insulating the shed

[keen-an]

I am looking to insulate a large shed / workshop so my wife can use it all year round (she is a watercolour artist). I was thinking of putting up battons on wall and floor, using 1" polystynene sheets on the floor, and topped with 18mm chipboard. On the walls and roof I was going to use loft insulation roll then plasterboard on top, (with hardboard on the roof). It would then be wired and lit by a proper electrician.
Can anyone see any problems with this or have any other ideas or suggestions.
Thank you

 

[masona]

Not sure what type of roof you've got but the roof will need ventilation and also not sure when you say "hardboard on the roof"

 

[oilman]

What type of polystyrene are you thinking of?

 

[keen-an]

Thank you both for your replies.
The roof will just be a sheet of ply (I think) with felt on top. Its going to a a commercaily bought shed. What I was thinking was to put battons on the underside putting up the insulation and then nailing normal sheets of hardboard on top to keep it in place. The polystyrene, I was going to use 2' x 8' x 1" sheets I saw at Wickes.

 

[masona]

Providing you put in a soffit vent on both side for air flow otherwise you will risk condensation.

 

[keen-an]

Thanks for the reply Masona. Please excuse my ignorance, but whats a soffit vent, and on both sides of what?
Cheers

 

[breezer]

as the walls go up and meet the roof coming down you see the horizontal bit inbetween, well that is the soffit.

you should have an equal number of vents so the air can flow from one side to other.

house sometimes have an "extra" vent at the top

 

[masona]

See this. Bearing in mind this is for soffit underneath,if you have no soffit but just the fascia,you can get round it but need more details on the type of fascia you have got.

 

[oilman]

I would use the blue polystyrene (one brand name is Styrofoam. This is high density and has a spec (if I remember correctly) of 2% compression for some tons per sq metre. The wickes stuff will not resist loads like filing cabinets and will let the floor boards gradually sag. I seem to remember the blue is closed cell, but I could be wrong.

 

[Karhu]

I am trying to do a similar thing. I work from home a lot and am using the shed as an office. It is a tongue and groove type and am looking for an inexpensive insulation solution that does not cause damp problems. I have heard sundeala material is good for this. Does anybody know otherwise.

 

[ColJack]

don't forget a vapor barrier over the insulation in the wall and roof..

beef up the roof with bigger "rafters" since it's likely to be something stupid like 2x2.. add a 2x4 under each one..

 

[foxhole]

Commercial sheds are very flimsy , cheaper and easier to insulate if you make it from scratch.

 

[ColJack]

not really cheaper if you already own a cheap shed though is it?

 

[foxhole]

OP does not have a shed, he states he will purchase.
"Its going to a a commercaily bought shed."

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

The OP has surely solved the problem now as he started the thread in 2004? Karhu on the other hand, does seem to have an existing shed already.