Insulating shed.....

[chris718]

OK... here's the deal.....

I have recently put up a small shed A few details are:
- size is approx 3.5x3.0m.
- the shed is a "portal" type, with 3 main uprights and trusses, and girts lengthwise (I know....overkill.....I got it cheap though, and figure the stronger the better.... )
- The shed is being put up on a slab, and will be bolted to the slab.
- so far, all the wall sheets have been attached, but no roof sheets are attached yet.

Now, because the shed is for my fish tanks to go in, and they are tropical tanks, and it is so cold outside, I want to try to insulate the shed to reduce the power bill .

I have some insulation, which is foil coated, and approx 50mm thick.

BUT...... I was told today that the insulation needs to be put on BEFORE the wall sheets are screwed on, otherwise this can (apparently) cause moisture problems later on.
Obviously, I do not want to remove all the wall sheets, and it will be really tough to because of the lack of space around the shed (was tough getting them on ).

I was also told that you need overhang of the insulation foil into the gutter, and under the shed walls (poking out the bottom)....

has anyone insulated their sheds?.... any tips.......

I was planning on putting the roof on tomorrow or saturday, so if you can post your tips ASAP, that'd be awesome

[DJ’s Timber]

You don't want to have the insulation overhanging the walls into the gutter otherwise it will act as a wick and suck water out of the gutters, same as the walls, keep it inside the wall.

[chris718]

Thanks DJ,

I think he meant to hang the foil backing into the gutter/out from under the wall..... he said moisture which built up would run out of the shed then.....

Chris

[DJ’s Timber]

Thats the whole idea of having the insulation against the tin, so the moisture doesn't build up in the first place. Moisture will only build up if there is a airspace there to begin with.

[chris718]

Thanks DJ,

so I should be able to put the insulation up without removing all the wall sheets?
any tips on putting the insulation up (ie foil facing in/out, how to attach the insulation to the shed etc)?

Cheers

[RufflyRustic]

Hi Chris,

When my shed got built, the trusses got put up, the walls and then the roof insulation went on over the top of the roof trusses and got tucked inside the walls, then the roof went on. I'm now in the middle of insulating the wools with rockwool or pink batts and covering with 12mm ply. Works well for me, even with only half the shed done, the difference between inside and outside temperature is very obvious.

good luck with your shed

cheers
Wendy

[DJ’s Timber]

Chris, have a look through this thread, which is my shed that I am doing.

Seeing that yours is only a short roof, you should be able to just unroll one sheet of insulation at a time and then put a couple of roofing tins on then continue on from there.

The insulation must face the tin with the foil facing inwards.

As for the walls, sounds like you will need to line the walls with ply or something suitable to hold the insulation in place.

Another tip is to have some strong magnets to hold up the insulation while you are fixing it in place

[chris718]

Nice Shed DJ! Very impressive....

so the insulation is sandwiched between the purlins and roof sheeting?

Still undecided about the walls...... I will be cladding the inside of the shed (probably just with cheap plasterboard or gyprock) which should help to keep the insulation in place, but the problem is the insulation's only 55 thick, and the space between the outer and inner walls is 75....

Or, am I going to be better sandwiching the insulation between the gpyrock and wall girts?

Cheers

[DJ’s Timber]

Nice Shed DJ! Very impressive....

so the insulation is sandwiched between the purlins and roof sheeting?

Yes

Still undecided about the walls...... I will be cladding the inside of the shed (probably just with cheap plasterboard or gyprock) which should help to keep the insulation in place, but the problem is the insulation's only 55 thick, and the space between the outer and inner walls is 75....

Do you have enough that you can double up, ie, use 2 layers.

Or, am I going to be better sandwiching the insulation between the gpyrock and wall girts?

Would probably push the gyprock off the girts.

Cheers

[chris718]

Hi DJ,

I haven't currently got enough to double up, although I can probably get some more today.

So, would it be best to cut pieces to fit between the girts, double them up (one with foil facing in, one facing out), then clad with gyprock?

[chris718]

or am I going to be better off just biting the bullet, taking the gutter and wall sheets off, and trying to sandwich it between wall sheets and girts......

[zenwood]

I did my walls and roof pretty much as per the piccie. Only exeption were the sliding doors, for which I used thinner framing, thinned down the batts, and used 3mm MDF instead of the gyprock.

[DJ’s Timber]

Can't really answer those for you, it really comes down to how fussy you want to be and if you'll regret what ever decision you make.

Doubling up will work or biting the bullet and taking sheets off again .

Knowing me I would probably double up and gyprock.