Better construction method to keep heat in

[perky416]

Hi guys,

Just after some opinions. Im going to be building an outbuilding out of block that will be in use all year round. What would be the better construction method to keep it warmer in the winter?

Option 1 - Double skin block wall (no cavity), with plasterboard dot and dabbed.

Option 2 - single skin block wall (would need a pier in the middle) with the are between piers studded and plaster-boarded with 75mm foam insulation between the brick and plasterboard?

Or wont it really matter?

Thanks

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

2

 

[Notch7]

Option 2 - single skin block wall

how would you deal damp proof detailing given it would have no cavity?

 

[^woody^]

"2" will have a nice cold strip of wall in the shape of the pier.

I'd be looking for a 3rd or 4th option involving a continuous, unbroken layer of at least 60mm PIR, and lots insulation in the roof and some in the floor, draught sealed construction and openings. Beacuse it's not just about the walls.

I'd also be bearing in mind that insulated walls don't magically make the enclosed room warm

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

"2" will have a nice cold strip of wall in the shape of the pier.

True, but still the better option of the three offered by the OP.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

You wouldn't need the pier. Just build it like a timber-framed house, with ties between the frame and outer skin.

Having said that, I'd go for block-block every time. This way you'll get some thermal mass on the inside of the cavity that will stabilise the temperature. Plus it won't rot away and will be a proper solid wall.

The fact that it's an outbuilding is irrelevant. It's exactly the same issue as choosing how to build a house, and you'll find a million comparisons and opinions on each side for either method.