Insulating a room - would you DIY?

[ShadowMan]

It is certainly a lot more stable. Even with the sun shining on the walls all day it does not get anywhere near as hot as it did! Hoping its the same for the cooler months.

Was hoping to get plaster today. Local merchants due a delivery. Promised me a call. They didn't ring so I rang them this morning and this afternoon. Nothing available. Going to be bare plasterboard for a while at this rate!

 

[eviled]

Yep I’ve had issues getting supplies,

what tape did you use on insulation boards and would recommend the one you used?

I’ve had mixed experiences with the cheap stuff

 

[ShadowMan]

The tape was just a cheap one from Amazon really. It seems to have done its job and stuck down OK and is wide enough to seal and create the VCL I needed. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it but I've only done 1 room so mainly for that reason. I've got half a roll left so may try another for the next room I do in September.

Supplies seem to have picked up today. Local merchants I have used for everything got a delivery of plaster and called me as they promised too. Booked 4 bags for delivery on Friday with my window sill and 6 lengths of corner bead. Booked in my plasterer for Monday 27th and the plumber has promised to come early next week to finish the pipework for the radiator. Will leave it empty and mount it all after plaster and painting.

Ikea due to deliver desks on Sunday 2nd August so gives me a few days after plaster to let it set and get it painted. Nearing the end now!

 

[The Angry Welshman]

How did it end up looking after all the desk etc etc was fitted and do you like the finished outcome

 

[ShadowMan]

Forgot I never added anything on here. Pic below is after building the desks. There is a billy bookcase with doors and space for a 2nd behind camera. Room has a lot of junk in it now whilst working on other rooms as it has become useful for storage.

I use the left hand desk for work, centre/corner is my own PC and the right hand side is for painting/airbrushing. The plasterer did an OK job but left some things I wasn't fully happy with. May do some more sanding/smoothing in future but its mainly on the ceiling and I don't see it day to day.

Just reminder of original room after stripping back

Finished Room

 

[fobose]

What a transformation, excellent work @ShadowMan. I don't normally like feature walls but I do like that blue!

 

[ShadowMan]

Thanks. I actually got the blue to match the Secretlabs chair I have. Took the cushion into B&Q and got them to sample match it. Will be using it to accent some shelves and bits too. The room was a lot of hard work but certainly worth it. I have a quote to add AC now too as WFH seems to be a long term plan so may need it.

 

[fobose]

Cool I would get at least one other room done too (bedroom). I had 3 rooms installed in April and been making use of it a lot this year. Mainly just use it for sleeping now, set a timer for a few hours in to the night.

 

[gailjon]

Well done that man! Great job and lots of useful information for others thinking about doing this job. Thanks.

 

[SPG]

Done the same, 4k is not a bad price. The cost of materials is more than you think.

 

[Mysterae_]

Nice job, looks very clean and professionally done.

How did the finances stack up, comparing what you spent on materials and plasterer/plumber, compared to the quotes you got before?

The one thing I like about doing diy is the skills and tools you acquire in doing the job!

 

[ShadowMan]

The material cost of doing this including the smart light, radiator and paint was just over £1200.

Add in 2 days for plumber. 1 day for plasterer and 1 day for electrician and it’s all under £2k. I get electrician for free and mates rates on plumber so for me savings we’re higher. For that I got a fully framed stud wall on all sides with 100mm of PIR and then boarded and plastered. I much prefer this route to dot and dab too as it feels more solid.

I am hoping to start room 2 next weekend so will update this thread with another round which will be slightly different as the wall in the next on are all cavity insulated. Once I have done office 2 / games room then I can sort bathroom and will have then done every room in the house since Feb.

All in, I am glad I tried myself. Was a daunting project to start with but no individual task was too hard if I took my time. It was clearly much slower than getting pros to do it but the saving was huge.

 

[1mm3]

Fantastic!

What was the previous floor like? Did you insulate further? Does the floor still feel cold?

