Insulate or not?

[Dendroica]

I'm building a wooden shed close to my two observing positions in the garden. One half will house my Dob and other Astro bits and bobs, in the other half (separated by partition) will be gardening paraphernalia.

Should I insulate the shed? The location is sheltered and south facing. The old shed used to get roasting hot inside and the wife wants a window in 'her' half.

Thinking what's best ... storing scope at a generally lower temperature in an insulated shed or quicker cool down time in non-insulated?

Thanks for any advice.

Dave

[Tinker1947]

I would insulate, keep the damp out, a breathable membrane covered by sterling board would work i think and a wooden floor will help.......

[xtreemchaos]

I would insulate too,but also have some vents in atleast 2 places.

[ollypenrice]

Insulation and vents. You don't want condensation dripping onto the scope.

Olly

[laser_jock99]

Definateley insulate the roof- till I did this condensation kept dripping onto the scopes!

In the process of sticking 2" foam panels in place.

[Astrobug]

For sure to insulate & dehumifier

Take a look how I did it:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/205992-new-observatory/

[ronin]

Do whatever your wife wants. :eek:

Keep the peace and have an easier life. :grin:

[Dendroica]

Thanks everyone for the advice.

The shed isn't an obsy as such just a place to store the Dob and carry it the few yards out to my two observing positions in the garden. I'll keep other astro bits and bobs in there, have a shelf and chair to sit on during an observing session when necessary. I'll also run the iPad with SkySafari inside. Shed is 4m x 2m with a single sloping roof partitioned equally between my half and the wifes! There'll be an external door in each half, with one window in the there half. I'm building on a concrete base and my plan is to overlap the cladding 2" or 3'"down the sides of the base. Any advice on cladding?

I think everyone votes' Iinsulate!' so I'll follow the collective advice.

I've been researching insulation. Options seem to be bubble wrap, foil covered bubble wrap, glass fibre wool or blocks of polystyrene or Celotex like material. I will board over the insulation. Any thoughts?

Should I insulate the concrete floor? I could put down some 3' x 2" joists with board over and attach 1' insulation leaving a 1" air gap to the concrete? or is their a better way?

The roof is going to be several sheets of 8' x 4'. I had planned to cover this with a water permeable membrane on the outside and then best quality roofing felt over that but not sure the best way to insulate the roof on the inside?

Finally ... ventilation! I was going to put a couple of vents in the external walls and if I put in a wooden insulated floor over the concrete base I guess a couple of vents wouldn't go amiss in the floor as well?

Ive never attempted a DIY project like this before so any help will be gratefully received. Thanks!

[Tinker1947]

The roof would be better covered in Rubber have a look at mine when you come over on Tuesday, my Obby walls just have a breathable membrane its on the inside of the outer wall it stops draughts, the inner walls are sheets of Sterling board this allows easy access to the void should you want to add electric sockets ect...

Not sure if this is the best supplier but its the right stuff....

http://www.rubber4roofs.co.uk/shop/

[Astroboffin]

Just to add, I am doing something similar, and have been looking into this exact thing in great detail, and from the info I have found, there is no need at all for insulation or heat, as long as the wooden shed is extremely well ventilated, that seems to be the key to stop and condensation or damp.

Condensation is caused by the damp warmer air rising and condensing on a cold surface and turning to liquid, running back down to the floor, which is normally warmer and turning back to air and the cycle begins again, but if you have vents top and bottom of your shed this never happens as you get an airflow in and out of the shed, and the air will not have chance to condense and hence no damp.

Unless you plan on using the space as a type of warm room also when the scope is outside, then you may want to insulate so if you put a heater in to keep you warm on the cold nights, it will help with that, but as a storage place only for your kit, then don't bother but put, plenty of vents so you get a very good airflow, you need vents at top and bottom levels too.

This is all based on what I have read from many sources on the Internet, I searched for info using the search "how to stop a wooden shed from getting damp"

There is a ton of info, some of it astro related too.

Hope that helps a little, and may save you the cost of all the insulation...

AB

[Astroboffin]

Definateley insulate the roof- till I did this condensation kept dripping onto the scopes!

In the process of sticking 2" foam panels in place.

If you got condensation, then you don't have enough ventilation, by putting insulation in it will just delay the condensation and you really need to tackle the cause rather than just delay it, you will end up,with mould or mildew behind your insulation and you won't realise till it's too late.

Stop the cause rather than trying to fight the symptoms.

AB