Insulate existing stud wall between garage and utility room

[cowen1978]

Hi - We have a semi-internal garage where the back end has previously been converted to a utility room accessed from inside the house.

From inside the house you wouldn't know you was in the garage except for the cold. The insulation, if there is any, seems to be really lacking between the garage and the utility room and it gets freezing as soon as the radiator or tumble dryer stops.

At the back of the garage I have racking and don't really care what the wall behind it looks like, is there and easy way I can add insulation to that wall to help the utility room?

 

[catlad]

Sure, add slabs of celotex as thick as you like, glue/screw.

 

[cowen1978]

OK, great thanks. Sounds almost too simple.

 

[Murdochcat]

Is the floor insulated?

 

[robinbanks]

But if the utility room was created by hiving a part off the uninsulated garage, is the wall between the room and the garage being uninsulated really the core of the problem? Even if you insulated that divider, would there be 2 other utility room walls that touch the world?

 

[cowen1978]

On the floor question, I'm not certain but it never feels particularly cold. It is concrete which had levelling compound and then more recently latex added before the LVT flooring.

On other external walls, there's one other external wall but that doesn't seem to be anywhere near as cold. On the wall dividing the garage it's almost like you can feel the cold air coming off it like a draft.

 

[^woody^]

Insulation does not magically make a room warmer. There must is a heat source in the room keeping it heated

Ideally, insulation should be on the room side. Otherwise, you need to be certain that there are no air gaps in the wall frame letting cold air in behind the insulation layer.

Don't waste time and money insulting the partition wall to a better standard than any other external wall.

Increasing insulation without assessing ventilation increases condensation and mould risk.

 

[cowen1978]

Insulation does not magically make a room warmer. There must is a heat source in the room keeping it heated - Understood, we have a radiator that does heat the room, it just gets very cold very quickly when that radiator stops.

Ideally, insulation should be on the room side. Otherwise, you need to be certain that there are no air gaps in the wall frame letting cold air in behind the insulation layer. - That could be an issue, a) it's already decorated and b) there is fitted units etc.. meaning changing the width is a whole world of pain and may not leave room for the appliances. The garage side however is free to mess with.

Don't waste time and money insulting the partition wall to a better standard than any other external wall. - I'm not convinced that's entirely true, the one remaining external wall is only 1.5m wide so surely insulating the longer garage backed wall still slows down heat loss. I understand the point though thank you.

Increasing insulation without assessing ventilation increases condensation and mould risk. - That will be a risk, current thinking is a wall of Celotex fitted as tightly as possible on the garage side, wall to wall, floor to ceiling, with some sealant round the edges and taped across the joins.

Thank you Woody, that is appreciated...