Insulation

Garage conversions will often need additional insulation as the garage space will be altered to a habitable room, and therefore has to adhere to building regulations for insulation in this type of room. These regulations set a U-value for insulation, which gauges the rate of heat loss. These are set differently for walls, floors, and roofing. To adhere to building regulations the garage conversion must meet the U-values in all three of these areas, but supplementary insulation can be added to exceed these values and improve energy efficiency. Wall insulation for garage conversions is normally 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 also be installed around doors and windows as these areas can leak heat particularly severely. Roofs for garage conversions will additionally require insulation. Pitched roofs will demand 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 prevent 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 easier if the floor level of the garage requires elevating in order to meet the rest of the house as an extra layer of insulation can be easily put into either a elevated concrete floor, timber joists or a floating floor. If flooring does not need to be elevated it might be necessary to dig out the floor to add the necessary insulation.