Thinking of doing similar in some areas (garage) but unsure whether to do same with floor

 

[ShadowMan]

The floor was orignally just a carpet over concrete. I have laid down an expanded poly underlay on top of an extra sheet of damp proofing. Its not cold but its not as warm as if I had put down PIR first. I was unable to PIR the floor though as it would have raised it up above the threshold from the house and made a step. If you have the space and no issue with the threshold then building up the floor with PIR and some OSB would be ideal. Plenty of guides and videos of people doing it. I'm yet to fully experience a cold day in this office but with winter coming I am sure I will find out just how good it is at staying warm!

My actual garage is 6" below level of the offices and there is a door from office 2 to step down into the garage. If I ever convert that then I will be insulating the floor but for now it will be staying as a garage.

 

[iv-tecman]

looks amazing, nice work, and looks so much nicer - made a nice office /computer room with the space

Interesting to read about vapour barrier, I am insulating our entire house its a 1940s ex council house, double bricked walls with a 25 mm cavity so have to resort to hacking the older render off the internal walls and adding 25 mm battens and silver taped insulated in-between and then plasterboard and skim, however we have one room with a single brick wall which I've not done yet, glad I read this, as I'll add a 25 mm cavity to this wall to keep moisture at bay - don't fancy mouldy walls , I knew with an existing cavity barrier not needed, but its reminded me a single skin wall I need a cavity - so always worth reading others peoples projects .

And its nice to see their finished efforts - looks really good

 

[Jonnycoupe]

Nice work.

 

[ShadowMan]

Now starting on the 2nd room which will be a games room for me and the kids. Usual stuff from the 1st room with 6mm ply panels on the wall on 1" battens. No insulation at all in the walls but the walls here do seem to have cavity insulation so will not be putting as much PIR on as I did last time. Ceiling still to come down but started stripping out the existing stuff to make way for timber, PIR and new plasterboard. The window had more gaps around it than I care to count and there was a gas fired heater below the window which has been removed. Used expanding foam to fill internally and will PIR over the top. Externally will be replacing bricks to cover the hole.

 

[iv-tecman]

good start - with them having a cavity you'll already have a decent vapour barrier and insulation if 25mm will be enough - however if you batten and plasterboard the external wall - its actually creating a second cavity so it won't hurt to stick some PIR on that wall for a bit of extra warmth and to fill the cavity in that you'll create if you are using batten and boards.

If anything like the house I am renovating you'll finish this room and then it'll be another room, its never ending : - )

 

[ShadowMan]

Pretty much my plan. The wall to outside and wall to garage are getting 50mm of PIR. I am replacing all the battens with 3x2 CLS as most of them are old and horrible anyway. I have a lot of CLS leftover from last room. The ceiling is getting 2 layers of 50mm PIR same as the last room so hopefully it will be warm enough. I am only insulating 2 walls as the others are "warm" walls between offices/games room and games room/dining room. I will still be boarding over with 3x2 CLS no those though so could have put PIR in but wanted to save a bit of money at £20 a sheet and so far been easier to run pipes and cables in the voids on those walls.

2nd wall of timber going up today and materials arriving from merchants today. Electrician in tomorrow to add a single extra double socket for a wall mounted TV. I am going to leave a channel in place for HDMI/Ethernet in the wall too.

 

[iv-tecman]

Pretty much my plan. The wall to outside and wall to garage are getting 50mm of PIR. I am replacing all the battens with 3x2 CLS as most of them are old and horrible anyway. I have a lot of CLS leftover from last room. The ceiling is getting 2 layers of 50mm PIR same as the last room so hopefully it will be warm enough. I am only insulating 2 walls as the others are "warm" walls between offices/games room and games room/dining room. I will still be boarding over with 3x2 CLS no those though so could have put PIR in but wanted to save a bit of money at £20 a sheet and so far been easier to run pipes and cables in the voids on those walls.

2nd wall of timber going up today and materials arriving from merchants today. Electrician in tomorrow to add a single extra double socket for a wall mounted TV. I am going to leave a channel in place for HDMI/Ethernet in the wall too.

Sounds a good plan, are you doing most the work yourself? I tend to only get electricals and some of the bigger plumbing tasks done my external trades people , the rest I try tackle on my own - plastering urgh . Much as I know how to do that messy job, I just end up doing it myself to save on costs. Good idea to leave a place for HDMI etc , keeps it nice and tidy looking