my complete focus with the editing at the end. Now complete I've a few things in hand which will be out over the next few weeks. But thanks for the comment.

Thanks for the comment. I switched to celotex and MDF panels later in the project due mostly to the weight being more manageable on my own. To be honest I'm lucky to have a garage at all where I am since only 4 of the 14 house styles on my development have garages at all.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop My initial plan was to go with MDF too. Then someone pointed out that from a safety perspective drywall was better (it's fire proof). So I went with that. I don't mind and I bought the moisture-resistant type. I think MDF is safe too! :) Yes, I see what you mean. I believe I have the only double garage in the area - for a relatively small house. It used to be a car port apparently. Then closed with shutters by the previous owner. I then removed the silly wall partition between the two spaces after a structural engineer confirmed that it was safe to do

Thanks for the comment and yes you're pretty close to where I am - we like Market Harborough to visit and pass through (or by) Brixworth regularly. I have a friend exhibiting at Lamport Hall at the moment and visited last week. I'm happy to offer advice based on a question basis - you can email me at workshop@strawbyte.com. I've had lots of questions about this project which has increased recently as the video has found a new audience so may well revisit converting spaces.

Thanks for your comment. I would suggest that you take a look through the comments for lots of information not included in the video about the work. Specifically: 1) I did post a video about that (kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nNZ_ac9-3LjUc4U.html) but I made a mistake in the construction of the insulation in the roof. The video shows a gap between two layers of insulation which shouldn't be there and it's taken 2 years of work to slowly go around the roof space and correct the mistake. I do plan to put another video out. 2) So there were a number of options I considered when planning the build which were discounted and led to the approach seen on camera. You are right to assume that minimising the space lost in building the walls out was one and those methods that would have covered the pilars removed the most space. With regards to the pillars themselves, I chose to wait before insulating them as I wanted to work-out first what I wanted to mount on the walls as they are strong-points in the building. They have now been covered and fully insulated. I get asked a lot about this and I'm considering revisiting this project given a renewed interest in this project recently.

Hey there! I'm glad you liked the video - it's been a game changer for me. And cheap to heat. Check-you the roof insulation video if you haven't already.

Will do. That was next on my list of things to look at. Cheers 😊

Thanks for the comment - I'm continually surprised at how many views this video gets a few years on from completing my project. Your question has come up once or twice from viewers: I'm thinking of boarding-out the walls of my garage but don't need the insulation, what's the best approach? In terms of what you see in the video. If you're fixing battens to the wall then you should use DPC membrane on the back (as in the video) because this protects the battens from moisture that will penetrate through the brick when it rains. However without insulation there is a risk to any material you put on the battens (MDF, OSB, Plasterboard) from the moisture so I would suggest that you use building-wrap (Tyvek or similar breather membranes) between the MDF and the battens. This is usually applied to the outside of buildings with the writing site facing out. When using it this way, staple to the battens with the writing facing the wall (outwards). The wrap prevents any liquid water making its way into the wall cladding but allows vapour from inside to make its way to the brickwork and then out through the bricks to the outside. I've used this recently with a wood-store I've build recently with a brick wall serving as one of the 4 walls. An alternative approach would be to look at plasterboard with a foil back. I bit more expensive per sheet but that might similar to using a building wrap sheet under it. When fixing battens into brick I recommend concrete screws over hammer-fixed style plugs and screws. They have far superior strength - you might say way too much - but their cheap as chips and easy to fit. I hope that helps. Karl.

Yore welcome.

Thanks Dale.

Thanks for the feedback.

I've had mixed results with ply in the past. I found MR MDF a better material and (then and now) cheaper.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop What was the issue with ply? I've just started my garage in accordance with your video. I wanted to go ply because I plan to screw quite a bit of stuff to the walls - after some research ply is much better for this. Is there something I'm missing? Cheers Dave

@@AutoBeta2T There was no issue with plywood other than its cost comparable to MDF of the same thickness. MDF has its benefits as it has a very good paintable surface which gives a flat finish which is what I was looking for. If I was doing this over again I would use ply on the two walls I've mounted cabinets.

Thanks Robert. I'm afraid a few issues relating to the COVID have kept me out of the workshop for a few months. I began filming material again in mid-september and those projects are near completion so you won't have to wait very long. K.

Once I've got the personel for in mine will stay shut almost all the time afterwards and I insulated the door bast October and that made a big difference sound wise.

Strawbyte Workshop how did you insulate the garage door? I’m thinking of doing the same and would be interested to know what products you used.

Thank-you!

Thanks so much for your comments about the video and your questions. Answers below: 1. Went to a good deal of effort to prepare the surfaces for decorating. The plasterboard was filled and taped with jointing compound and primed using a primer for new plasterboard. The MDF was primed using a wood primer thinned with 5% water. When decorated with a half decent paint there is no difference in the surface appearance. Importantly there's no difference in temperature to the touch either. I'm happy with both. Over the 18 months since I made the video I've swung back and forth about which method is best. If I were to start again I think it would be insulation and MDF. 2. The building regulations talk about the room contain a place for sleeping. Clearly I have not running water and it is not connected to the house central heating. The comment in the video was largely aimed at avoiding the problem of people looking at the project and then converted their integral garage into a new front room. For that you need to way further than I have to do meet building regs. I never showed it on video as I was pretty embarressed but my workshop cabinets were ruined by damp in that space before the work. No it's dry as bone. I have frost protection installed now to ensure the temperature doesn't fall below 7 degrees and on a cold week (like now) it costs around £6 per week to heat. 3.The method I used was recommended in the Kingspan data sheets (and others) for situations where you cannot guarantee the outside wall won't get wet. One wall faces my neighbours garden and she's pretty liberal with the hose when watering her plants. The purpose is to stop moisture penetrating into the battens (which are treated as well - belt and braces) and causing them to rot and fail. There is an alternative method which is to use a stud wall set 25mm away from the outside wall and fixed to the floor and ceiling joists. I did consider this and a fellow viewer (and subscriber) is using that approach in a project right now. The downside is you lose a little extra space inside the room. Having thought about i recently I would have lost a further 20mm bringing the total loss to 170mm across the width of the room. When you say full sheet of DPC you could be confusing DPC with vapour control barrier, or maybe not. Some form of vapour control would be needed if you are using mineral wool insulation but with PIR (like mine) between the studs, a vapour control barrier is not required. Just tape over the joints internally. 4. I don't think what I've done will detract from the value if I were to re-sell. To be honest with everything COVID right now there's probably a whole bunch of buyers who will look at conversions like this and think that a) I too can take-up wood working, b) what a lovely place for a Gym, Yoga studio or artists studio, c) my car will love it here, d) I want to work from here. In my case as I've stayed well with the concrete block piers there would be no problem getting a large car into the garage. (I have a large SUV and it fits) If I leave I will remove the parts of the installation leaving a more basic space. All of the power and lighting will be stripped back to basics. And good luck with your project. The whole point of making the view was to show what you can easily achieve with a few hundred pounds and a decent drill/driver. And you don't even need a posh saw either. All the cuts were made by hand with a sharp carpentry saw (for wood) and (blunt saw for the insulation).

