Garage converted to room, and the room is cold

[horrgakx]

Hi all. My house is 4 years old now (built by Senator Homes) and the original plan had a garage with a large bedroom above.

Now, the original buyers asked Senator to convert it to a room before it was actually built. So the room is very garage-shaped, has electrics and a radiator and a bay-window as you'd expect *.

I want to make a dining room out of it, however the room is ALWAYS COLD. The radiator can be banging hot but it never seems to warm up the room. It might be worth noting that there's a little bit of a damp smell in the air too.



What can I do about this?


Dave


* side note - one thing I've been told by other residents is that they'll have sealed up the pipework behind plasterboard. The only accessible water stop-cock is now under the drive. Is this a problem?

 

[oilman]

...........however the room is ALWAYS COLD. ..........

Is it haunted?

 

[horrgakx]

If it were 100's of years old I still wouldn't believe any of that $hit, so take it as no, it isn't haunted.

 

[bathjobby]

If its too cold to use i.e. not fit for purpose and it was built as part of the original construction it will be covered under your 10 year NHBC. Contact the original builders.......

 

[horrgakx]

I'm sure they'll have put something in the contract about it ... I'll see what I can find out.

 

[ColJack]

firt let me say that I am not a builder, I'm an electrician so the following is based on thing's I've seen on sites and general DIY programs.. ..

is the floor raised to the level of the rest of the house or do you have to step down to it?

if yes then it is most likely they just carpeted the concrete slab they poured for the garage floor..

you can get it insulated and screeded to warm it up..

it might be an idea at this point to put in under floor heating instead of the radiator.. it will give a more general heat..

they also most likely just dot 'n' dabbed the walls out or straight plastered them..

being a garage the outer walls might either be single ( doubtfull since you say bedroom over.. ) or have no insulation in the cavity..

you could get it re-boarded with foam backed plasterboard to increase the insulation..

 

[horrgakx]

The floor would normally be a step-down (I owned the same design house before this one but with the garage as normal) - but the floor has been raised to that of the kitchenm, and is carpeted.

You think I would be best off adding some sort of partition with insulation then? Of course this will only be possible along the main wall and perhaps at the back.

 

[JohnD]

how thick is the outside wall? Are the walls of your house brick and block with a cavity, or it it drywall inside?

How big is (are) the radiator(s)? Do you have one at each end? And how big is the room?

BTW if you think you will ever need access to the pipes, I imagine you have a duct in the corner of the former garage? You could put a removable or hinged panel in this if you want. It is quite likely to have timber battens nailed to the wall making a frame, with a couple of layers of plasterboard fixed to it. This prevents warm air, draughts, smoke or flames from getting up the duct into the rooms above. Fixing any removable panel with screws will retain this benefit.

 

[horrgakx]

> how thick is the outside wall?

The very outside wall is standard sized bricks, like a red style.

> Are the walls of your house brick and block with a cavity, or it it drywall inside?

Erm... From memory of watching another one being built, the external wall is double (cavity) bricks with a thermal block inner - I think. Then they are stud partitions (excuse my complete ignorance at the terminology here). THIS room I'm talking about I have no idea... it MAY be different...

> How big is (are) the radiator(s)? Do you have one at each end? And how big is the room?

Size wise the room is a "standard" size garage (ie. barely enough to get your bl00dy car in these days ). Radiator; only one which is about 4 foot long. Its a double width and is under the bay window which is double-glazed.

> BTW if you think you will ever need access to the pipes, I imagine you
> have a duct in the corner of the former garage?

Nothing as far as I can see. There's a skirting board along the bottom of each wall.

> You could put a removable or hinged panel in this if you want.

It would be knowing where to knock into the wall. Maybe it would be the same as a neighbours...

Would pictures help?


Dave

 

[Softus]

If it were 100's of years old I still wouldn't believe any of that $hit, so take it as no, it isn't haunted.

Ah, but it's not you who has to believe in it - only the ghost has to.

More seriously, if the rad is big enough for the space then you have more than the usual amount of heat being lost through floor/walls/ceiling.

Is the garage floor below the rest of the house?
Can you see the damp proof course for the house?
Is the floor level below that?

If yes to all of those, then you probably have no DPC in the garage room. Even if the floor is the same level, then it doesn't mean that there's a DPC.

If there isn't, then I would expect there to be some damp rising between the slab and the walls. There would also be a significant heat loss from the floor.

Does the room have a flat roof, or is it part of the house? If the former, then [how] is the ceiling insulated?

 

[JohnD]

radiator is too small. I reckon you want one at each end of the room, or a long low one in the middle of the long wall.

If you can't see a plumbing duct in the corner, then I presume the soil pipe does not go through that room.