Insulating my new workshop

[Pete.]

Now that my house move is finally done and I have started my winter break I'm getting stuck into the first order of business which is insulating my workshop. This is going to be a multi-staged affair because I have got all my equipment in from the old workshop and nothing is stored properly so I'm working around all my machines.

This is the workshop (before I moved in), it's 13m long and 3.3m wide, basically two 5.5m 'log cabin' workshops end to end with a 2m gap filled in between.

From the inside, you can see that there is no insulation at all just 40mm timber walls. This is about 40m2 which is twice the size of my last workshop and with much better access.

Here's a pic from when I first viewed the property, the guy had his XJS in there with plenty of room around it.

 

[Pete.]

Anyway, my plan is to get the rook and the back wall (opposite the doors and windows) all insulated this month. That way I can build benches against the wall and not have to worry about moving them later on. I'm going to get rid of the random-height sockets from the wall and fit metal sockets all at the same height in places that suit my new work area better.

For the roof I'm going to screw on 2" thick foil backed insulation board. Selco have these on offer right now so I have bought 90 of them which will do the entire underside of the roof.



Later on I may also line the roof with plywood I haven't decided yet.

For the back wall I wanted something substantial that would add stiffness to the rather bendy wall and allow me to fix cupboards/racking/shelves to it and also give good heat and sound insulation. Luckily Selco also have CLS on offer very cheap so I bought 60 of these to get me going:



These will stiffen up the walls and give me space to run the 2.5mm T&E plus fit insulation so I'm using Knauf acoustic insulation in the cavity. Two of these will do the whole back wall with a bit left over:



Then on top of that I'm putting 18mm OSB3 which is weatherproof and ready-primed. This is also on offer at Selco as it's end-of-line so I bought 30 of these too. I wanted to make sure I had enough to do the walls and also make a lean-to on the outside of the workshop for my compressor and other stuff to live in.



I will update the thread as I get along with the work. I have some of the roof insulation already the rest is being delivered next week.

 

[zzr1200]

Now that my house move is finally done and I have started my winter break I'm getting stuck into the first order of business which is insulating my workshop. This is going to be a multi-staged affair because I have got all my equipment in from the old workshop and nothing is stored properly so I'm working around all my machines.

This is the workshop (before I moved in), it's 13m long and 3.3m wide, basically two 5.5m 'log cabin' workshops end to end with a 2m gap filled in between.

From the inside, you can see that there is no insulation at all just 40mm timber walls. This is about 40m2 which is twice the size of my last workshop and with much better access.

That's major understatement, you must have had real fun at times, but some were flown in if I remember correctly.......

 

[Jaeger_S2k]

Are you over-boarding the cladding that's already up, or removing it and insulating?
That would give you a nice depth when you do the stiffening of the walls, you wouldn't lose so much interior as you can tie into the existing studs and just make them stronger.
That would also allow you to incorporate ventilation to the outside wall, put in a vapour barrier and then insulate and replace the cladding. I'm just thinking out loud, but I would have thought you'd want a vapour barrier if there isn't one for condensation?

 

[gaz1]

use 4" insulation for the roof where most of the heat loss will be

as goes for the walls up to you but if your insulating it upgrade to 4" instead of 3" wood posts

use normal insulation for the lot as it will be cheaper

use white soffit boards if you want good light in there and they are 5m in length for the ceilings which also means you can install normal insulation

from pic 2



i note your beams if you buy latts you can hook your rolled out insulation over them and the lats can then be used to crew the soffit board to it

or 1/2 plyboard 8x4 cut up into 3" wide will do the same thing so you choose the cost on what you want to use its only for hooking up the insulation

 

[Pete.]

Are you over-boarding the cladding that's already up, or removing it and insulating?
That would give you a nice depth when you do the stiffening of the walls, you wouldn't lose so much interior as you can tie into the existing studs and just make them stronger.
That would also allow you to incorporate ventilation to the outside wall, put in a vapour barrier and then insulate and replace the cladding. I'm just thinking out loud, but I would have thought you'd want a vapour barrier if there isn't one for condensation?

There isn't terrible condensation as it is but even a little is too much for the machines and surface plates I have. There's no cladding either, just 40mm thick timber walls.

 

[Pete.]

use 4" insulation for the roof where most of the heat loss will be

as goes for the walls up to you but if your insulating it upgrade to 4" instead of 3" wood posts

use normal insulation for the lot as it will be cheaper

use white soffit boards if you want good light in there and they are 5m in length for the ceilings which also means you can install normal insulation

from pic 2

View attachment 474392

i note your beams if you buy latts you can hook your rolled out insulation over them and the lats can then be used to crew the soffit board to it

or 1/2 plyboard 8x4 cut up into 3" wide will do the same thing so you choose the cost on what you want to use its only for hooking up the insulation

The path is set now Gaz. 4" insulation would be nice but I'm well north of a grand in materials already and it's only less than 2 grand because everything is on sale offer. As for the walls, the CLS timber will put the wall boards either flush or just over-flush on the blockwork kicker they laid to build the walls onto. If I had builkt this workshop the walls would have been flush with the inside of the kicker but as it's not I might as well use that space for this purpose.

 

[awemawson]

Pete I have an unpened bale of Rockwool 'batts' insulation slabs that I used for sound deadening round my big generator.
Yours for the asking if you collect them.

