Insulation

Garage conversions will often necessitate supplementary insulation as the garage space will be altered to a habitable room, and consequently must comply with building regulations for insulation in this kind of space. These regulations set a U-value for insulation, which gauges the rate of heat loss. These are set differently for walls, floors, and roofs. To meet building regulations the garage conversion must meet the U-values in all three of these areas, but supplementary insulation can be added to surpass these values and improve energy efficiency. Wall insulation for garage conversions is typically done by employing 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 added around doors and windows as these areas can leak heat particularly badly. Roofs for garage conversions will also require insulation. Pitched roofs will demand insulation to the same standard as the rest of your house. Flat roofs additionally 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 required in garage conversions. This is less difficult if the floor level of the garage requires raising in order to meet the rest of the home as another layer of insulation can be easily added to either a elevated 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 necessary insulation.