Workshop

[BrushType4]

Not sure of this the right place to ask but anyway...

I’ve currently have a double garage that is single brick and I’m wondering what is the best way I can insulate and make into my workshop?

 

[Tim Humphreys ex Mudhen]

Phil,
I would build a false wall against the brick with timber thick enough to take a layer of insulation, 4x2 would be ideal and then plasterboard the outside to give a good finish. I guess the floor is solid concrete, if so the same approach can be taken in making a wooden floor of 4x2 and insulate the space between concrete and the new wooden floor. The easiest insulation material to work with is Celotex or something similar. It comes in sheets of various thicknesses and can be easily cut to size with a handsaw. If you have heavy machinery which needs a solid base leave uncovered spaces in the floor where it will placed and then fill them with concrete level with the top of the wooden floor.
all the best
Tim

 

[BrushType4]

Thanks Tim, you've confirmed for me what I was thinking. The floor side of things will be difficult and I will want to retain the ability to use as a traditional garage in future. I'll have a look for a floor covering instead. Time measure up and order some materials!

 

[JimG]

Thanks Tim, you've confirmed for me what I was thinking. The floor side of things will be difficult and I will want to retain the ability to use as a traditional garage in future. I'll have a look for a floor covering instead. Time measure up and order some materials!

Make sure there is some resilience in the floor covering or you will get painful lower legs and ankles if you are standing at a lathe for any length of time. I covered the concrete floor of my garage with 2" x 2" runners on DPC then tongued and grooved chipboard on top and that gives enough resilience as well as quite good insulation. It could also be lifted easily if the space was to revert to being a garage since the concrete hasn't been touched.

Jim.

 

[lankytank]

Flooring - Halfords do 'workshop matting' - appears to be made of a dense foam about 1/2" thick, same thing as Mr Modelu stands you on to scan you (if he's at Kettering this Saturday have a wander past his stand & look down) or if you're a cheapskate scrounge some old carpet from a carpet fitter......

 

[BrushType4]

Make sure there is some resilience in the floor covering or you will get painful lower legs and ankles if you are standing at a lathe for any length of time. I covered the concrete floor of my garage with 2" x 2" runners on DPC then tongued and grooved chipboard on top and that gives enough resilience as well as quite good insulation. It could also be lifted easily if the space was to revert to being a garage since the concrete hasn't been touched.

Jim.

I like that idea and I can put polystyrene sheets in-between the runners too.

 

[Rob Pulham]

Phil,
I would build a false wall against the brick with timber thick enough to take a layer of insulation, 4x2 would be ideal and then plasterboard the outside to give a good finish. I guess the floor is solid concrete, if so the same approach can be taken in making a wooden floor of 4x2 and insulate the space between concrete and the new wooden floor. The easiest insulation material to work with is Celotex or something similar. It comes in sheets of various thicknesses and can be easily cut to size with a handsaw. If you have heavy machinery which needs a solid base leave uncovered spaces in the floor where it will placed and then fill them with concrete level with the top of the wooden floor.
all the best
Tim

Hi Phil,

What Tim describes is how we did our and had it okayed by our local building inspectors. We did the floor and fitted French doors too but we had no intentions of reverting back to a garage afterwards.

The thing to remember too is if like ours you garage protrudes out from the house you also need some insulation in the roof void where it overhangs (or if it's free standing of course).

 

[Steve Cook]

For standing at a lathe, you can just build a duck board to get your feet off the floor, then cover that in something a bit softer such as the Halfords workshop suggested by lankytank. Its the route I went down and means working at the lathe is comfortable whilst the rest of the floor is easy to sweep and doesn't get swarf stuck in it. The duckboard can be hidden under the lathe when not in use, or moved over to the milling machine.

Depending on the size of your brick pillars inside the garage, I'd suggest building framework that finishes flush with the inside faces, filling the cavity with insulation, then paneling the whole wall in 3/4" thick OSB. That would allow you to put shelves up just about anywhere, will take a coat of white paint easily enough and is pretty resistant to the usual workshop wear and tear. Might not be the prettiest surface I agree, but workshops generally have to maximise wall space so you see very little of it anyway.

If the planned life length of my workshop had been greater than it was, that would have been the route I went down.

Good luck, its a lot of fun!

Steve

 

[oldravendale]

You might like to look at my thread "A new workshop" which I started on 22 April 2016 where I took half a largish double garage for my workshop. There are photos of the construction stages. I actually had it built (to do so myself would have taken far too long) but the stages and materials are pretty well as described elsewhere in your thread, Phil.

Brian

 

[ceejaydee]

Not much to add to the great advice you've already had; however I follow Richard Maguire on his woodwork blog and he has recently moved into some old farm buildings for his workshop and has an interesting way of finishing his floor which I've not seen before - not the boards but rather the filler/insulation - Workshop Floor From Scaffold Boards - The English Woodworker

Depending on thickness of wall insulation chosen you could also consider 38 x 63 CLS studwork to keep costs down.
It may also be worth looking into using a breathable membrane and air gap to reduce condensation.

Don't forget the ceiling and line that first if possible so the boards can then be supported by the walls.

I think it would be possible to drive a vehicle into a garage with a scaffolding board floor if you laid out closely spaced longitudinal joists where the wheels are to run.

 

[oldravendale]

Great thoughts, Christopher. I wish I'd talked to you before I'd built mine.....

Having said which, it works well for me. I went out there this afternoon and it's still really warm - in this cold weather I'm heating on Economy 7 at "2" on the thermostat, but I'm not sure what that means - so heating went off at 7am

B