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Shed insulation


scitmon

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I have recently took delivery of my new "workshop grade" shed.  I plan to start storing my setups in it for the convenience of just wheeling it out and away I go.  Before I start doing this I've been thinking of insulating and cladding the inside walls (along with some vents) to stop the contents baking in summer and freezing in winter.  Is this generally considered a good idea?  Is insulating the ceiling aswell a good idea? 

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I think it's a very good idea. Things stay much drier. I tend to use the hard sheets of roof and wall insulation like Celotex, or whatever equivalent they have in the builders'  yard. I certainly start with the roof, which I think is the most important part. If you don't insulate the roof but do insulate the walls you'll drive all the condensation onto the roof where it will drip down. Another good thing is to have plenty of ventilation. That also resists condensation.

Olly

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2 hours ago, scitmon said:

I have recently took delivery of my new "workshop grade" shed.  I plan to start storing my setups in it for the convenience of just wheeling it out and away I go.  Before I start doing this I've been thinking of insulating and cladding the inside walls (along with some vents) to stop the contents baking in summer and freezing in winter.  Is this generally considered a good idea?  Is insulating the ceiling aswell a good idea? 

It is a good idea, but remember the killer for Astro kit is not the cold weather, it’s condensation, and insulating will not stop this, you need a combination of it with a really good airflow in and out, if you just insulate it all and there is no air gaps, you will ruin your kit within a year or so...

People use dehumidifiers which is a waste of money when all you need is airflow.... 👍😀

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Thank you for the input. When reading about insulation of ceilings it seems i need to consider warmer air condensing on the cold ceilings.  Its all confusing with “warm” and “cold” roofs.  If i just fix PIR board to the ceiling between the rafters and don’t clad it will that be ok?

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I created an insulated box in my shed and it is working fine so far with no noticeable impact on my mirror and no condensation. The test is to go in mid morning as the shed warms and check to see if condensation has formed on the mirror which cooled overnight.

Mark

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Don't use ordinary polystyrene sheet without a damp proof membrane over it.
Moisture will go straight through the polystyrene, condense on the inner wall surface then drip through and/or discolor the polystyrene.
It was not a pretty sight! Damp, porous materials are probably not great insulators either.
Closed cell foam might work better but I haven't tried it.

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I used the foil coated bubble wrap type stuff from screw fix.

I also installed a green house tube heater. Very cheap to run.

I have a louvre vent on a wall and a couple of small round soffit vents on the floor.

I've made moisture guards for both refractors from 35mm film canisters filled with silica pouches that fit into the focuser.

Steve

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have ordered some foil back PIR boards and plywood for the job.

Question for people in the know... I already have a breathable membrane on the inside face of the cladding.  The thickness of my Framing (65mm) and the thickness of my PIR boards ordered (40mm) will leave a 15mm airgap between the cladding and insulation... Is that sufficient and does it need ventilating?

 

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3 minutes ago, scitmon said:

I have ordered some foil back PIR boards and plywood for the job.

Question for people in the know... I already have a breathable membrane on the inside face of the cladding.  The thickness of my Framing (65mm) and the thickness of my PIR boards ordered (40mm) will leave a 15mm airgap between the cladding and insulation... Is that sufficient and does it need ventilating?

 

The shed will need really good ventilation to stop any condensation, as for the gap, between cladding and and insulation, yes it will...👍😀

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Sorry I should have written it clearer.  I meant is the airgap wide enough (you said yes 👍) and will the airgap also need ventilating? 

I will also be planning to ventilate the shed with some louvre vents.

Edited by scitmon
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24 minutes ago, scitmon said:

Sorry I should have written it clearer.  I meant is the airgap wide enough (you said yes 👍) and will the airgap also need ventilating? 

I will also be planning to ventilate the shed with some louvre vents.

Personally, yes I would ventilate the air gap too....but why do you need an air gap there at all...??

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  • 3 months later...

I think that insulating the ceiling is a good idea, but the problem is that finding a company that provides insulation services is a challenging business. When I moved to Cumberland, British Columbia, I knew nobody here. The house I bought, was not that good, and in the summer, when the temperature was too high, it was unbearably hot during afternoons. I had no clue what to do, but thankfully I stumbled on this site coastalpacificinsulation.com and contacted the company that provides insulation services. They came and isolated my house the best way.

Edited by Revort
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Just wondered how you have got on? We are planning on moving soon and in my mind I have already built my workshop. My plan was to have an insulated area and an area where the telescope is kept. The telescope area would be uninsulated and with poorly sealed doors. So more than interested in how things have turned out? I currently keep the telescope in a shed with poorly sealed doors and have had no condensation and no noticeable cool down time. The only thing I have done to the existing shed is to install a second roof cover outside and above the existing roof leaving it open and well ventilated.

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All the work is complete.  I insulated the walls with PIR insulation boards, leaving a 25mm air gap to prevent moisture being held against the cladding.  I did not ventilate the air gap like you would with a brick building because there wasn't any easy way to do so.  I don't believe its entirely necessary as the cladding would absorb any moisture in the gap and dry out from the outside.

As for the ceiling, I again used PIR insulation board, but left no air gap because the warmer air condensing in the gap against a colder ceiling is not a good idea.  

Also, and most importantly, I made some ventilation holes in each corner of the shed.  

I've had it like this for a few months now and the results are impressive so far.  The temperature is noticeably warmer than the outside so far, and I'm hoping it stays cooler when warmer weather comes.

 

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Edited by scitmon
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