Warm room question

[malc-c]

Gina, I have to agree with Digz.

Please don't take this personally, and my apologies if this seems to upset you or other people, but it does seem as if you are cutting corners on your build.

You've spent months planning, designing, re-thinking, and re-designing to get to the building stage your at now. Part of that process would of been the costing stage where you get some idea of how much purchasing the correct materials will cost. Spending £100 on the correct insulation material will give you the required degree of temperature difference between the obsy and warm room, and it will prevent any moisture issues. I'm pleased to say that despite the storms and high humidity we've had at times, there is no sign of any dampness in my warm room, and whilst using recycled packing and bubble wrap may be eco-friendly, I would strongly advise you to re-think using it and purchase some styrene sheets instead.

This is my opinion, and at the end of the day it's your build not mine... but I wouldn't want to see you go ahead and then have to rip it all out at a later stage and thus causing you additional expense. But it's you choice.

Once again, sorry if I've offended you

[Gina]

Hi Gina,

B&Q -

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Total insulation cost just over £100. If you were careful and used a lot of the off-cuts this could be reduced by £15 - £20

Thanks Rather expensive though. Makes the Wickes loft insulation look better value

[Gina]

Gina, I wouldnt feel comfortable in using bubble wrap or polystyrene packing. I just get the feeling that any moisture that might get in wont be good. I would be tempted to buy some purpose made insulation whether that be a rockwool type or slab.

I could use polythene damp proof membrane behind the shiplap cladding - maybe. But perhaps the rockwool or Wickes insulation would be better. OTOH I could leave it a month or two and buy polystyrene slab, like Malcolm. But it seems insulating the floor would be a good idea and polystyrene slabs would be best for that undoubtedly. Anything else would be difficult to fix in place.

[Gina]

Gina, I have to agree with Digz.

Please don't take this personally, and my apologies if this seems to upset you or other people, but it does seem as if you are cutting corners on your build.

Well, I am trying to keep the cost down as much as possible. However, I do seem to be following your example in the end as I come to realise the advantages I don't take any offence from suggestions and recommendations - I appreciate the help

You've spent months planning, designing, re-thinking, and re-designing to get to the building stage your at now. Part of that process would of been the costing stage where you get some idea of how much purchasing the correct materials will cost. Spending £100 on the correct insulation material will give you the required degree of temperature difference between the obsy and warm room, and it will prevent any moisture issues. I'm pleased to say that despite the storms and high humidity we've had at times, there is no sign of any dampness in my warm room, and whilst using recycled packing and bubble wrap may be eco-friendly, I would strongly advise you to re-think using it and purchase some styrene sheets instead.

This does seem the easiest option I'll admit but is 25mm thickness of polystyrene sheet better than 100mm of rockwool or that more user-friendly Wickes loft insulation?

This is my opinion, and at the end of the day it's your build not mine... but I wouldn't want to see you go ahead and then have to rip it all out at a later stage and thus causing you additional expense. But it's you choice.

Good point

Once again, sorry if I've offended you

You haven't I appreciate your feedback.

[blackparticle]

I use a caravan. Pity I can't fire up the woodburner in it though with the scope setup next to it. "Is that a dark nebula?"... nope.. just smoke and ash all over the lens.

[Gina]

Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions. I'm not messing about, I'm going for the polystyrene sheets/slabs. I have to watch the cost but this can be left until next month when I get more pension. There's plenty I can get on with before I need it. I can do the obsy area first. With the modular construction I'm using, I can build the walls and roof sections before the warm room floor is finished. We even have room to store them under cover (an advantage of having a smallholding with lots of shed space).

Since delivery is either unavailable or very expensive, I shall be collecting it myself - a 25 mile round trip (one disadvantage of living in such a rural area - I wouldn't swap it though!).

[Gina]

Just calculated the cost of insulating my warm room like Malcolm and it comes out at £96. That includes some spare.

[malc-c]

Gina,

Found the multiple pack for the 25mm boards (2400mm x 1200mm) - 8 sheets for £51

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=11417608&fh_location=//catalog01/en_GB/categories%3C{9372016}/categories%3C{8960072}/categories%3C{9662017}/specificationsProductType=polystyrene_insulation&tmcampid=4&tmad=c&ecamp=cse_go&CAWELAID=828592711

Assuming that your warm room will be approx 8' x 8' that should be enough to do all four walls, a couple of loose sheets should then cover the roof area...

There's not much difference in the price for the 50mm board compared to the jablite stuff, but the jablite seems slightly more dense and cuts a lot easier using a normal hand saw

[JohnWC]

I have just applied for, and got, a loft insulation grant to insulate our loft up to the new spec. When ordering I added enough to do my new warm room. £60 the lot!!! including the loft space.

Cannot remember the site but a google search should get it readily enough.

[Gina]

Gina,

Found the multiple pack for the 25mm boards (2400mm x 1200mm) - 8 sheets for £51

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=11417608&fh_location=//catalog01/en_GB/categories%3C{9372016}/categories%3C{8960072}/categories%3C{9662017}/specificationsProductType=polystyrene_insulation&tmcampid=4&tmad=c&ecamp=cse_go&CAWELAID=828592711

Assuming that your warm room will be approx 8' x 8' that should be enough to do all four walls, a couple of loose sheets should then cover the roof area...

Thank you That's quite a bit less for the 25mm. My warm room will be a bit smaller than 8' x 8' more like 7' x 6'. I worked out that I want 16.5 sq m of 25mm insulation and that pack is 23 sq m, so there's plenty And the total of the single smaller sheets works out at £64 for just the required area plus 1 spare - a saving of £13 - and I'd have some spare for other jobs. The only problem is transport - that size won't go in my car but we could take the pickup perhaps, my OH wants a builders wheelbarrow. I can't fathom out their delivery arrangements - they say "order in store", in another place they say the "minimum order for bulk delivery is £100".

There's not much difference in the price for the 50mm board compared to the jablite stuff, but the jablite seems slightly more dense and cuts a lot easier using a normal hand saw

Sounds like the Jablite might be best.

[martin_h]

If you make your internal cladding (plywood?) removable i.e. screw it on, you could just remove it to insulate at a later date, when finances allow.

[blackparticle]

For anyone who hates "rockwool".. and I don't blame you.. it's nasty stuff.

This is what you want.

homeECO Recycled Plastic Insulation 370mm x 4m 200mm, 0000004008668

It's made from recycled plastic and is easy to handle and cut. No itching or microfibres getting everywhere.

[malc-c]

Not that it probably matters, but all the insulation designed for lofts may not work as well in a warm room environment, mainly as they are typically 100mm - 200mm thick, and rely on the small air pockets between the fibres to retain the heat. When 200mm of fibre insulation is compressed into the 2" or 3" depth of the studwork the won't function as well.

You could always cut these rolls into 50-60mm deep lengths, thus making them cover more area and still retail their un-compressed state (or near enough).

An alternative is the Kingspan range, which is more like a solid foam sheet, foil backed and typically used as cavity wall insulation in new builds. B&Q have a 10 pack of 1200 x 450 x 50mm for £48.80 (EAN: 0000004048695)