😀

Hi Ian - Thanks for the question. I didn't research to much the stud-wall option as it would have reduced interior space too much. But I did have conflicting advice as to whether to use a vapour barrier under the plasterboard/mdf skin. Some I spoke to insisted on the vapour barrier a few suggested that building regs had changed because vapour barriers were found to exacerbate rot and damp inside the wall. If I were in your situation I would probably go without. The room isn't in continual use and is not likely to be occupied during the colder months so the risk is minimal. Certainly using insulated plasterboard might be a little overkill and a lot more expensive.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop thanks for getting back to me Karl. Appreciate your thoughts.

Hi Simone. Thanks for leaving and comment and they're all great questions. 1. I followed the guides provided by Kingspan when deciding the method. The bricks too wet through as they're porous but importantly the water leaves the same way it got in through the brick. It's hard to believe but true. I've recently had to take one wall down to do some other work and the battens and insulation were all dry and in pretty much the same condition when installed nearly over 3 years ago. 2. The distance between the batten was determined by where the wall DPC course was on the wall. The battens didn't extend below the DBC and I didn't fit any horizonal battens in the brick below the DPC. In my case it was around 200mm (the height of 2 courses of brick). 3. It depends on what you want to do. If you're planning to put plasteboard across the ceiling joists and insulate above then do the ceiling first. The wall insulation will butt-up to the ceiling. You want to avoid having the ceiling butt-up to the wall. As you saw in the video I wanted to keep the vaulted ceiling so I simply but a board around the walls to replace the ceiling and to give me something to butt the walling against. I hope that helps and good luck.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop Thank you so much for the detailed answers! I'm going to do some reasearch for the ceiling, then honestly I can just copy your method for the walls ;)

Thanks Mike. Over the summer the brick piers have now been insulated and if I get a chance to edit the video took will be a future project on the channel. To answer your question about the effectiveness of the work you saw in the video:- During the hottest summer days last summer the workshop was a good 5 degrees cooler inside than outside by mid afternoon. As for the winter the space was quick to heat-up and slow to cool again making it much more comfortable to work in. You're absolutely correct the masonry does thermally bridge from the outside to the inside but I did some calculations to enable me to choose the right thickness of insulation and was surprised to learn that each pier was no worse than having a standard door or window opening of a similar area. At that part of the wall the brick and block is around 230mm thick and there's a fair bit of thermal mass. I was surprised how effective the work you see was keeping in mind that the piers were not insulated, one 'bay' was left uninsulated while I waited for a door to be fitted and the garage door wall was not finished.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop Thanks for the reply and very interesting to know. I assume that now its full insulated, and presumably that also takes care of the vapour barrier aspect, its a nice snug place to work in. Cant wait to crack on with mine.

Good question. I had originally planned to use insulated plasterboard for the whole project. Each sheet costing around £60 each. The video compresses time a little as having got some experience with the first wall I decided not to skim with plaster and then the cost of priming a bare plasterboard wall for paint pushed the cost of Insulated plasterboard over that of insulation plus MDF. The bonus being that mdf is easier to fix small items too.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop Dear Karl, Thanks for the very rapid reply. I guess there were many other options. it seems that you reached an acceptable compromise for you particular situation.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop if you were doing this today, would you just do everything with the MDF+insulation option?

@@amahmood3799 I think there are two things I would do differently if I did the project again. 1. Yes, I'd not bother with insulated plasterboard for a workshop insulation project. MDF that's been filled and sanded gives a surprisingly good finish and is quick and easy to achieve. 2. I would use 15mm MDF rather than 12mm. For a difference of 6mm over the width of the workshop the benefits of thicker panels in terms of being able to fix to the wall outway the small extra cost. One final thing, I'd do the floor first and use a membrane tied into the walls. I expect to do a follow-up video where I explain why properly and where I show the fix, but one area of the new wall panel has been badly affected by rising damp from the two courses of brick below the damp course.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop I look forward to your updated video. I already have the floor "done" using pvc matting like yours and take the point re: 15mm vs 12mm too.

Hi - thanks for the comment. The block columns are now covered an insulated. At the time of this video I delayed insulating them while I thought carefully about what my requirements were. For the sections already installed, the would only support the hanging of light items and small shelves. But, being a workshop more robust mounting options would be required for heavy shelves and equipment, perhaps. The solution was to use 30mm insulation over the blockwork with a 19mm structural plywood box over the top and bolted to the blockwork with shield bolts and in contact with the ground. I'm thinking of doing a follow-up in a couple of weeks on all the little additions to the project made over time. However, you are right in pointing out that the increased thickness of the blockwork and brick does generally reduce head loss resulting in being able to specify a lower thickness of insulation under the plywood box.

