Insulation

Garage conversions often need extra insulation as the garage space will be changed into a habitable room, and consequently needs to adhere to building regulations for insulation in this type of room. These regulations set a U-value for insulation, which assesses the rate of heat loss. These are set differently for walls, floors, and roofs. To comply with building regulations the garage conversion must meet the U-values in all of these areas, but supplementary insulation can be added to exceed these values and increase energy efficiency. Wall insulation for garage conversions is typically performed by making use of internal wall insulation, which adds insulated plasterboard to the pre-existing walls. This will add thermal insulation and prevent heat from dissipating through the walls. Insulation must be added 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 level as the rest of your house. Flat roofs additionally require insulation. This can be achieved utilizing a cold roof system, where insulation is fixed between the roof joists along with ventilation to avoid condensation forming. The other possibility is a warm roof, where insulation is added above the roof joists. Floor insulation is also essential in garage conversions. This is less difficult if the floor level of the garage requires raising in order to meet the rest of the house as an extra layer of insulation can be easily put into either a lifted concrete floor, timber joists or a floating floor. If the floor doesn’t need to be elevated it could be necessary to dig out the floor to add the required insulation.