 

[Pete.]

Pete I have an unpened bale of Rockwool 'batts' insulation slabs that I used for sound deadening round my big generator.
Yours for the asking if you collect them.

That's very generous Andrew I'll take tou up on that offer because I am planning to put the compressor outside the workshop and want to maken its enclosure as soundproof as possible.

 

[pressbrake1]

Uncle Pete is in heaven!

 

[Ali]

Hi Pete, nice workshop. There is quite a lot of movement with log cabin construction, with regard to ‘stiffening’ the walls it might need a bit of thought. I’ve heard of people building a sort of ‘floating’ sub-structure to overcome this rather than screwing directly to the logs.

 

[Kram]

Nice workshop.

Insulation may make the wood rot if any dampness gets in from the outside as it will never get out again.

 

[Martin Hocking]

Oh no! Petes starting his winter break again. Time to feel guilty about all the stuff I’m supposed to have done by now while Pete whacks six after six past the boundary. What was it last winter? The mean green machine?

Anyway very much looking forward to seeing how you get on.

I’m quite interested to see what the cls is like when it turns up. The only way I’ve found to reliably buy that is to go somewhere and pick the straight bits out from the banana pile. Fingers crossed.

 

[Pete.]

Oh no! Petes starting his winter break again. Time to feel guilty about all the stuff I’m supposed to have done by now while Pete whacks six after six past the boundary. What was it last winter? The mean green machine?

Anyway very much looking forward to seeing how you get on.

I’m quite interested to see what the cls is like when it turns up. The only way I’ve found to reliably buy that is to go somewhere and pick the straight bits out from the banana pile. Fingers crossed.

Yes winter break started early this year. I'm off till Jan 6th

 

[Jaeger_S2k]

You're going to get less condensation with the insulation, but if you don't place a barrier it'll wick through and wet the fibres.
I'd open the outside wall with a low level air vent. Stud the walls with slate baton or tile baton. Slate is narrower and cheaper I think, or is it the other way round?
Stretch, a good quality breathable membrane, tape seal all laps (I used this one under the floor boards Glidevale - Protect VP400 Plus LR Vapour Permeable Breather Membrane). It stops the vented space from 'Air Washing' your fibre insulation.
Ideally, if you can extend the vented space, up the wall and up and across the ceiling, you'd have a well vented wooden structure and that'll help keep your cabin dry and clear from wet rot. The membrane won't allow any moisture through to the insulation but allow it to breath into the vented space. Covering can be anything you want, if you want you can add another layer (the opposite way round) of breathable membrane, then your covering. I agree, better to go to 100mm insulation where possible but some is better than none.
Be aware on cold bridging where you fix the CLS!

 

[pressbrake1]

It’s all about sudden temperature change . Stable temperature is key

 

[Pete.]

I collected the acoustic insulation yesterday and the rest of the materials turned up today so I got stuck in.




Battened the walls at 610mm centres witht he CLS timber 9which was very straight @Martin Hocking.



Installed the insulation which is pre-cut to 600mm so fits in nice and snug and holds itself in place.



Then over-boarded with the OSB. When I un-wrapped it I was pleasantly surprised at how thick the paint is on it and how light the colour is. Should be easy to clean and the light colour reflects a lot of light into the workshop. It's much lighter than with just the bare timber walls.



I've done this whole section of wall now and the return. Tomorrow is promising rain so I will probably get stuck in to fitting sockets and putting more insulation board on the soffit.

 

[brightspark]

I collected the acoustic insulation yesterday and the rest of the materials turned up today so I got stuck in.

View attachment 475055
View attachment 475056

Battened the walls at 610mm centres witht he CLS timber 9which was very straight @Martin Hocking.

View attachment 475057

Installed the insulation which is pre-cut to 600mm so fits in nice and snug and holds itself in place.

View attachment 475058

Then over-boarded with the OSB. When I un-wrapped it I was pleasantly surprised at how thick the paint is on it and how light the colour is. Should be easy to clean and the light colour reflects a lot of light into the workshop. It's much lighter than with just the bare timber walls.

View attachment 475059

I've done this whole section of wall now and the return. Tomorrow is promising rain so I will probably get stuck in to fitting sockets and putting more insulation board on the soffit.

nice are you doing the wiring surface id be putting the wiring in 1st fix twin and earth behind the boards before you board it over

 

[Pete.]

Just gonna cut the holes in the boards for back boxes and poke the wires down between the boards and the insulation afterwards. I'll run the wires around the top of the wall panels clipped to the structure and leave them loose in the wall.

 

[Pete.]

Last of the insulation went in today. I have boarded the walls all the way round over 50mm of acoustic insulation, insulated the whole roof and built a couple of internal stub walls to make a compartment for all of the grinding machines to keep them separate from the lathe and mill. Been at it 18 days (not all day nor every day but most) which is a lot longer than I ever expected it to take. On top of this I have removed all the wall sockets and exchanged them for flush-mount ones which has used up a lot of the time, plus I have built a compartment for the compressor to live in, one new bench (of three I will make) and got most of the equipment into it's final location.

Still got a lot to do and I won't post any pics just now since the place is an absolute tip as I've had to do all of this work with all of the stuff actually in there, bu ti will put up some pics when I get it straightened out a bit.