Hey Luke. Thanks for a great question and it's rather timely as I was filming a few things today in order to do an update video in the coming weeks. Overall things have worked out quite well. On the positive side both methods you see me use have been very accommodating when I've needed to make changes or repairs (more in a moment on that) and the quality of the decoration has held-up too. No peeling paint and the space is very dry even in the wettest coldest winters. There have been a few problems. It turns out the muppets that built my garage didn't install the DPC and tanking membrane correctly in a 6ft section of wall so I've had some water ingress which ruined a section of wall. But decisions taken in the build, in particular using DPC backed battens and quality screws paid of. The damage was cosmetic and affected the insulation benefit, but there was no mechanical failure of the wall. In fact putting it right was a pain as I couldn't remove the materials easily. I've said in the comments a few times the main issues causing me to switch between insulated plasterboard and separate celotex and MDF were 1) insulated pasterboard is very very heavy and I really didn't like working with it on my own, 2) I didn't have anywhere dry to store all the plasterboard to complete the whole project. If I were to do it again, I would probably go with the insulation and MDF. One thing I omitted to mention was that of the 7 wall sections insulated in the project, 2 were insulated plasterboard, 2 insulated with standard MDF and 3 with MR MDF. If I were to do it again I'd use MR MDF on all the walls. Not because of the moisture resistance but more because MR MDF is a denser board and those walls have held up a lot better as I've been fixing things to it and then later filling the holes and redecorating as thing change. In terms of performance: The space is 5 degrees cooler than the outside temperature during the summer and during the winter the lights, dust collector and a small radiant heater do a pretty good job of getting the space up to around 10-13 degrees which is almost the perfect temperature for working.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop thanks for such a detailed response!

The CNC is now installed in its new home in the corner, new monitor installed, dedicated computer sourced - so yes absolutely!

HI - Great question. At the time I was concerned about not reducing the interior dimensions of the space with too thick insulation. I also had an idea to make the brick piers a workshop feature and later installed 40mm insulation over those, too. I intend to follow up on the completed workshop at some point. Regarding the lack of a vapour barrier, Kingspan's technical team didn't specify it when I spoke with them. The explanation was that the insulation material had high vapour resistance, and if warm moist air was to make its way from the inside of the workshop and condense on the cold brick, the moisture would pass through the brick because they are porous.

Hi James, You can do it! I've heard from many complete DIY novices who have surprised themselves with pulling off a decen installation. I think the nice thing about it is that you cover-up mistakes with each layer leaving, perhaps, some moderate surface filling and then painting. Regarding the floor. Before tackling the floor the concrete used to kick-up dust all the time and I found that concrete sealing products really didn't last long. I sealed the floor for the last time a few months before I bought the vinyl floor with a product recommended by my builder and what I used to seal my patio. It didn't really work so the floor you saw me laid was laid straight on the concrete. No damp-proof membrane and not sealing post installation. In-fact being PVC I've had no damp what so ever rise through the floor. I hope that helps. Let me know if not.

Thanks so much for the comment. To answer your question I did a blog post on my website a few years ago. See www.strawbyte.com/blog/2018/11/18/how-to-insulate-a-garage-door

It has made a big difference. But bear in mind I’ve completed the last two walls and the block piers off camera. Generally in the summer it’s about 5 degrees cooler than outside, in the winter a 2kw heater gets the space up to 15 degrees in about 30 mins and the space retains heat well. I didn’t insulate the floor due to floor standing tools, but that’s a consistent 9 degrees all winter long. I am preparing an update on the project and will talk to some of the other gains. You may need to do some additional research when insulating a room integral to the house. Building Regulations will guide you on the thickness of insulation needed. Typically 75mm plus 25mm overlayed as a minimum. A call to the technical department of a supplier will give you an idea of what you need. As the work was in an outbuilding and the room is not for sleeping, cooking or a bathroom, I was fairly free to choose the level of insulation.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop thanks so much for your response, i really appreciate the info and look forward to the update, cheers

A tricky problem because boilers will require clearances around them because the have to dissipate excess heat from the heat-exchanger. For the electrical panel you need enough clearance for an electrician to work (especially as they charge by the hour). If the objective is to reduce heat loss, then insulating what you can and leaving what you can't would still be beneficial. Then if and when you have replace the boiler, then you can fill-in the gap.

The short answer is that the approach shown is one recommended in the technical data sheets from most of the insulation manufacturers (notably Kingspan). Its purpose is to protect the batten from moisture penetrating through the wall leading to premature failure of the batten and the materials attached to it. It is the vapour control membranes (the foil) in the insulation and sealant that is there to prevent warm moist air condensing on the exterior cold wall. Should any moisture condense on the inside of the exterior wall due to failure of the membrane or resulting from water penetration from the outside, the condensated water can still permeate through the porous brick to the outside. If I'd used DPC across the whole wall or treated it, that wouldn't be possible. There are other approaches to using PIR insulation, such as bonding it directly to the wall. However in my case I had to account for the the fact the exterior wall gets wet when it rains. I hope that makes sense, but thank-you for your question.

Hi david - yes the link is here. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nNZ_ac9-3LjUc4U.html Strange you should ask now as I'm re-editing the video to address a mistake made in the inital installation, why that matters and what I've done to correct it. I intend that video to go up on Saturday morning. In brief, in the linked video the mistake was to leave a gap between the two layers of insulation. In practice I've had no issues as the workshop is well ventilated and not used all day every day but did re-arrange the layers of insulation to remove the gap. The gap potentialy would allow condensation to form within layers of insulation and with nowhere for that moisture to go. I hope that helps.

Many thanks Karl; these are really useful, clear, and to the point videos of what you've done. Much appreciated. I'll watch out for the updated video.

In your situation I would probably use the battens as I have with DPC fixed to the back. While I have a DPC there is a fault in one small area were damp has risen into the wall in winter months. I had it all off to repair it and the battens, insulation were fine. The alternative is a chemical dpc and I think skill builder has a good video on a system which looks easy.

Yes I hope to put out a video soon.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop I would be keen to know how you did this. I’m in a similar situation and opted to pack the wall out so the battens are level with the concrete block work so far.

