Introduction
There are several factors to consider when installing garage insulation if you want to turn your garage from a conventional storage or utility space to a useable living room of your house. Garages in the United Kingdom are often uninsulated and constructed of only a single skin of breeze blocks, thus they can be frigid in the winter and suffocatingly hot in the summer.
One of the main reasons homeowners insulate their garage is that it is connected to the house by at least one wall, as shown in the image to the left. Heat transfer can cause the rooms attached to the garage wall to lose heat quickly, raising heating expenditures in the home and diminishing resident comfort.
Cavity Wall Garage Insulation
Some homeowners are fortunate to have 'double skin' garages, which feature brick walls enclosing a breeze block structure with an air gap of 50mm or more in between. If this is the type of garage you have, insulation is sadly not a do-it-yourself project. You'll need to hire an expert to inspect the cavity with specialized inspection equipment called as a boroscope. If the cavity is unfilled, experienced personnel can inject blown-in insulation via small holes drilled into the mortar.
This is the only type of cavity wall retrofit available. If the state of the breeze block wall is less than satisfactory, you could carefully deconstruct it and insulate it against the brick before re-constructing another breeze block structure.
Breeze Block Garage Insulation
As previously said, garages are divided into two types. In cases where the garage is only a breeze block structure, you must use the solid wall insulation method described here.
Fitting a timber frame to the interior of the garage walls and then filling these voids with an insulating slab is an alternative, although it may reduce floor space. Sempatap Thermal, an ultra-thin product specially designed for solid wall insulation, is simple to install because it is attached with strong adhesive rather than nails or screws, requiring no new structure.
External Garage Insulation
If the garage is separate from the house, external garage insulation is an option. A detached garage with enough space around it, including space on all sides that does not impinge on someone else's property, can be insulated on the outside.
External wall insulation can be installed on the garage's outer breeze blocks and then finished with a weatherproof finish. This can be done with wooden shingles as cladding on garages for an authentic, weatherproof garden building look that would be ideal for a workshop, garden studio, or outdoor games area.
Garage Floor Insulation
Garage floors are frequently particularly chilly during the winter months, so adding a layer of insulation can make the room more appealing to spend time in by making the floor warmer. It's a good idea to insulate the garage floor with solid insulation board, especially if you plan to convert it into usable living space. Thin insulation board is available to increase the floor height as little as possible, but if the garage is attached to the home, there will be a step down to the garage floor anyhow, giving you extra height to play with.
Insulating a garage floor also improves its appearance because you may decorate directly over the top with underlay, carpet, or a timber deck. Installing acoustic matting atop the insulation board can provide acoustic insulation for the floor, decreasing any echoes caused by a huge, high garage. Another option for reducing echoes and airborne noise is to use insulation board with built-in acoustic qualities.
What else can be done to insulate a garage?
Once the flooring and walls of a garage have been insulated, consider insulating the garage door, since even a little layer may make a big difference on a cold, metal surface. Using foil tape, apply multifoil insulation to each inside component of the garage door. If the sections of the door are particularly deep, a glass wool insulation roll could be used to fill the deeper cavities before covering the insulation with multifoil and securing it all in place.
Please keep in mind any additional thickness added to the garage door if it is an up-and-over design.
Insulating a van
Insulating a van or campervan is a low-cost, do-it-yourself option to create a cozier, more pleasant traveling and living environment free of moisture, condensation, and undesirable temperature swings! Van insulation will help to keep the space cool in the summer and warm in the winter, allowing you to sleep comfortably no matter where you're camping for the night.
Van or campervan insulation projects must have a vapour barrier. Because you're attempting to insulate such a small space, there's a risk of moisture buildup from people breathing and cooking. Although pasta and rice are campervan staples, they produce a lot of steam when cooked, which condenses when it touches the cold metal or window of the van.
What materials can I use for campervan insulation?
In areas where floor space is limited, campervan insulation should be as thin as feasible. This is why we advocate for multifoil insulation. You can buy multifoil insulation roll that also has a vapour barrier built in, so you don't have to think twice about it! Multifoil is incredibly flexible, allowing you to bend it around protrusions and wheel arches without the need for unpleasant cut jobs, and the product's lightweight nature means it won't add too much weight to the vehicle overall.
We choose SuperFOIL SFUF since it is only 6mm thick and has a polythene vapour control layer on top, so it has everything you need in one. To keep the foil insulation in place, use very sticky SuperFOIL Met Poly tape.
Along with multifoil insulation, it is recommended to fill bigger holes with glass wool insulation because it is inexpensive and insulates larger areas more efficiently. The entry to the cavity, on the other hand, must be adequately closed since glass wool fibers are very uncomfortable and will almost certainly enter into the throats of those sleeping and eating in the van!
Do I need to layer over campervan insulation?
Insulating a van entails removing the normal panels and installing insulation beneath them so that the panels cover over the insulation and hold it in place even more firmly. After this, you may discover that the panels aren't the correct size, or you may break panels in the process.
Simply cut plywood to size, using the previous panel as a pattern, and use as low-cost replacements.
How do I fit van insulation?
Avoiding condensation is an important part of insulating a van or campervan, so it's a good idea to invest in some low-cost window insulation mats that may prevent condensation on windows while also adding an extra layer of privacy.
The following layers should be present in the van: bare metal, insulation, a separate optional vapour barrier, plywood panels and finishings, carpets, and fittings.
The following are the steps to fit Van Insulation:
1. Remove all fixtures and furnishings from the van.
2. Remove the existing van wall panels, taking care to keep the screws and fixings in a safe place.
3. Tape the foil insulation into place as tightly as possible, making sure to tape around corners, wheel arches, and protrusions.
4. If you've chosen simple multifoil insulation without a built-in vapour barrier, you'll need to install one.
5. Use the original screws and fixings to replace the van wall panels.
6. Take care to cut out any new plywood panels you may require and screw them into place.
7. Replace carpets and fixtures such as lights and fixed furnishings.
