Insulation

Garage conversions often necessitate additional insulation as the garage space will be altered to a habitable room, and therefore must comply with building regulations for insulation in this kind of room. These regulations designate a U-value for insulation, which assesses the rate of heat loss. These are set differently for walls, flooring, and roofs. To meet building regulations the garage conversion must meet the U-values in all three of these areas, but extra insulation can be added to surpass these values and improve energy efficiency. Wall insulation for garage conversions is typically accomplished 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 also be added around windows and doors as these areas can leak heat particularly badly. Roofs for garage conversions will additionally require insulation. Pitched roofs will demand insulation to the same standard as the rest of your home. Flat roofs also require insulation. This is achieved using 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 installed above the roof joists. Floor insulation is also needed in garage conversions. This is less difficult if the floor level of the garage requires lifting in order to meet the rest of the house as an extra layer of insulation can be easily put into either a raised concrete floor, timber joists or a floating floor. If the floor does not need to be lifted it could be necessary to dig out the floor to add the necessary insulation.