Hey Karl. I don't know about you but when you get to meet another Karl (albeit on-line) it's quite a rare treat. Anyway, I didn't show it very well but did describe it. For the most part the gap is sealed with Everbuild AC50 accoustic sealant in a 5-8mm bead around the edges of the insulation as it meets the wall. Okay, step back. You see me install insulated pasterboard on 2 walls the gap between the boards, floor and concrete blocks were filled with AC50 and for some larger gaps over 8mm Soudal Gap Filling Expanding Foam was used. Here the seal is really between the plasterboard layer and the concrete/blockwork. Later I applied the insulation and then a MDF skin. Here the wall/floor gaps were filled with AC60 before the MDF went on - any large gaps filled with foam, and then only vertical gaps filled again with cheaper decorators caulk. The gap between the MDF and floor was covered by skirting (although it took me 3 years to get around to it). I hope that your project goes well. You'll find my flooring video on the channel but I think you're going about your project the right way. Looking back I wish I'd fitted the floor first and then installed the walls as it's probably the better way to go.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop Karl, thank you for the detailed response. And yes, it’s a rarity to meet Karl’s with a ‘K’ these days👌🏻. I’ll check out your flooring video also. I’ve just ordered all of the epoxy paint so am looking forward to getting the flooring done. It’ll then be the wall insulation to do and, following that, insulating the roof (like you, I want to keep the loft space for putting items up in the rafters).

Thanks very much for the comment. I spent a good deal of time ringing around and checking online prices and in the end collected materials from several sources. Insulation Express was the cheapest on insulation, wickes for roofing battens, Travis Perkins and B&Q for MDF and so on. It was a challenge to get everything together at the same time but the work was done in two stages so I didn't have all the project materials getting in the way. The back half of the garage, then the front. The video joins them together to make the whole thing look like it was done in one go. A builder should be able to provide a bill of materials for the work (it sounds like you have that) so you could shop for them and save that way.

I probably didn't explain it well in the video. In the first part I was installing insulated plasterboard (plasterboard pre-glued to the celotex) and that's the finished surface. Later I changed my mind and used ordinary celotex and the finished surface is the MDF you see me installing on top.

From around 9:10 you see me installing the MDF on top of the celotex insulation. Missing from the video any footage of the finishing of the plasterboard walls. I didn't use a plasterer to skim coat the wall to get the finish. Using tapered boards I was able to tape and use jointing compound. Then sanded flush and primed the wall with plasterboard primer. The finish with paint on is flawless. I used a mix of standard and moisture resistant MDF with the MR MDF giving a better finish overall..

Oh that's amazing!! Thank you so much for letting me know!!

@@StrawbyteWorkshop is there a reason you used mdf and plasterboard? Why not use mdf everywhere?

If I did the project again then I probably would have used MDF throughout. The project was conceived with insulated plasterboard and I ordered the first batch on that basis. What I learned is that 1) it's very heavy and I was working mostly on my own 2) it has to be stored flat and in the dry and I had limited room. The switch allowed the insulation to remain outside and the MDF bought in each morning for that days installation. I hope that helps.

The roof space is insulated and there was a second video explaining that part of the project. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nNZ_ac9-3LjUc4U.html There's an error in the video that I've now corrected and plan to re-upload a further video explaining how it was all done. With the walls and roof done and some work done around the up-and-over door to prevent drafts, the heat retention is good and it costs a fraction to heat than it did before. I've said in several comments that the main benefit for me is how cool the space remains during the summer months. That's when I'm most active the in the workshop.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop thanks

HI - it took a while before I was able to get around to cover those areas of the wall as I wanted to think-through how I could use them as strong fixing points in the workshop. Essentially they were clad in 40mm of PIR with a plywood box around them to provide the finished surface inside. However, the insulation of the walls was largely effective keeping the space cool during the late summer months and warm over the following winter. There was no condensation forming on them in the coldest months when I was in the workshop and of course the issues I had the previous year with wet weather penetrating through the brick had been resolved with what you see in the video. I had planned a follow-up on this build but I'm afraid the covid pandemic got in the way but the video has had a surge of interest this summer and I might go back and cover all the things that got done after this video went up. Thanks so much for the comment.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop great info, thanks.

Wow, plenty of questions. WARMER? Yes, but don't forget that you need a source of heat in the space too. The important thing to say is that I don't have my fan heater on for long to go from around 5-8 degrees to a comfortable 13-15 degrees. Once warm, it stays warm. SOUND? To some extent. I have measured before an afterwards and there's a 10db reduction in noise as heard from various points outside. Had sound been a focus I would have bought the finished wall out beyond the concrete block pillars and doubled up inner surface (MDF). You need mass not soft warm stuff to reduce sound transmission through walls. CONCRETE BLOCKS? These have now had insulated panels installed on them which are super strong and look really cool. I really should do a follow-up video on that work. BUILDER? No, well actually sort of. My dad is a retired builder and who I worked for as a young man and he advised me on some of the work. There was a key consideration around having a builder do the work - the builder would have expected the entire space to be cleared free of clutter and (importantly) my stuff. I did worked with a builder on the door project who said a similar job he'd done recently was charged at £9500. He installed a plasterboard ceiling and leveled the floor with a raised timber floor.

No idea why it's taken me a year to see the reply. £9,500 is a hella lot of money for what I need, especially when your material breakdown was "only" £760 I've got a 5m x 5m garage that I want to continue to use as a garage, but also put my treadmill in. The idea is to insulate it to create a dust free, temperature controlled area. It'll need aircon probably. The noise question is because there's every chance I'll be out there at 6am running and don't want to get an ASBO 🤣 I'm now thinking my best bet is to do one section of each wall at a time, working my way around to spread the cost and work. Like you, I have a lot of stuff in there to move about including a car. Another couple of questions I have is why did you mix the boarding? Some parts were plasterboard and some parts were the other stuff? And I need to have a bike rack and a pull up frame on the wall. Assume that's going to need battons behind worked out for where they need fitted? Great video and think I'll use it as my guide!

