Converting a single skin outbuilding with no dpc

[Moosey97]

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for some advice on converting my brick outbuilding to the rear of my house into a small home office. I am just trying to guage and plan out what exactly I will need to do it this (and how much I can do myself) to achieve this and would really appreciate some guidance.

The main concern I have is that I don't believe it has a dpc, and even if there is there's a pavement right up against the wall, and the inside looks quite damp. It's also single skin and definitely needs re-pointing (some areas I can see right through). I'd really like some advice here to understand is what's the best / most practical solution here for ensuring I don't get rising damp issues.

I've seen suggestions of tanking (or liquid DPM - which I assume is the same?), alongside PIR insulation board on the floor and the walls alongside some vents?
Someone also reccomended cutting the paving away from the building, but my concern is I can't do that around the back as we have an oil tank there - would doing this be crucial or do I not need to if I have tanked the floor and up the walls?

I'm also unsure if I need any signoff from building regs - as ideally this will be done properly to ensure it adds some value to the property.

I have attached and annoted some images of the outbuilding here:

https://imgur.com/a/keW9kXU

Thanks

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

It's possible, but I'd worry that by the time you've added adequate damp-proofing, insulation and interior surface to the walls, ceiling and floor then you could be left with something like a phone box.

You'd need to treat the wall adjoining the neighbour as an outside wall too.

It all looks very damp. The paving at the side looks like it's higher than the floor, which effectively means it's kind of a basement so will be difficult to damp-proof.

Do you have spare space in the garden? Keeping it as a shed and starting from scratch with a new garden building may make more sense as a home office.

 

[Moosey97]

It's possible, but I'd worry that by the time you've added adequate damp-proofing, insulation and interior surface to the walls, ceiling and floor then you could be left with something like a phone box.

You'd need to treat the wall adjoining the neighbour as an outside wall too.

It all looks very damp. The paving at the side looks like it's higher than the floor, which effectively means it's kind of a basement so will be difficult to damp-proof.

Do you have spare space in the garden? Keeping it as a shed and starting from scratch with a new garden building may make more sense as a home office.

Yeah I was worried about that - I think hence why someone mentioned PIR instead of creating a cavity? I'm also so unaware of how cold it could be, like I wouldn't mind needing to heat it a lot but I'm also unsure if it would be unbearable in winter...

But yes it's all very damp - would tanking not be very useful here?

I do have space in the garden, but we just thought this would be a perfect cosy office space really - only really needing space for an average desk, and perhaps a side chair but maybe I am just too hopeful regarding space

 

[hllns]

Yeah I was worried about that - I think hence why someone mentioned PIR instead of creating a cavity? I'm also so unaware of how cold it could be, like I wouldn't mind needing to heat it a lot but I'm also unsure if it would be unbearable in winter...

Is the roofspace insulated? This at least costs almost nothing and is worth doing even for a workshop space if it's heated to some level

 

[Moosey97]

Is the roofspace insulated? This at least costs almost nothing and is worth doing even for a workshop space if it's heated to some level

Yes, it is - I can't remember exactly what insulation is up there, but I have been meaning to go and move it a bit as I can see it from the outside so there's obviously not any room that been left for ventilation