Insulation

Garage conversions often need extra insulation as the garage space will be altered to a habitable room, and therefore must comply with 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, flooring, and roofs. To meet building regulations the garage conversion must meet the U-values in all of these areas, but supplementary insulation can be installed to exceed these values and improve energy efficiency. Wall insulation for garage conversions is normally accomplished by using internal wall insulation, which adds insulated plasterboard to the existing walls. This will add thermal insulation and stop heat from dissipating through the walls. Insulation must also be installed around doors and windows as these areas can leak heat particularly badly. Roofs for garage conversions will also require insulation. Pitched roofs need insulation to the same level as the rest of your house. Flat roofs also require insulation. This can be performed by 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 essential in garage conversions. This is easier if the floor level of the garage requires raising in order to meet the rest of the house as another 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 raised it could be necessary to dig out the floor to add the necessary insulation.