Insulate a R.O.R Shed Yes/No??????

[pritc]

Hi to All,

I am in the middle of designing my R.O.R shed design.

Just wondering what the general feeling is on insulating the Obs side??

I am a little worried about moisture/damp and wondering what problems anyone has encountered?

Has anyone used or thought about using a moisture vapour barrier polythene between the stud work and cladding to seal an obs?

Wayne

[starbound]

Wayne,

I am interested to know what others have experienced with this too. My metal shed has a vapor barrier in the flooring, but is not well-insulated in the walls and roof, of course. I use a buggy to take my kit outside and then return it when finished. I am guessing that the insulation would help keep enough heat trapped inside and hopefully keep it from condensing too much water vapor, but I don't know that for sure. Hope you find your answer, here.

JeffG

[brianb]

Yes, you need insulation from solar radiation, but you also need good ventilation.

[pritc]

Yes, you need insulation from solar radiation, but you also need good ventilation.

Once I had completed and felted the roof I was going to give it a couple of coats of 'Solar Reflective Aluminium Roofing Paint'.

From the concrete base I plan to use 75mm tall wooden bearers to support the floor.So adequate ventilation should be achieved around the base.

I am going to to add several 'hit and miss' vents around the top to aid air circulation within the shed.

I was just wondering what to do with the shed walls?

I will line the inside with 6mm ply.

B&Q are offering recycled glass bottle loft insulation rolls for £5 at the moment.But would this be over the top?

Wayne

[skye at night]

you can buy a 50mm thick foam foil sandwich type in 8x4 sheets at around 20 pounds each,.. very efficient and if taped also provides a vapour barrier, however i would have some air vents near roof to allow vapour to escape also,

Steve

[Bizibilder]

I'm wondering what you mean by insulation? You ay the Obs side - so do you mean that you will have a Scope room and a warm room?

Anyway - Insulation is probably not a good thing in an observatory, especially one with a roll off roof! The idea is to keep the inside and the instruments as close to the outside temperature as possible. However the observatory structure will, by its nature, remove the cooling effects of the wind.

In summer (and spring and autumn) you really don't want to keep the heat in as this will have an adverse effect on the instruments - so most observatories are well ventilated to prevent this. In winter insulation will again only lead to a lag in the rate at which everything will cool down.

I wonder if you really meant "how do I keep down dew formation?"? This is an entirely different question. The simple answer is that you can't! UNLESS you want a nice warm, unuseable, observatory!

A warm room, on the other hand, is a different proposition - you want it to be a pleasant place to be for a considerable length of time. Therefore to keep it warm without having to run a massive heating system, you will need to insulate it.

[pritc]

I'm wondering what you mean by insulation? You ay the Obs side - so do you mean that you will have a Scope room and a warm room?

Yes, Bizibilder I will have a scope and a smaller warm room.

Thanks for your comments, I think you have answered most of my questions:D

So my warm room I will add insulation to the walls then 6mm ply and to my scope room just 6mm ply.

I was just worried about damp that is associated with a lot of sheds.

Then the long term storage of my equipment,so anything that I could add to minimize the effects,the better:icon_scratch:.

Wayne

[Bizibilder]

For stopping damp you can do a couple of things; If you have a concrete base then put down an impermiable membrane first - once the concrete is dry (I don't mean "set" I do mean "dried out"!) it cannot add to the internal dampness of the obsy. Good ventilation will also remove any dampness that does get in - including condensation that forms on the insides of the walls. So the odd "gap" around the roll off roof is actually a good thing!!

Hope this helps.

[pritc]

I had not thought of using a damp-proofing membrane for the concrete base.

Thanks Bizibilder, I will now:D

I have purchased these aswell

Rechargable caravan dehumidifiers.

Each contain 300g Silica gel and can absorb 120g before recharging is required (indicator windows turns pink).

Takes 10 hours to recharge

£20 for two(a lot cheaper than a electric mini dehumidifier)

Wayne

[Merlin66]

I've been using an Argos tin shed ROR observatory for the last year in the UK....

One of the benefits is that when the roof is rolled off it doesn't take long before it cools down and after a night's observing there's moisture and dew everywhere... which I take as a very good sign that there are no residual thermal effects.

I keep the laptop above dew point with a "maplin's 12V doggie heating blanket" ... everything else gets wet!!!

Why would you insulate a ROR? once the roof is open; all the temperature is going to drop and if the final ambient temperature is below the dew point... dew will form... that's the laws of nature...

Ken

[Stardust]

I built my obsy a couple of years ago. It's all wood, the floor is suspended on concrete blocks isolated from the pier. I have no insulation and no sign of damp or moisture in the building.

[Phil Fargaze]

My obs is on a concrete base. The building is made out of steel, and the rool off roof is plywood. It has never leaked rain, and there is plenty of ventilation. I have never had any problems with damp or storing gear. I keep my eyepieces in their case then in a cupboard in the obs. The only slight problem was this winter being so cold I had some frozen condensation on the roof inside which would melt during the day and drip off. I got round that problem by covering my scope with a garden furniture cover and that worked great.