It's a good question and you're right I didn't dwell on the reasons for switching from one approach to the other. The video compresses time at little and the first two walls were very much a learning experience and were completed a couple weeks before the remainder of the workshop. The two key factors were that the plasterboard needs to be kept dry at all times and is bulky to store. The 4 sheets I initially ordered just got in the way too much and coupled with the second factor being that it was extremely hard to handle the material on my own due to the weight I decided to switch approach. For the remaining walls I could order all the insulation that I needed and store it outside. MDF was bought daily from my local B&Q. On the plus side the finish on the plasterboard wall is way way better than the MDF and if I were to do it again and I wasn't building a workshop (music studio or home office) I'd probably prefer the insulated plasterboard product and find a better way of storing and organising materials. In terms of cost, they area about the same.

Hi - thanks for the question. It's been asked a fair bit which I don't mind as looking back at the video I could have made things clearer. The intention was to have the whole project completed with insulated plasterboard but when I started on the first two walls I quickly realised 2 things. 1. it's a very heavy material and struggled on my own to fit it without damaging edges and corners. 2. It's really not weatherproof and I had nowhere to store all the material needed for the remaining walls of the workshop. Switching to Celotex and MDF proved better as I could store the celotex outside where a little summer rain wouldn't ruin it and the MDF could be fetched as I needed it. The two-step process was slower but more managable and MDF weighs 1/2 the weight of the same sized plasterboard panel.

75mm if my memory is correct. They're used to fix the battens and my general rule-of-thumb is the fixing should be 3 times the thickness of the batten being fixed. 25mm in this case. I hope that helps. K.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop thanks again great advice

Hi - firstly, thank you for the feedback and comment. At the time of recording, the concrete pillars presented two problems. 1. The two closest to the front of the garage supported the up-and-over door; 2. Quite frankly, I wasn't sure what I would do with them in the long term. Since making this particular video, they have been insulated. A 3-sided plywood box covered 50mm of PIR insulation fixed to the pillar itself. By the time I got around to that part of the build-out (not long after I had the personnel door installed - see another video), we were in the middle of the first COVID lockdown and never made a follow-up video. Sadly for me, I was an essential worker at the time, and I was worked off my feet for two years! Anyway, it's a common question, and in hindsight, it does look like an odd decision not to include them in the insulation video. Time permitting, I may eventually get around to explaining that part of the project. Regards. Karl.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop Thanks for your question Michael and the reply Karl as I was wondering the same thing. I'm also in a new build and have two lots of pillars on both sides of a double garage which go all the way up to the top of the roof. My problem is I only have 2 inches of clearance between the first joist and web (i think it is called a web) and the pillar. I did take a picture but I don't think I can add it. I guess I will do the same and box in. Any other ideas?

@@thatsfresh01 feel free to send a picture to workshop@strawbyte.com and I'll take a look.

Thanks John.

Hey dan. A popular question and an obvious omission from the video and I probably should have at least mentioned why as I did explain that 2 bays were going to be addressed at a later date when the personnel door was to be installed. I have a video on that here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/l9FmdNKjm9CXZGg.htmlsi=fqQ8YhLdt97XGoCA and in the video you can see in the background of the making and talking-head the concrete pilars are covered (red) and (not visible) insulated behind. The primary reason was that I wanted to come up with a method which was insulated and very strong so that I could mount racking or heavy objects from them. The approach taken was to make a 3 sided box (U shaped channel) out of 3/4" plywood that is 40mm wider than the block pilar and about 55mm deep. Then insulate inside the box and then bolt these boxes on to the concrete pilars using shield bolts (some of the strongest non permanent fixings you can buy). A secondary reason was that the door installation got delayed to February 2020 and then the pandemic hit and I couldn't get plywood or insulation for many weeks. To answer your question simply, yes you should cover these pillars. I was trying to maximise space inside and decided on an 'overlay' approach which I think has worked out well for me. There's a more complicated answer based around the thickness of the wall through the pillar to the outside, the impermeability of concrete blocks to moisture, the foam material installed between the blockwork and the brickwork and U values. In short, if you built out the finished surface of the walls either side to around 32mm beyond the face of the blockwork and installed 25mm celotex over the top and board over that, you'll get a clean flush wall the length of the garage. It would also mean being able to use 65mm celotex in placed of the 40mm I used giving you a better result. I hope that helps. There's been a surge of interest in this project so I may well do a follow-up specifically on all the insulation work completed off-camera. Thanks so much for leaving a comment. It really does help - more than subs and likes.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop really appreciate the response. I'm planning on doing similar to my detached garage with plywood lining and insulation. Reckon the air gap between plywood and breeze block wall would need air vents to connect the air circulation with the outside air? As my garage currently doesn't have this. Subscribing to you now!!

@@dancharles6942 Ah, so the question of vents behind the insulation has come up in a comment before. Remember standard fletton house bricks are permiable to moisture and vapour. On a house you will often see weep holes that are installed over impermeable cavity trays installed in the wall, and vents in some cases . This would due to the cavity wall situation. When I contacted the kingspan technical department they explained that weep holes or air vents were not necessary in my case. If yours is similar, I wouldn't worry about or prioritise vents in your wall.

That's an option, but one not recommended if you cannot guarantee that the exterior wall won't get wet. In my case I have a wall which is the boundary for my neighbour and I can't be sure I can keep on top of maintaining the gutter or prevent her from splashing the wall when she waters her lovely garden. The battening approach is a safer alternative as you don't risk the adhesive failing due to moisture penetration.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop good answer. Thanks for that

I got my boards within 8-12 mm of the floor and sides and used a thick bead of acoustic sealant (AC-50) and where the uneven floor or pillars left larger gaps used expanding polyurethane foam first. I used AC50 because of the noisy tools and I hoped it would limit noise transfer through the wall to my neighbour's garden. And you're correct in noting the objective to avoid direct contact with the floor. It is tempting to simply rest the wall boards on the floor, but there is a risk of moisture in the cold floor wicking up through the wall materials. I did have one spot n the garage where the wall panels I installed touched the brick below the DPC and a huge stain appeared over several months. Anyway thanks for the question and I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Regards. Karl.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop amazing Karl, thank you for getting back to me and the details. So much US woodshop content it's great to see something similar to my set-up and pains. Can I ask how you resolved the issue with the DPC, did you put a piece of barrier over the brick?

