Room Within a Room

[slimsoul]

Hi all,

I’m looking for some advice on insulating a kitchen that sits within a solid 9" wall extension.

The kitchen hasn’t had any major damp issues in the past, though I did get some condensation mould behind the cupboards. Now that the kitchen has been stripped out, I’d like to take the opportunity to improve the insulation in the room.

From what I’ve read, insulating solid walls isn’t as straightforward as it seems. The room is large enough that I could build a timber partition (essentially a “room within a room”) around the perimeter, including a new insulated ceiling. (One hurdle is that the boiler and piping are currently situated on the solid wall, and one benefit is that the solid walls are currently 'on the ****' (borrowed a 3d scanner from work), so I should achieve square walls with the partition)

My questions are:

• Is this approach (partition wall and ceiling) a viable way of insulating a solid wall kitchen?
• Would this create condensation problems in the cavity between the studwork and the existing wall?
• If it is viable, what cavity depth would be recommended between the solid wall and the stud?
• What would be a sensible build-up for the stud partition to achieve decent insulation without overcomplicating things?

Any guidance from those with experience would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

If you do it all then a vapour barrier should be installed. This will keep moisture from the room from condensing inside your new cavity.

Everything is a compromise. You make the room smaller, get better insulation.

Losing the pipes into the insulation could be an advantage, as long as any water pipes can be insulated.

If mould is only an issue behind the units then you could consider insulation just behind them. The cabinets usually have a void at the back, cut some celotex or similar slabs to fit snugly within the units behind and against the back panels.

You won't know whether the moisture in the cabinets is from the room or wall. It could be either, or both.

 

[slimsoul]

Thanks for the reply Ivor!

For anyone who has any other input, I wanted to provide some additional information.
The cavity behind the stud can occupy the same airspace above the new ceiling; the existing ceiling is being removed and lowered to allow the hob duct to cross to an existing vent. My novice understanding of this is more air movement in the cavity, but maybe that's a bad thing for the temp difference and condensation on external solid walls behind the partition. There is a vent in the space between new ceiling and old as an old bathroom extractor fan was located quite high up in the kitchen, which will be redundant. Hope all this makes sense!