Insulation

Garage conversions usually need additional insulation as the garage space will be altered to a habitable room, and therefore must adhere to building regulations for insulation in this type of room. These regulations designate a U-value for insulation, which assesses the rate of heat loss. These are set differently for walls, floors, and roofs. To adhere to building regulations the garage conversion must meet the U-values in all three of these areas, but extra insulation can be installed to exceed these values and improve energy efficiency. Wall insulation for garage conversions is typically performed by employing internal wall insulation, which adds insulated plasterboard to the existing walls. This will add thermal insulation and prevent heat from dissipating through the walls. Insulation must be installed around doors and windows as these areas can leak heat particularly poorly. Roofs for garage conversions will also require insulation. Pitched roofs will require insulation to the same standard as the rest of your house. Flat roofs additionally require insulation. This can be performed by using a cold roof system, where insulation is fixed between the roof joists along with ventilation to prevent condensation forming. The other possibility is a warm roof, where insulation is installed above the roof joists. Floor insulation is also essential in garage conversions. This is less difficult if the floor level of the garage requires lifting in order to meet the rest of the home as an additional layer of insulation can be easily added to either a lifted concrete floor, timber joists or a floating floor. If the floor doesn’t need to be raised it might be necessary to dig out the floor to add the required insulation.