@@gsallis85 Yes - basically that was the fix. The issue was that the bricks below the DPC in one small area of the garage wall were particularly wet and had bridged the DPC installed by the builders to wet-out the mortar coarse below the blockwork above. This is really a poorly installed DPC. The approach was to take some barrier from under the floor and tie it into the mortar coarse above the faulty DPC, and then a second layer over that up the wall to around .5m. I did film some footage of the fix but didn't post an update as interest in this video had dropped off. However, it has picked-up and I've received a lot of interest and questions recently so think it might be worth putting out a follow-up.

Hi - thanks for the question. I used the AC50 sealant on all the battens before the insulation or insulated plasterboard was applied - both horizontal and vertical. Once the insulation+MDF or Insulated pasterboard is installed, I then went round all the edges to seal the gap. Where if the gap was wider than 4mm I used expanding foam first and then decorators caulk on top. What you're aiming to achieve is to prevent moist warm air sneaking around the back and condensating on the wall. Now you need to do the best you can and I'm the first to admit my sealing wasn't perfect, but a year on there is no evidence of any issues that I can see (aside from one area due to a badly installed DPC by the housebuilder) and so it's all good. I may do a follow-up video covering all the comments and questions I've had since I completed the project. So do subscribe if you haven't already.

Internal Garage conversions do require special attention and it sounds like your existing walls are constructed in a particular way. It’s not clear if the wall is cavity or solid. But a call to the technical department of any PIR manufacturer will guide you on the install including how much insulation, vapour control measures and if any separation is required between the new materials and existing walls. The new room will be considered part of your home and may require building control approval. Something I avoided by being detached and not creating a space that was for sleeping, cooking or washing. These are just a few pointers to help you look for the right advice as I can’t advise you on your specific situation. K.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop thanks so much for your help. Great advice.

Hi. Thanks for the question. At the moment I have a single 20A radial circuit from the house. When I moved in I the developer installed a single 13a fused spur from the ground floor ring main, via an armoured cable through the garden. A temporary fix was to terminate this at the fuse board on a breaker has now lasted almost 6 years. My plan is to have a bigger circuit and small consumer unit installed the garage fed straight from the meter cabinet.

I'm delighted with the overall performance of the insulation. It takes very little time to get the space to around 12-15 degrees, which is ideal when working. I switched from an electric fan heater to a 1kw panel heater last year which comes on around 8am and the workshop is warm enough by 8.30 and hardly comes on at all during the day.

Hi Hobby Hero - what a good question. Yes there are probably a few things I would have done differently. I think I would have planned a little better how I wanted to arrange things in the workshop so I could have included the fixings in the walls for heavier items such as cabinets and brackets (like the TV bracket). I made a couple of errors on one wall which has lead to a small patch of wall becoming wet and mouldy. This ill probably be a fix I may feature in a future video. I don't think I would have used unsulated plasterboard at all - it's way too heavy to fit easily on your own for very little advantage. I would have done the floor first and not after the walls. It would have made for a seamless finish. I would have completed all the insulation in one hit and then put the door in. In waiting nearly 7 months for the door I didn't get the benefit of the insulation over the winter and the door install wouldn't have been any more difficult. I'm doing another insulation project at the moment on the building that used to be my workshop and I've found a much simpler way of insulating the roof and transitioning from the walls to the roof insulation. But overall the insulation has been a roaring success. Over winter the workshop was too warm at times and I would often just let the heat from dust extractors and tools warm the space. In the summer the workshop has been between 5 & 10 degrees cooler. Plus I don't get any complaints from the neighbours about noise. I've spoken to my nearest neighbour and she can hear what I'm doing but It doesn't mean she has to raise her voice if she's taking to someone in the garden. So very pleased. There have been so many questions over the last 12 months I should do a follow-up soon. Others have asked for advice and I have ended up talking about some of the methods I rejected which might be valid for some and worth discussing more generally. Take care. K.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop excellence thanks for taking the time to respond. Looking forward to hearing more 👍🏻

Hey - thanks for the comment. The MDF option uses battens too. You first screw fix the insulation to the battens and then the MDF is screwed into the same battens.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop Thanks so much! I'm wanting to cover my brick blocks - what would you do to get it to come out just a little further so that the MDF can be flush with the bricks allowing my cladding to run straight?

@@KamalHyman The brick blocks have now been covered. I made a plywood box that was lined with insulation and bolted it to the walls. All of that was filmed and I'm intending to put out a follow-up video on the subject of the blockwork piers as there have been so many questions asked. I did consider bring the wall out further to cover the blockwork but would have lost an additional 4cm across the width of the garage. As it happens my solution provides a 4 strong-points on to which I can mount heavy things. Anyway your comment has spurred me on to complete the follow-up. Look out for that.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop I'll keep an eye out!! Last question then I'll leave you alone! If the blue batten is sold out (let down buy a Diy chain) - Can CLS timber at 50mm thickness do the same job

@@KamalHyman you could use any timber really. I chose roofing battens as they're pre-treated so when they're up I know they'll be okay. It's the dpc stapled to the back which is doing most of the work. Untreated CLS would be okay but I'd want to give them one coat of fence or shed preserver for piece of mind. Shame about DIY places at the mo, they never have what you need frustrating in a lockdown.

Thanks for your question. Yes the battens are treated. I used roofing battens and like you saw put dpc behind them. The inside of a standard brick wall risks getting wet as bricks are porous. The gap is to stop this moisture from bridging to the insulation and reduce its thermal performance. It’s the internal vapour barrier which is key. As far as flat roofs are concerned Ali Dymock has some good videos on gap considerations. For roofs it’s generally accepted that 50mm is the gap between insulation and the underside of the roof. I hope that helps. K

Strawbyte Workshop Thanks a lot for your advice; I’ll definitely use treated wood and will be sure to check out Ali Dymock too. 👍🏻

Hi - The video is hidden. The link is here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nNZ_ac9-3LjUc4U.html I'm just finishing some remedial work in the roof space and I will update/replace the video to correct a mistake in the original. Feel free to take a look at the old video. At 4:08 I start talking about the construction of the two layers of insulation. The error made was to include a void between the two layers. This isn't the correct way to do it and while I have experienced no issues with the approach I took, but a roofer pointed out two problems: 1. The void actually reduces the efficiency of the insulation not enhances it. 2. There is an issue with insulation voids where vapour permeating through the insulation could condense in the void. This might lead to rot in the roof trusses or (as before) a loss of insulation performance. The mistake was made because I hadn't planned to use two layers from the beginning. battening-out the trusses came afterwards when I decided to install the second layer. What I should have done is planned to install two layers from the outset. This would have had me batten-out the trusses first and install the first layer of insulation flush with the battens and the second layer over the top with no gap. Where the roof support beams cross the space, It would have been easy to test fit the pieces before carving out a rebate to accommodate the beam.

Thanks very much for the link, I’ve now insulated half of my pitched roof using a similar approach to yourself, just a bit more to go and then on to the walls!

You're not going mad - there was and I took it down a couple of weeks ago. A roofer kindly pointed out a mistake I made in my approach which I'm busy correcting at the moment. The original videe is on this link: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nNZ_ac9-3LjUc4U.html In the video I explained that I battened out the roof and placed a second layer across those battens. This creates a gap which doesn't give you any extra U value and creates an opportunity for moist air to collect inside the void. What I should have done when I decided to put the second layer in was to pull the first row of insulation out flush with the battens and then applied the second layer. Anyway, when I've corrected the problem I'll re-edit the video and post it up. It's worth saying that having inspected the installation and had a buidler friend take a look, there were no issues identified in the roof space. Ventilation from the eaves to the ridge seemed fine. I'm helped in poor and cold weather that my estate is on top of a hill and my garden is very windy. I hope that helps and I've been looking through the comments and I might do a follow-up in a week or two, if time allows.

The ceiling was insulated at the same time and was featured it a separate video. You’ll find the link somewhere in the comments but I unlisted the video due to an issue with the approach. Now fixed a new video is coming soon.

I started with a do anything black and decker battery drill. I see it now as a gateway drill to a world of drilling. Anyway I was gifted a few last year and did a comparison video which didn't make it to the channel... Having at least two is so efficient, having more is showing off, I agree. But thanks I appreciate your comment and encouragement.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop Sir you are indeed a show off! But a compelling one, looking forward to the next video.

Hi David. In my situation I chose to not insulate the floor and laid 6mm pvc tiles directly on the floor. I find the floor is not cold to the touch and a there is never any condensation on or near the floor. The choice was largely as I have heavy tools (planer/Thicknesser) and cabinets on wheels and a fully insulated floor to carry those point loads would have been expensive for little benefit in a workshop. That said the floor slopes as all garages do and I could have fixed the slope and insulated at the same time. New Brit workshop did that in his garage conversation. For the roof I used two layers of PIR insulation on the underside of the trusses. In your situation you need to take care and look carefully at what you need to do to insulate and ventilate a flat roof. You can’t just fill the gaps between the rafters with insulation as moisture will migrate to the cold side of the roof and needs to escape. I will be posting an amended video on the roof insulation to replace one from 2019 that I took down as it featured an error I wouldn’t want someone else to copy.

Good question and a rather challenging one. You could run the wires on the brick wall first and then pass them through the insulation into the room, after which you could cut a recess in the wall for the back box. However a 25mm backbox would remove 15mm of the 40mm insulation to accommodate the flush socket. You'd have to seal the hole the wire passes through. Alternatively, where I've done the wall in two steps, you install the insulation, counter-batten on that, install the wires over the insulation, and then have the boxes recessed into the MDF. 15mm counter bateen and 12mm MDF would give you enough room for a 25mm back box. Two options there, but both have downsides. The last one removing a little bit more of the internal volume.

The air gap is the recommended approach by most PIR manufacturers when insulating a single skin brick wall unless the wall is guaranteed to be bone dry all the time. Had the wall been concreet blocks which are impervious to water then I might have used that approach.

I’ll see what I can do. But Thank you.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop is there a video for insulating / boarding the roof? I also noticed you insulated the door with Proplex, any advice on this? and again well done, this is awesome!

Hi - thanks so much for the question.Regarding 1) I considered 3 approaches to insulating the space. a) a stud wall 50mm away from the infilled with insulation, a further layer of insulation and finished surface (MDF, plasterboard or ply), b) foil-faced PIR plus finish surface, or insulated plasterboard stuck directly to the brickwork, or c) the approach featured in the video. Insulation on top of battens. a) was discounted due to the loss of interior space. The wall would have been 180mm thick either side or 280mm lost internally. If you were insulating a garden room, office, gym or yoga studio, that might be acceptable. b) It was discounted due to both Celotex and Kingspan (who provided direct help with the project via their technical line) advising against sticking the product to the wall if the wall is exposed to external weather. Fletton bricks are really very porous. Before the project, a windy storm would lead to water being driven into the brick and running down the inside of the wall. It is really the longevity of the adhesive that's the problem - prolonged exposure to moisture might result in the adhesive failing and the insulation detaching from the wall. c) so this option was chosen. It allows water to enter through the brick and any moisture condensing on the internal face of the brickwork to move within the 25mm cavity and eventually migrate back out through the wall in drier weather. I hope that's clearer - I know in the video I focused on the vapour barrier, but the nature of Fletton bricks was the primary consideration. If you're insulating a blockwork wall, a wall made from engineering bricks, a concrete panel wall, or a wall with wide roof eaves at the roofline so rain doesn't touch the wall surface, then you may glue directly to the wall. There's another video (a car garage) on youtube where the person glues directly to the wall where I think the had no water penetration of the wall. With regards to question 2. The space is so much warmer. In the video I discussed the fact the space is 5 degrees cooler in the summer. In the winter, generally, 20 minutes of a 2Kw heater is enough for it to stay above 10 degrees for the whole day. Remember, I've only insulated which minimises heat loss when you put heat in. I might do a follow-up video on this because during the winter months I tend to run a dehumidifier continuously through the winter to bring the relative humidity to around 55% and the unit dumps its waste heat into the space keeping the temperature around 5-8 degrees all winter long. When I'm out in the workshop I tend to use infa-red radiant panels to just warm me in the two spots I tend to stand and work. It is well worth doing.

Hi, thank you for taking the time for your detailed response it’s really appreciated. I am of a similar opinion regarding option a) as would confine my space greatly. My bricks are set with lime mortar however the walls have never let any moisture completely penetrate but I assume option c) and leaving a gap should any moisture come through to dry out in the summer would be best. Will batten with damp course strips and tie into damp course at floor level. Sorry a resulting third question, should any weep holes be installed at ground level?

@@JM-xq4oq I’m glad I could help. In terms of weep holes, you generally require them when you have a cavity tray installed in a typical two skin cavity wall. I saw no advice from any of the insulation vendors recommending the batten approach to retrofit them.

Amazing, thank you so much. Has given me peace of mind of the best approach and cleared up some confusion I had from my research. Floor and ceiling are already done so just the walls left 😊

@@JM-xq4oq I’m interested, because I’m always asked about mine, but what steps did you take to insulate the floor?

There's a couple of things to keep in mind. If the walls of the garage have no moisture penetration from outside, insulated plasterboard can normally be bonded with construction adhesive straight to the wall. You've said that you have sterling board on the walls already and in your situation I would remove it and add the thickness gained to the insulated plasterboard. The existing surface is not going to make the wll any more.thermally efficient and could be the source of hidden rot in the future if moisture does penetrate from either outside or inside. In.found kingspan particularly helpful when I had installation questions. I hope that helps.

Hi Keith. So plenty of folk have asked why I switched between Insulated Plasterboard and Celotex and MDF and there are plenty of detailed replies to that question in the comments below, but in simple terms Insulated plasterboard was very heavy and I was struggling to handle it alone. My helper in the video was only available on a few days during the installation. The second reason was storage. It is a very cost effective material but I had no where to keep it out of the weather between delivery and installation. Celotex in its own is pretty weatherproof and the MDF I managed to order and pay for in one go, but collect from the merchant as I needed it. So joint between the wall and ceiling, in corners, against blockwork walls was sealed with AC40 acoustic sealant. Between the wall and the floor I used the same, but where there were bigger gaps due to an uneven concrete floor I used expanding foam. Since the video I've installed skirting board. Good luck - I'm genuinely surprised how many people have found this video a help or inspired them to do the same. K.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop Thanks! I think it's going to take me a while (garage is still full of moving boxes!) but you've inspired me to get going!

Well, it's taken a while with the bad weather and other stuff, but I'm finally going to start my project next week! I already have the battens delivered for the wall studs. I'm probably going to go for Celotex PL4050 as it seems a good balance between thickness and insulation properties. I have a double garage so I'm able to store the boards in one half whilst I work on the other half. So far I have no plans to do the floor (other than cover it with Resincoat which I have already). If it seems too cold I can always do a floating floor & insulation later. Unfortunately the prices of everything have risen considerably since you made your video, but it's still a cost effective way to get a dedicated workshop I think. One quick question - it's not easily visible in your video, but what (if anything) did you do with the roof space?

Hi Nigel - a local viewer! Great question. Firstly Kingspan does recommend 50mm you are correct. I paired it back to 40mm for two reasons. 1. I wanted to minimise the space lost to the insulated wall. 2. It's a workshop and the objective was to create a comfortable working temperature which is around 14 degrees in the winter months. I touched on it in the video - the benefit in the summer is that the workshop remains at around 20-21 degrees, or generally 5 degrees cooler than ambient. But in the winter I can get workshop up to 14 degrees in about 20 mins with a 2Kw fan heater. A couple of caveats. 1. The garage door is by far the biggest source of heat loss rather than the walls. 2. My side door in uninsulated, it wasn't there in winter 1 and I had problems last winter with it not fitting correctly . 3. The floor is uninsulated and I would have achieved a far better insulated space if I had retrofit insulation to the floor.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop40 mm sounds like a good compromise. My roof was recently replaced with aluminium PIR composite from Concrete/ Asbestos, has made a world of difference. Is that 40 mm including the plaster board?

@@keanMechanic No, 40mm PIR insulation plus 12.5mm plasterboard (on 2 walls only) or 40mm PIR and 12mm MR MDF on the remaining.

What was used to insulate the garage door & did you leave an air gap between the metal of the door & the insulation?

Hey. Thanks so much for the comment. The screws were Easydrive screws from Screwfix and they were mostly 7.5 x 70 with a handful of 7.5 x 50 as I began to run out. You drill a 6mm hole and then drive straight into the hole with a standard drive.

@@StrawbyteWorkshop Brilliant thank you

Good question. And I may cover that.in a little more detail when I start fitting out on the walls. I've 3 methods which preserve the vapour barrier and allow for light to heavy fixings.

Strawbyte Workshop, Would like to know more about this also!

Hi Dave - thanks for the comment and the great question. I was using a Ryobi 18v combi-drill but set to the standard drill function. "No hammer action". The secret-sauce here are the drill bits which are from Bosch. I discovered them at a trade show and they can pretty much go through anything: Brick, concrete, wood, plasterboard/render, glass and tile. They called Bosch Professional Multi-purpose Drill Bits CLY-9 (link to them on Amazon UK: amzn.to/32LiGNU) The set I've linked are a bit pricey and you can buy the bits separately. However the set you saw me use in the project are still going strong 3 years later - I may give them a quick pass with a diamond file to hone the edges at the drill tip occasionally. A tip on accurate hammer drill use (or put another way in situations where you need an accurate hole when you can't afford to cock it up) is to start small. In the video I needed a 6mm hole for those concrete screws; if I wanted a super accurate hole positioned correctly, level and straight, I would have started with a 4.5, or 4mm masonry bit first before drilling out the hole to the right diameter for the fixing. for larger fixings (my wall bolts need 13mm holes, I will drill a 6mm hole first and then widen it with a 10mm bit before drilling with a 13mm. The larger bits will happily follow the hole you drilled before and the drill has less material to, experiences less resisistance and the hammer action isn't arm-joltingly severe. Anyway I hope that helps. K..